DyNAbind GmbH and CEITEC Masaryk University announced that they have entered a strategic alliance for the discovery and development of drug candidates targeting human 14-3-3 protein complexes based on research performed in the team of Jozef Hritz at CEITEC.
14-3-3 proteins play a crucial role in many cellular processes by interacting with a number of different protein partners to control different aspects of cell growth and signaling. Although implicated in a number of different neurodegenerative diseases as well as cancer, these targets have proven difficult to drug using classical methods, due to their protein-protein interactions.
By deploying DyNAbind’s Dynamic Library platform for DNA-Encoded Library drug discovery, hundreds of millions of potential affector molecules can be rapidly generated and tweaked in situ in order to find not only potent, but also specific binders for the targets.
“DyNAbind is always keen for an opportunity to work with innovative targets,” said Michael Thompson, co-founder and CEO of DyNAbind. “We’re proud to partner with doctor Hritz and CEITEC to find and optimize drug hits for these fascinating proteins.”
„My motivation to enter a collaboration with DyNaBind company comes from our earlier discussions about the extraordinary potential of their DNA-Encoded Library for drug discovery and optimization,“ comments Hritz. „The identified molecules would present a wide range of applications not only in academic but also in the pharmaceutical sector. It is also very motivating for me and our students to see how our research gains practical application and that their own findings can directly help, for example, in the formulation of disease treatment,” adds Hritz.