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A multidisciplinary, fragment-based screening approach involving protein ensemble docking and biochemical and NMR assays is described. This approach led to the discovery of several structurally diverse, neutral surrogates for cationic factor VIIa P1 groups, which are generally associated with poor pharmacokinetic (PK) properties. Among the novel factor VIIa inhibitory fragments identified were aryl halides, lactams, and heterocycles. Crystallographic structures for several bound fragments were obtained, leading to the successful design of a potent factor VIIa inhibitor with a neutral lactam P1 and improved permeability.

Hematopoietic progenitor kinase 1 (HPK1) is an intracellular kinase that plays an important role in modulating tumor immune response and thus is an attractive target for drug discovery. Crystallization of the wild‐type HPK1 kinase domain has been hampered by poor expression in recombinant systems and poor solubility. In this study, yeast surface display was applied to a library of HPK1 kinase‐domain variants in order to select variants with an improved expression level and solubility. The HPK1 variant with the most improved properties contained two mutations, crystallized readily in complex with several small‐molecule inhibitors and provided valuable insight to guide structure‐based drug design. This work exemplifies the benefit of yeast surface display towards engineering crystallizable proteins and thus enabling structure‐based drug discovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A novel series of p38 MAP kinase inhibitors with high selectivity for the p38α isoform over the other family members including the highly homologous p38β isoform has been identified. X-ray co-crystallographic studies have revealed an unprecedented kinase binding mode in p38α for representative analogs, 5c and 9d, in which a Leu108/Met109 peptide flip occurs within the p38α hinge region. Based on these findings, a general strategy for the rational design of additional promising p38α isoform selective inhibitors by targeting this novel binding mode is proposed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]