The 145th Annual Meeting of the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan (Fukuoka)

Organizer: Yukihiro Itoh (SANKEN, Osaka Univ.), Fumihiro Ishikawa (Fac. Pharm., Kindai Univ.)

Targeted protein degradation (TPD), a technology that induces the degradation of target proteins through physiological protein degradation systems, has attracted much attention as a new drug discovery modality. The most widely used approach in TPD is a proteolysis-targeting chimera (PROTAC), which hijacks the ubiquitin-proteasome system to degrade target proteins, and several PROTACs have advanced to clinical trials. In addition, recent advancements in TPD that is different from the conventional PROTACs have been remarkable, including methodologies employing the autophagy pathway and protease-based approaches. Additionally, research on developing RNA-degrading drugs has emerged by applying TPD concepts to RNA. However, many aspects of their protein degradation mechanisms driven by these latest TPD technologies remain unclear, and further elucidation is highly anticipated. Based on these backgrounds, this symposium aims to explore new directions in TPD by featuring discussions on both conventional PROTAC technologies and cutting-edge advancements. It will also delve into structural approaches for analyzing the degradation mechanisms of emerging TPD technologies.