DNA-encoded library (DEL) technology has been recognized as a major screening method with unique advantages for offering vast chemical diversity and multiplexed affinity-based screening. Recently, solid-phase On-bead DEL, also known as one bead one compound (OBOC), has been developed to further expand DEL screening from affinity-based screening into biochemical activity screening. At the 2025 SLAS …Read More >

With advancements in drug design, there is resurging interest in drugs that form covalent bonds with their targets. Covalent drugs have the potential to provide enhanced potency and prolonged duration of action compared to non-covalent drugs. Emerging areas of interest include the development of reversible covalent inhibitors, covalent degraders, and covalent targeting of non-cysteine amino …Read More >

Tuberculosis is the leading cause of death from an infectious disease and is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). Inosine-5′-monophosphate dehydrogenase (GuaB) is an enzyme that performs the rate-limiting step in the de novo biosynthesis of guanine, which is critical for growth of bacteria, including MTB. The development of a novel antibiotic that inhibits GuaB could …Read More >

Mutant p53 is one of the most attractive targets for new anti-cancer drugs. Although traditionally regarded as difficult to drug, several new strategies have recently become available for targeting the mutant protein. One of the most promising of these involves the use of low molecular weight compounds that promote refolding and reactivation of mutant p53 …Read More >

In the last decade, targeted protein degradation (TPD) technology has become one of the most promising methods to remove specific disease-related proteins using cellular self-destruction mechanisms. WuXi AppTec has built a robust TPD discovery platform, allowing for in-depth biological and biophysical characterization of monovalent (molecular glue) and bivalent (PROTAC®) molecules through the use of target …Read More >

WuXi AppTec offers a comprehensive platform of in silico drug discovery services to accelerate the process of hit finding and hit-to-lead optimization.  We provide access to virtual chemical spaces built from our library of novel drug-like scaffolds, to support virtual screening and structure-based virtual screening (SBVS). Advances in ML-empowered virtual screening allows project teams to …Read More >

Despite the availability of modern screening technologies, identification and optimization of hits against poorly druggable targets remains a significant challenge for drug discovery teams.  Generating hit matter and reference compounds with one screening technology and then screening with a second technology has the potential to be a powerful tool for researchers. At this year’s Oxford …Read More >

Fragment-based drug discovery (FBDD) is one of the most well-developed approaches for projects starting from small, low-affinity compounds.  At the SLAS 2024 meeting in Boston, WuXi AppTec presented a poster reporting on the assembly of a covalent fragment library that is suited to tackle protein targets via serine, lysine, and cysteine residues. In a case …Read More >

At the Covalent Drug Discovery 2023 Summit and Fragments 2024 Conference, we presented a case study on Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) and demonstrated how biochemical, biophysical, and structural biology methods were used to confirm hits, characterize binding kinetics, and evaluate the mode of interaction of covalent BTK inhibitors. Our hit-to-lead workflow showcases the importance of bioanalytical …Read More >