{"title":"RNA modification systems as therapeutic targets.","authors":"Linda Zhang,Jiangbo Wei,Zhongyu Zou,Chuan He","doi":"10.1038/s41573-025-01280-8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41573-025-01280-8","url":null,"abstract":"Ribonucleotide bases can be chemically modified by cellular enzymes such as methyltransferases to regulate RNA metabolism and biological processes. The association between abnormal levels of RNA modification effector proteins and human diseases has spurred interest in therapeutic targeting of RNA modification systems, and an agent that inhibits the RNA-methylating enzyme METTL3 has entered clinical trials. Despite the promise of these pathways, therapeutic agents targeting proteins that write, read and erase RNA modifications are still limited. In this Review, we describe the cellular functions and disease associations of proteins that regulate RNA modifications. We focus on the N6-methyladenosine pathway, highlighting early-stage advances in inhibitor development such as against the YTH reader proteins, but we also discuss the potential of targeting other RNA modification pathways. Targeting RNA modification systems offers a new strategy for treating cancer, improving immunotherapy and enhancing stem cell therapies.","PeriodicalId":18847,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Drug Discovery","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145078277","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Zongjie Wang, Claire Liu, Kangfu Chen, Joseph Song, Shana O. Kelley
{"title":"Microsystem technologies for accelerating the discovery and translation of immunotherapies","authors":"Zongjie Wang, Claire Liu, Kangfu Chen, Joseph Song, Shana O. Kelley","doi":"10.1038/s41573-025-01268-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41573-025-01268-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Immunotherapies have transformed the treatment of many cancers and autoimmune diseases. However, durable therapeutic benefits are achieved in only certain subsets of patients. Due to the complexity and heterogeneity of disease, it remains challenging to design effective immunotherapies and predict their effects. Microscale systems — including microfluidics, microelectronics and microscaffolds — are now being adapted to accelerate immunotherapy discovery and development, with the potential to address efficacy, toxicity, predictability and affordability challenges. These microsystems consist of miniaturized structures, sensors and actuators that can manipulate molecules and cells of the immune system with high accuracy and throughput. Advances facilitated by microsystem technologies relevant to the discovery and translation of key types of immunotherapy (monoclonal antibodies, cytokine-based drugs, engineered immune cells and therapeutic vaccines) include the development of high-throughput devices for functional selection, miniaturized bioreactors for biomanufacturing, engineered scaffolds for therapeutic administration and sensitive biosensors for immune surveillance post-administration. Challenges facing the clinical translation of microsystem-based immunotherapies include issues related to standardization and integration as well as the need for new regulatory guidance.</p>","PeriodicalId":18847,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Drug Discovery","volume":"9 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145059460","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Synthetic lethality in cancer drug discovery: challenges and opportunities","authors":"Emanuel Gonçalves, Colm J. Ryan, David J. Adams","doi":"10.1038/s41573-025-01273-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41573-025-01273-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Synthetic lethality, first proposed more than two decades ago, has long held immense promise for targeted cancer therapy. Although the clinical success of PARP inhibition in BRCA-mutant cancers stands as proof of concept, few other synthetic lethal interactions have been translated from preclinical findings into effective therapies. This slow pace of translation stems in part from the difficulty of developing drugs against genetic dependencies, but also reflects the cell- and tissue-specific nature of these interactions. In this Review, we outline recent advances in the discovery and validation of synthetic lethal pairs, from their discovery in large-scale genetic screens to the development of drugs for the clinic. We discuss how alternative CRISPR-based approaches — including combinatorial screens, base editing and saturation mutagenesis — are now being used to discover new tractable interactions. We also examine how machine learning models can enable prioritization of candidate pairs and the identification of biomarkers for patient stratification. Finally, we highlight alternative phenotypic readouts, such as high-content imaging and single-cell profiling, which enable the dissection of phenotypes beyond simple cell growth or fitness. Together, these developments are refining the synthetic lethality paradigm and advancing its potential for cancer therapy.</p>","PeriodicalId":18847,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Drug Discovery","volume":"33 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145031794","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"How multispecific molecules are transforming pharmacotherapy","authors":"Raymond J. Deshaies","doi":"10.1038/s41573-025-01262-w","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41573-025-01262-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Over the past several decades, the pharmaceutical industry has progressed from identifying small-molecule natural products with favourable pharmacological properties mediated by unknown molecular mechanisms, to deliberate engineering of chemical compounds and macro-molecules that alter the activities of prespecified targets in predefined ways. The past quarter century has seen the emergence of an entirely new drug category: multispecific molecular drugs that are prospectively designed to engage two or more entities to exert their pharmacological effect. This design elicits emergent properties that endow the drugs with capabilities that are inaccessible to monospecific therapies. Furthermore, these properties enable multispecific drugs to circumvent biological barriers to pharmacology, including rapid clearance, functional redundancy, on-target/off-tissue toxicity, and lack of druggable features. Here, I describe how a new wave of approved multispecific drugs is recalibrating expectations of what can be achieved through pharmacotherapy.</p>","PeriodicalId":18847,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Drug Discovery","volume":"15 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144756365","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The non-small-cell lung cancer drug market","authors":"","doi":"10.1038/d41573-025-00123-w","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/d41573-025-00123-w","url":null,"abstract":"Discover the world’s best science and medicine | Nature.com","PeriodicalId":18847,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Drug Discovery","volume":"37 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144652662","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Marc Scherlinger, Antonios G. A. Kolios, Vasileios C. Kyttaris, George C. Tsokos
