Search Results

Watch Episode 170 What We’re Missing in Pain Research In GPCR drug discovery, receptors typically steal the spotlight. But as Dr. Alex Serafini  pointed out in his interview, Regulators of G protein Signaling (RGS proteins)  might hold some of the most untapped therapeutic opportunities, particularly in pain neuroscience. Serafini described his connection to GPCRs as tangential but inevitable: "I feel like I never was particularly explicitly interested in GPCR signaling... but the thing about GPCRs... is you always kind of end up landing at a GPCR as a major target." His work in the lab of Dr. Venetia Zachariou  introduced him to the power of RGS proteins — particularly RGS4  — in modulating pain circuits in ways that traditional targets fail to capture. RGS4 and the Unexpected Recovery Phenomenon One of the most compelling findings in Serafini’s experience was the spontaneous recovery observed in RGS4 knockout mice . “There was this very interesting phenotype the lab found where, as a mouse was starting to enter what we consider the chronic pain range, the mice that were constitutively RGS4 knocked out started recovering spontaneously. And this is a recovery that is very rare to see at the preclinical level. " Such recovery is rare in preclinical pain models and hints that RGS proteins could modulate pain chronification itself . These findings suggest a path forward that isn’t about blocking a single receptor but about rewiring the entire system upstream of pain perception. Serafini noted that RGS4 was especially intriguing because it was expressed robustly both in the peripheral nervous system and in central circuits like the prefrontal cortex and thalamus  — areas deeply involved in both pain perception and affective comorbidities. GPCRs in the Background, But Always Present Even though his primary focus wasn’t GPCRs themselves, Serafini repeatedly encountered them as unavoidable players in pain-related pathways. Whether working on opioid withdrawal, addiction vulnerability, or chronic pain, GPCR-related signaling repeatedly emerged as the core mediator  — demonstrating the reach of these signaling pathways beyond classical receptor pharmacology. This realization isn’t isolated. Serafini highlighted that in modern pain drug development, the field has remained too focused on ion channels like NAV1.8 , despite these targets falling short clinically: “The downstream cascade is probably a little bit weaker than if you were hitting a GPCR... and honestly, like with the trials, they were not really that sufficiently better than opioids, right? And in itself, that's kind of a suggestion.” Takeaway Forget what you think you know about GPCR drug targets. The real power may lie in how they’re regulated. Dr. Serafini’s work on RGS proteins suggests a quieter, but no less powerful, frontier in the fight against chronic pain. ___________ Keyword Cloud: RGS4 , GPCR data platform , GPCR training program , pain research , opioid signaling .

support this exciting event that unites scientists worldwide to explore all aspects of adhesion GPCR biology Methods & Updates in GPCR Research Evaluation and comparison of colorimetric outputs for yeast-based biosensors will be attending BIO 2024 Antiverse is attending BIO 2024 Septerna to Present Preclinical Data from Disorders GPCR Events, Meetings, and Webinars NEW June 1 - 4, 2024 | ENDO 2024 NEW June 3 - 6, 2024 | BIO Senior Research Associate/Associate Scientist, Protein Science Post-Doctoral Fellow—Pharmacology/Cell Biology

Ranked in Global Top 1% Septerna Poised For Biopharma Breakthrough: Analysts Cite GPCR Innovation And Patients with Advanced Solid Cancers GPCR drugmaker Septerna amasses $288M in IPO Surrounded by AI bio giants, tiny startup Nabla Bio makes de novo antibodies look more like drugs  GPCR Events, Meetings, Meeting 2025 May 12 - 15, 2025 | PEGS 2025 May 20 - 22, 2025 | SLAS Europe 2025 June 16 - 19, 2025 | BIO Scientist I Cell Biology - Tectonic Therapeutic Senior Principal Scientist, Medicinal Chemistry PhD

Orally bioavailable compound 47 with favorable agonist potency (Ca2+EC50 = 24 nM, cAMPi EC50 = 6.5 nM

August 2022 Dopamine D 1 receptor-mediated β-arrestin signaling: Insight from pharmacology, biology,

