Post-doctoral research associate Efthymios Spyridon Gavriil, presented his research on Hedgehog Acyltransferase (HHAT) inhibitors in Copenhagen.

The Danish Medicinal Chemistry and Chemical Biology Symposium 2025 was an international meeting, held at the University of Copenhagen in January 2025.

The programme featured talks from representatives of academic institutes and pharmaceutical companies, from several countries across Europe and the UK. Dr. Efthymios Gavriil, Research Associate in the Tate group, presented the ongoing efforts of the group to discover Hedgehog Acyltransferase (HHAT) inhibitors, as a novel strategy to target Hedgehog signalling in cancer and fibrotic diseases. Structure-based drug design guided by Cryo-EM structures, along with optimisation of physicochemical and pharmacokinetic properties, has led to the discovery of the most potent and the first orally bioavailable HHAT inhibitors. This research work could offer a new therapeutic option for patients suffering from Hedgehog-related diseases, which lack effective treatments.