AI Hits Disordered Proteins, Unlocks Therapy Targets

Drug developers have historically glued their attention to targeting the precise and fine-tuned protein structures underlying biological function. Yet this approach misses over 50% of the human proteome, which is highly flexible, flopping between conformations to drive a wealth of disease-related pathways, including pain signaling, cancer progression, and neurological disease. These intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) have long been untamed by candidate drug binders, flaunting the title, “undruggable”… until now.