- Joined
- May 11, 2011
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- 3,331
It's really popular in research because it is a ligand for the ubiquitin ligase cereblon (ubiquitin is a small protein that gets ligated to proteins and marks then for degredation among other more subtle roles).
You can fuse a drug that is a ligand for one protein with thalidomide via a polyethylene glycol linker to make a drug that selectively degrades proteins. Very useful for in vivo research and a small but very interesting potential for novel drugs (i say small because two drugs tacked together often encounter pharmacokinetic issues. Smaller "molecular glue" compounds that do a similar thing in a smaller package are more promising with regards to making a drug that helps people imo.
You can fuse a drug that is a ligand for one protein with thalidomide via a polyethylene glycol linker to make a drug that selectively degrades proteins. Very useful for in vivo research and a small but very interesting potential for novel drugs (i say small because two drugs tacked together often encounter pharmacokinetic issues. Smaller "molecular glue" compounds that do a similar thing in a smaller package are more promising with regards to making a drug that helps people imo.