A New Way of Targeting G Protein-Coupled Receptors?

A startup co-founded by a Duke University scientist is focusing on the large and diverse family of G proteins, long a prime target for drug developers

G protein-coupled receptors (GCPRs) are a group of proteins with a vital role in transmitting signals across cell membranes. They constitute a substantial fraction (30-50%) of the drug targets of interest to the pharmaceutical industry, yet isolating the proteins has been a big challenge because they are embedded in cellular membranes. GCPRs are also not made in large quantities by our cells

The new startup, called Septerna, says it is developing an approach that solves both of these concerns by mimicking the natural conditions surrounding GCPRs, removing the proteins from their cells, and then use high-throughput screening to test billions of compounds to see which ones dock on the receptor proteins.

You can read the entire story on BioPharma Dive.