At the "Emergence of Irreversible Modulation in Drug Discovery" conference held in Cambridge, Dr. Fangyuan Cao was awarded Best Oral Presentation

Fangyuan's talk was on small molecule activity-based probes (ABPs) for deubiquitinating enzymes (DUBs). Organized by AstraZeneca and the British Pharmacological Society, the event brought together experts in drug discovery to discuss the latest advances. The presentation introduced a series of novel small molecule ABPs designed to target DUBs, which play a critical role in disease models. Unlike traditional Ub-ABPs that struggle with cell permeability, these new probes can efficiently enter cells and selectively target DUBs without toxicity.

The development of cell-permeable probes, such as the UCHL1-specific IMP-1710 and USP30-targeting IMP-2586/2587, as well as the first developed pan-DUB probe, IMP-2373, represents a major leap in understanding DUB activity in cells. These probes hold significant potential in drug discovery, offering new ways to study the role of DUBs in diseases such as cancer, fibrosis and neurodegenerative disorders, ultimately leading to the development of targeted therapies.