The increase in life expectancy and quality of life of mankind is closely linked to the development of precisely acting and effective drugs. Approximately 30% of all approved drugs target receptors on cells that belong to the family of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs).

GPCRs. Due to their large number (about 400 representatives) and their medical importance, these receptors are of highest interest for drug development. GLUE (G protein-coupled receptor Ligands for Underexplored Epitopes) makes it its mission to explore epitopes as targets of potential drugs and their qualities of action. A new systematic approach with appropriate methods is being developed within the research network to identify ligands, detect their binding to alternative cavities (underexplored epitopes) and investigate their effect on the receptors. GLUE, coordinated by Prof. Dr. Moritz Bünemann, Philipps University Marburg, brings together internationally renowned research groups in computational drug discovery, pharmaceutical chemistry, biochemistry, structural biology, molecular, cellular and systemic pharmacology from the Universities of Darmstadt, Frankfurt and Marburg as well as the Max Planck Institute in Bad Nauheim to jointly exploit new cavities on GPCRs for drug discovery.