Invited Speaker Oral Presentation Inaugural Australian Ubiquitin Summit 2025

Interrogating the Druggable Proteome with Proximity Pharmacology (132422)

Fleur Ferguson 1
  1. UCSD, La Jolla, CA, United States

The human proteome contains over 20,000 proteins, yet traditional small molecule drugs target fewer than 3,000, leaving vast therapeutic potential unexplored. Induced proximity approaches—including PROTACs, molecular glues, and other proximity-inducing molecules—represent a paradigm shift that expands the druggable proteome by leveraging cellular machinery rather than requiring direct target inhibition. However, systematic methods to identify and optimize proximity-inducing compounds remain limited. To address these challenges, we have developed complementary chemical biology platforms to systematically interrogate and expand the druggable proteome through induced proximity. In this talk, I showcase these platforms and their application to develop first-in-class degraders, and molecular glues for “difficult to drug” targets.