“Expanding the Cereblon ligand universe to unlock the full potential of molecular glue degraders”
Dr. Christian Nilewski | Senior Principal Scientist in Discovery Chemistry
Bio:
Christian Nilewski received his Diploma in Chemistry from the University of Münster in Germany in 2006 and obtained his PhD degree from ETH Zürich in Switzerland in 2011 after conducting graduate studies with Prof. Erick M. Carreira in the area of natural product total synthesis. After postdoctoral studies with Prof. K. C. Nicolaou at The Scripps Research Institute (La Jolla, CA, USA) and Rice University (Houston, TX, USA), he started his medicinal chemistry career in 2014 at eFFECTOR Therapeutics in San Diego, CA, USA. In 2019, he moved to Genentech, where he currently holds a position as Senior Principal Scientist in Discovery Chemistry. In addition to his involvement in oncology portfolio projects, his research interests include induced proximity and DNA-encoded library technology.
Abstract:
Stabilization of cereblon (CRBN)/neosubstrate complexes with molecular glues and subsequent degradation of those neosubstrates is an emerging strategy in drug discovery with potential to target proteins that were previously considered to be undruggable. In this presentation I will provide an overview of Cereblon-based molecular glue degraders and outline strategies to build and expand our own Cereblon glue library at Genentech. I will end this presentation by highlighting how we are utilizing the library to identify new proteins that can be targeted through this mode of action.