Improves the Work Itself For JB, questions fuel the way he designs chemical probes, collaborates with biologists What limitation is biology solving? Throughout his own journey—from organic chemistry to chemical biology to GPCR imaging—every pivotal step

window into GPCR imaging in native tissue, and reshaped what this collaboration between a chemist and a biologist Yet curiosity and chemistry pulled him into the world of GLP-1R, pancreatic β-cells, and the biological It happened because the chemistry and the biology met in the right way. It gives scientists a way to feel the biology. Better GPCR imaging doesn’t just capture biology — it expands the biological questions the field can

The Gaps They Already See 👉 As a biotech founder, it’s easy to mistake volume for readiness . Clarity, not complexity, is what makes approval possible, and biotech sustainable. The Illusion of Readiness 👉 Many biotech founders walk into a pre-IND meeting with quiet confidence What the FDA Is Actually Optimizing For 👉 Biotech teams often treat the FDA like an evaluator. Reverse Engineering Your Path to FDA Approval Most biotech development plans are built forward : start

Professor Charlotte Deane, Ph.D., of the University of Oxford, has joined Exscientia as Chief Scientist of Biologics Professor Deane is one of the UK’s most accomplished bioinformaticians. held numerous senior roles at the University of Oxford, where she is currently Professor of Structural Bioinformatics Professor Deane holds a B.A. in Chemistry from the University of Oxford and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from

Why This Matters GPCR research demands integration — pharmacology, structural biology, signaling pathways That gave them capabilities others couldn’t match — from receptor biosensor platforms to live-cell imaging The lab went from project-level thinking to platform-level strategy  — a critical shift for GPCR biology Biotech teams, CRO alliances, and academic consortia face the same challenge: how to align incentives This ecosystem design blueprint applies to biotech teams and academic consortia alike.

her to pursue a PhD in Molecular Pharmacology at Monash University, and later to train in single-cell biology By 2011, she had established her own group within the Drug Discovery Biology theme at Monash Institute For innovators and biotech strategists, stories like Michelle’s reveal how scientific leadership emerges Her work sits at the intersection of fundamental biology and therapeutic strategy. For biotech innovators, those sparks are the future workforce and idea engines.

Career opportunities:  Discovery biology roles and training paths in GPCR signaling. But drugs aren’t just biology—they’re chemical matter. altering how ligands trigger responses. • Assay Development Gets Real : Fluorescent tools and real-world biology Highlights: • The Foundry Arrives : R&D meets biotech with real-world acceleration, strategic consulting GPCR scientists, translational pharmacologists, biotech drug discovery teams, and decision-makers who

Indoles, benzodiazepines, phenethylamines — each recurs because it “fits” biology well.  therapeutic windows More predictable clinical behavior Allosteric modulation allows us to work with  biology Biologics Are Now Chemical Drug Matter, Too Proteins, peptides, and antibodies are no longer niche. The boundary between “small molecule” and “biologic” has blurred. Does it interact with the receptor in a way that biology can use?

This simple truth applies profoundly to the "go fast" culture in biotech. I work with biotechs, VCs, and CROs to implement the framework that ensures every step forward is strategic

Nicoli A New Era of GPCR Research AlphaFold didn’t just fill a gap—it shifted the focus of computational biology More accurate hypotheses, faster ligand discovery, and new strategies to tackle one of biology’s most

Career opportunities:  New openings for a postdoctoral research position in GPCR biochemistry and biophysics stimulate discussion and fuel the scientific direction of future GPCR research within the field of Cellular Biochemistry GPCR scientists, translational pharmacologists, biotech drug discovery teams, and decision-makers who

previous phase III clinical candidate for the treatment of Crohn's disease, we developed a chemical biology

HDX-MS-optimized approach to characterize nanobodies as tools for biochemical and structural studies camelid nanobodies using hydrogen-deuterium exchange (HDX) mass spectrometry (MS) for structural and biochemical

(Nasdaq: TRVN), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel

Join us in vibrant Mexico City from October 23 to 25, 2024, for this key event in adhesion GPCR Biology Strengthen the Impact of Integrated Technologies and Focus Clinical Development Expertise in Oncology Octant Bio Phosphorylation and G-Protein Mediated Signaling Networks June 25 - 29, 2024 | FENS Forum 2024 October 2024 | Biologics Senior Research Associate/Associate Scientist, Protein Science Post-Doctoral Fellow—Pharmacology/Cell Biology /Biochemistry Post Doctoral Fellow Postdoc Position Join Dr.

