PROJECT #18014 RESEARCH FOR CANCER
FOLDING PERFORMANCE PROFILE

PROJECT SUMMARY

This project investigates anti-cancer drugs that might overcome drug resistance.

The targets considered are major oncogenes like SMARCA2, BRD4, Bcl and BTK.

Drug-resistance is a major and unavoidable problem and presently only 20–25NULLof all protein targets are studied.

Moreover, the focus of current explorations of targets are their enzymatic functions, while ignoring the functions from their scaffold moiety.

Roivant's drug discovery choose to focus on a promising new technology, PROteolysis TArgeting Chimeras (PROTACs) which regulates protein function by degrading target proteins instead of inhibiting them.

This method provided more sensitivity to drug-resistant targets, better selectivity, and a greater chance to affect the nonenzymatic functions of targeted proteins.

Roivant is leading in the general paradigm shift that looks at the kinetics of reactions instead of binding thermodynamics for its PROTACs drug discovery.

Specifically, by understanding the balance between changes of entropy and enthalpy and the competition between a ligand and water molecules in molecular binding, which is known to be crucial for smart drug discovery.

Experiments provide measurements, however, computational methods provide information about binding/unbinding processes that allows for a complete picture of molecular recognition not directly available from experiments.

All the computed values of kon, koff, ΔH, ΔS, and ΔG use AMBER force fields for Protein-Protein and Protein-Ligand's interactions.

The experimental data is used to guide and improve the predictive, modeling tools for PROTAC drug discovery in iterative manner.

Roivant is using published PROTAC-bound ternary complexes, plus some data generated internally for the F@h projects, and all simulation data is being made publicly available. This is a project run by Roivant Sciences (formerly Silicon Therapeutics) as was officially announced in this press release: https://foldingathome.org/2021/04/20/maximizing-the-impact-of-foldinghome-by-engaging-industry-collaborators/.

PROJECT INFO

Manager(s): Rafal Wiewiora

Institution: Roivant Sciences (Silicon Therapeutics)

Project URL: roivant.com

PROJECT WORK UNIT SUMMARY

Atoms: 49,034

Core: OPENMM_22

Status: Public