Welcome to the Path-Net Project Website!

Path-Net is an emerging cluster of academic and biotech research institutions, focusing on the discovery of druggable allosteric sites as a promising alternative to active-site targeting.

The vast majority of drugs currently on the market are competitive inhibitors targeting active sites (inhibitors of G-protein-coupled receptors, nuclear receptors, ion channels and enzymatic targets). Despite their current preponderance on the market, active-site targets suffer from their small population (all currently marketed drugs are directed at only 120 unique targets) and their very high drug failure rate due to their limited diversity and high conservation within enzyme families, which frequently leads to lack of selectivity, low efficacy, and high side effects.

On the other hand, targeting protein's allosteric site (that is, a site other than the protein's active site) as a new way to modulate specific activities or to regulate specific protein-protein interactions represents a quasi-limitless reservoir of targets for drug discovery with potential high selectivity, efficacy and minimal side effects. Recent successes in allosteric inhibition of catalytic activities and of protein-protein interactions with small molecules emerging from both academia and private research have confirmed the potentials of this therapeutic strategy. However, the identification and assessment of allosteric lead molecules, as well as the progression of allosteric modulators to clinical candidates, comes with a unique set of challenges in a number of different scientific fields. Path-Net was created to connect and coordinate the wide panel of expertise required, from key labs, to facilitate breakthroughs in the discovery of novel, druggable allosteric site targets.

Path-Net will screen a number of diverse binders’ libraries on proteins involved in intracellular signal transduction and will characterize their effects on molecular and cellular models. Biochemical and biophysical characterization will be carried out to identify and characterize the sites and ultimately assess their druggability. In this process, potency of the various binder's technology from Path-Net members will be evaluated. Current Path-Net members include experts in computational and structural biology, cancer specific signaling pathways, and a number in binders' libraries development.

We are currently looking for new members including, but not limited to, labs with an interest in signaling pathways (in any fields from cell biology to database development) or in binders’ library development. 

If:

• You have a technology compatible with the objectives of Path-Net
• You wish to propose a scientific project related to pathway modulation/characterisation
• You have an interest in the objectives of Path-Net
• You have any suggestions regarding our project

Please contact us, and we would be pleased to present to you the Path-Net project and benefits of joining us in this initiative.