Experimental approach: We used a bio-guided screening assay to identify novel MQs and placed them phylogenetically

unanswered questions about blockbuster weight-loss drugs Transforming Drug Discovery: Insights from Viva Biotech's GPCR and TPD Structural Biology Platforms GPCR Events, Meetings, and Webinars December 10 - 12, 2024 Meeting 2025 May 12 - 15, 2025 | PEGS 2025 May 20 - 22, 2025 | SLAS Europe 2025 June 16 - 19, 2025 | BIO World Congress of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology GPCR Jobs GPCR Molecular Pharmacologist Scientist - Biology Scientist I Cell Biology - Tectonic Therapeutic Senior Principal Scientist, Medicinal Chemistry PhD

Centessa Initiates Phase 2 Trial with ORX750, a Novel Orexin Receptor 2 (OX2R) Agonist AI, Synthetic Biology Harnessing the Power of Advanced Multimodal Approaches to GPCR Drug Discovery March 12 - 14, 2025 | NextGen Biomed Meeting 2025 May 12 - 15, 2025 | PEGS 2025 May 20 - 22, 2025 | SLAS Europe 2025 June 16 - 19, 2025 | BIO July 12 - 17, 2026 | 20th World Congress of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology GPCR Jobs Scientist I Cell Biology /Structural Biologist Senior Scientist/Staff Scientist, Computational Chemistry GPCR Activation and Signaling

Connect with fellow scientists and dive into the latest in adhesion GPCR biology. to Advance a Pipeline of Novel GPCR-Modulating Therapies into Clinical Development How To Discover Biologics For Challenging Targets Drug discovery, a biophysics perspective Bio-Rad Adds Rapid Bispecific Antibody September 18, 2024 | FREE Webinar - The value of GPCR cell-based assays in drug discovery October 2024 | Biologics Senior Scientist, Cryo-Electron Microscopy Postdoctoral Research Associate Senior Scientist - Discovery Biotherapeutics

Mid-2025 How GPCR agonists, including antibodies, are shaping the future of metabolic care Salipro Biotech Meeting 2025 May 12 - 15, 2025 | PEGS 2025 May 20 - 22, 2025 | SLAS Europe 2025 June 16 - 19, 2025 | BIO World Congress of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology GPCR Jobs GPCR Molecular Pharmacologist Scientist - Biology Scientist I Cell Biology - Tectonic Therapeutic Senior Principal Scientist, Medicinal Chemistry PhD /Structural Biologist Adhesion GPCRs Conformational coupling between extracellular and transmembrane

Industry News Inversago Pharma to Participate at the 2023 SVB Securities Global BioPharma Conference Orbit Discovery and Endevica Bio enter multi-target collaboration to advance development of cachexia SLAS 2023 Building Biology in 3D Symposium. Progressive Technologies and Approaches Revealing Novel GPCR Biology and Drug Development Potential. Project Leader, Biology Explore Dr.

Interview GPCR-targeting drugs: A renewed focus on a ubiquitous group of proteins arcoscreen will be at Bio-Europe SLAS 2023 Building Biology in 3D Symposium. Progressive Technologies and Approaches Revealing Novel GPCR Biology and Drug Development Potential. 27, 2023) GPCR Jobs CADD and Informatics Head or Team Lead (depending on experience) with Structural Bioinformatics

Extensive efforts of structural biology have been made on the study of GPCRs.

September 2022 "Background: Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer and requires more prognostic biomarkers The expression of several other biomarkers including PPARG, EPCAM, and PD-L1 was investigated by re-analyzing

Hepatocellular Carcinoma "Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is at the forefront of the global cancer burden, and biomarkers