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In a perspective article in the journal Molecular Cell, a consortium of scientists from leading European research institutions (including Goethe University Frankfurt, IRB Barcelona, AITHYRA in Vienna, the University of Dundee and EPFL Lausanne) announced that they are in favor of establishing a European alliance to accelerate the development of proximity-inducing drug modalities. These innovative therapeutic approaches are based on the principle of targeting molecules in close proximity to affect disease-relevant proteins, many of which were previously thought to be untargetable.

Proximity-inducing agents such as PROTACs (proteolysis targeting chimeras) or molecular adhesives (a molecule that specifically brings together two otherwise non-interacting proteins - a harmful target protein component and a cell's own protein - and thus renders them harmless) promise progress in diseases that were previously untreatable. In Germany, the future cluster PROXIDRUGS, with the participation of LOEWE scientists under the leadership of Goethe University Frankfurt, is driving forward the development of this groundbreaking class of active substances.

The Perspectives article now published by scientists from leading European research institutions outlines the scientific breakthroughs of recent years and shows how AI and machine learning could accelerate and change research in this field. The authors call for more intensive collaboration between science and industry.

“In the pre-competitive development phase, academic freedom, methodological innovation and industrial experience can ideally strengthen each other,” says Ivan Đikić, spokesperson for PROXIDRUGS, professor at Goethe University in Frankfurt, holder of a LOEWE top professorship since 2024 and co-author of the article. “This is where an alliance can have the greatest impact.”

LOEWE top professorship for Ivan Đikić: Focus on active substances against cancer

Prof. Đikić is pursuing a promising approach to developing innovative and efficient drugs in his laboratory. The LOEWE top professorship focuses on the development of active substances against cancer. The focus here is on so-called ProxiDrugs (proximity-inducing drugs), which enable the targeted degradation of disease-relevant proteins in the cell. This opens up new therapeutic options for a variety of diseases, including those that were previously considered untreatable. Protein degradation in the cell is primarily controlled by the ubiquitin system. In this system, the small protein ubiquitin is linked to another protein in a precisely regulated process, which is then marked for degradation. The pharmacological reprogramming of this machinery enables the targeted degradation of unwanted, disease-relevant proteins.

Link to the article: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molcel.2025.07.018