Squamous cell carcinoma is the major form of malignancy that arises in head and neck cancer. The modest improvement in the 5‑year survival rate underpins its complex etiology and provides the impetus for the discovery of new therapeutics. The present study describes the discovery of an indole‑based small molecule (24a) that was a potent cytotoxic agent with antiproliferative and pro‑apoptotic properties against a pharyngeal carcinoma cell line, Detroit 562, effectively killing the cells at a half‑maximal inhibitory concentration of 0.03 µM, as demonstrated using cell proliferation studies. The antiproliferative property of 24a was demonstrated by its ability to promote G2/M blockade, as assessed by cell cycle analysis using flow cytometry and the monitoring of real‑time cell cycle progression by the fluorescence ubiquitination‑based cell cycle indicator. This pro‑apoptotic property is supported by the promotion of TUNEL‑staining and increase in the activities of caspases‑3/7 and ‑6, in addition to the expression of death receptors and the cleavage of poly (ADP‑ribose) polymerase 1 protein as demonstrated by western blotting. Given that Detroit 562 lacks functional p53, it is suggested that 24a acts independently of the tumor suppressor.