Protein Phosphatases: A Neglected Target Family for Drug Discovery

Authors

  • Joe Lewis Anavo Therapeutics, Heidelberg
  • Gerhard Müller Anavo Therapeutics, J.H. Oortweg 19, 233 CH Leiden, NL

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.2533/chimia.2022.460

PMID:

38069718

Keywords:

Allosteric inhibitors, Inhibitors, Kinases, Phosphatases, PTP1B, SHP2, Target family

Abstract

The gene family of protein phosphatases is a rich but under-exploited source of therapeutically validated drug targets modulating signal transduction pathways. Unlike the kinase family, research and development activities have not yet yielded any approved small-molecule drugs against a phosphatase. Approximately 20 years ago, the phosphatase family was classified as undruggable and intractable. This was primarily due to the spectacular failure of the cumulated industry-wide drug discovery efforts to develop PTP1B inhibitors. Recently, allosteric inhibitors against SHP2, a member of the phosphatase family, have entered clinical trails, which has reawakened industry’s interest towards this neglected enzyme family. This contribution reviews the recent R&D trends around small-molecule efforts towards phosphatase modulators over the last years, rather than providing an exhaustive review of the field of allosteric phosphatase inhibitors.

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Published

2022-05-25

Issue

Section

Scientific Articles