PROXIDRUGS – Cluster4Future

PROXIDRUGS is funded as part of the Clusters4Future Initiative by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) since 2021. The cluster focuses on developing new treatments for diseases with high unmet medical needs by utilizing the new concept of targeted protein degradation. Proximity-inducing drugs can trigger the degradation of disease-relevant proteins in a highly specific manner by directing them towards the cellular recycling system. That will open up new therapeutic options in a broad spectrum of diseases. PROXIDRUGS aims at improving this novel class of drugs in multiple ways: the strategy comprises the identification of suitable functional subunits for molecule engineering; the directed optimization of pharmacological properties; and the transfer to clinical phases. In line with this, the cluster interlinks partners from academia and industry, covering the entire value chain from basic to translational research.