Targeting the undruggables—the power of protein degraders

Undruggable targets typically refer to a class of therapeutic targets that are difficult to target through conventional methods or have not yet been targeted, but are of great clinical significance. According to statistics, over 80% of disease-related pathogenic proteins cannot be targeted by current conventional treatment methods. In recent years, with the advancement of basic research and new technologies, the development of various new technologies and mechanisms has brought new perspectives to overcome challenging drug targets. Among them, targeted protein degradation technology is a breakthrough drug development strategy for challenging drug targets. This technology can specifically identify target proteins and directly degrade pathogenic target proteins by utilizing the inherent protein degradation pathways within cells. This new form of drug development includes various types such as proteolysis targeting chimera (PROTAC), molecular glue, lysosome-targeting Chimaera (LYTAC), autophagosome-tethering compound (ATTEC), autophagy-targeting chimera (AUTAC), autophagy-targeting chimera (AUTOTAC), degrader-antibody conjugate (DAC). This article systematically summarizes the application of targeted protein degradation technology in the development of degraders for challenging drug targets. Finally, the article looks forward to the future development direction and application prospects of targeted protein degradation technology.