Researchers at The University of Washington’s Institute for Protein Design (IPD) are leading a study to employ computational design to generate potential drugs, aiming to shorten the time and cost of drug development.
The new research will add to currently existing software used in therapeutic protein design by developing new tools that can generate designs with minimal data input. Proteins targeting 12 key molecular targets, including the insulin receptor, the COVID-19 virus, and various cancer-causing molecules, have been developed by researchers.
“We look forward to seeing how these molecules might be used in a clinical context, and more importantly, how this new method of designing protein drugs might lead to even more promising compounds in the future,” said Brian Coventry, IPD co-first author.