{"title":"Advances in the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus","authors":"Marc Scherlinger, Antonios G. A. Kolios, Vasileios C. Kyttaris, George C. Tsokos","doi":"10.1038/s41573-025-01242-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41573-025-01242-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Systemic lupus erythematous is a clinically and pathogenetically heterogeneous disease that has long challenged researchers and clinicians aiming to improve its treatment. Advances over the past 75 years have revealed a number of key immune mechanisms that drive clinical manifestations, paving the way for the development of therapies that go beyond broad immunosuppression to improve clinical efficacy and reduce side effects. These include approaches aimed at specific immune pathways, and emerging efforts to restore immune homeostasis, such as chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapies to eliminate pathogenic B cells, low-dose interleukin 2 or regulatory T cell therapies. Although hopes for durable remissions or cure are rising, major obstacles remain owing to the complex nature of the disease. In this Review, we discuss emerging therapeutic strategies designed to address these challenges.</p>","PeriodicalId":18847,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Drug Discovery","volume":"84 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144652618","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"CRISPR-based therapeutic genome editing for inherited blood disorders","authors":"Sébastien Levesque, Daniel E. Bauer","doi":"10.1038/s41573-025-01236-y","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41573-025-01236-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Therapeutic genome editing promises to transform medicine. Pivotal discoveries have provided a diverse and versatile set of tools to correct pathogenic mutations or produce protective alleles using CRISPR-based technologies. These innovative therapies are especially adaptable for blood and immune disorders, where clinical methods allow haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) to be mobilized, harvested, engineered ex vivo and transplanted back into a patient to permanently replace their blood system. This paradigm has been exemplified with the first US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved CRISPR–Cas9 therapy for sickle cell disease and β-thalassaemia, exa-cel (Casgevy). Although promising, efficient delivery of gene edits involves complicated ex vivo manipulation and toxic myeloablative conditioning. The quiescent and elusive nature of HSCs also brings associated challenges. In this Review, we explore the state-of-the-art genome editing technologies of nucleases, base editors and prime editors, which hold promise to address unmet clinical needs for patients with inherited haematological disorders. We highlight the progress made for several disorders and discuss the challenges that remain for ex vivo and in vivo targeting of HSCs for next-generation gene therapies.</p>","PeriodicalId":18847,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Drug Discovery","volume":"14 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144629650","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"RNA chemistry and therapeutics","authors":"Siyu Wang, Drew Weissman, Yizhou Dong","doi":"10.1038/s41573-025-01237-x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41573-025-01237-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p>RNA-based therapeutics have made substantial clinical advances, primarily due to the unique chemical and biological profiles of RNA molecules. As evidenced by the approval of various RNA drugs, some initial challenges related to RNA-based therapeutics, including issues associated with large-scale production, effective delivery and immunogenicity properties, are now being addressed. Extensive efforts have focused on chemically modifying RNA molecules to enhance their stability, increase protein production, extend circulation time and improve target specificity. Three RNA categories — small RNA, translatable RNA and CRISPR guide RNA — are now being extensively developed for therapeutic applications. This Review summarizes the synthetic methods applied to these three RNA categories, describes key chemical modification strategies being used to enhance their properties and highlights current therapeutic applications and future opportunities.</p>","PeriodicalId":18847,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Drug Discovery","volume":"51 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144629649","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Anita Rácz, Levente M. Mihalovits, Maximilian Beckers, Nikolas Fechner, Nikolaus Stiefl, Finton Sirockin, William McCoull, Emma Evertsson, Malin Lemurell, Gergely Makara, György M. Keserű
{"title":"The changing landscape of medicinal chemistry optimization","authors":"Anita Rácz, Levente M. Mihalovits, Maximilian Beckers, Nikolas Fechner, Nikolaus Stiefl, Finton Sirockin, William McCoull, Emma Evertsson, Malin Lemurell, Gergely Makara, György M. Keserű","doi":"10.1038/s41573-025-01225-1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41573-025-01225-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The goal of a small-molecule drug discovery campaign is the development of chemical entities that fulfil the criteria of the target product profile for progression into clinical trials. This objective is realized through multiparameter medicinal chemistry optimization, typically by identifying the compounds at the hit stage with molecular properties that provide a high chance of subsequent success, and then iteratively optimizing the properties, often in parallel, to identify leads and, ultimately, drug candidates. To assess the impact of medicinal chemistry optimizations on molecular properties, a set of new drug candidates reported in the literature between 2015 and 2022, and their corresponding hit and lead compounds, were analysed, and compared with a set of drug candidates identified between 2000 and 2010, and their corresponding hits and leads. This analysis was complemented by similar analyses of the internal medicinal chemistry programmes pursued at AstraZeneca and Novartis. Here, we highlight and discuss the implications of the observed trends, which include shifts in key physicochemical properties and strategic changes in medicinal chemistry programmes.</p>","PeriodicalId":18847,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Drug Discovery","volume":"85 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144568759","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}