Fiona Marshall co-founded Heptares in 2007 to apply structure-based drug design to G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) targets, a large class of membrane-bound signalling receptors with diverse and critical roles across disease areas. Although around 35% of approved drugs act on GPCR targets, the research community had only solved the structure of a single GPCR at the time the company launched. Heptares has since determined more than 200 GPCR–ligand structures for 20 different GPCRs, advanced 4 drug candidates into the clinic, and partnered with big pharma and small biotechs alike to advance GPCR drug discovery. In 2015, this success prompted Sosei to acquire the company for up to US$400 million. In April, Marshall is set to start another chapter in her career, launching a new research centre for Merck & Co. in the UK. Speaking with Asher Mullard, she looked back on 30 years of working with GPCRs and looked forward to the emerging therapeutic opportunities these targets still offer.
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Fiona Marshall. Nat Rev Drug Discov 17, 158–159 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrd.2018.25
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrd.2018.25
