Overview

Out of the nearly 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes in the human genome, approximately 3,000 are estimated to be part of the druggable genome, the subset of genes expressing proteins with the ability to bind drug-like molecules. Yet, less than ten percent of the druggable proteins are currently targeted by FDA-approved drugs.  A significant number of those remaining are understudied and will be the focus of the implementation phase of the IDG.

The IDG Program was funded as a three-year pilot starting in 2014 with two goals. The first goal was to integrate information about understudied druggable proteins from disparate sources into a single informatics site. The second goal was to foster technology development to enable the determination of function and therapeutic potential of understudied druggable proteins at sufficient scale. The program is on track to be successful in accomplishing both of these goals.

The implementation phase of the IDG Program will capitalize on the information gathered and technologies developed in the first three years to elucidate the function of the unstudied proteins of the druggable genome.

Specifically, the implementation phase of the program is intended to:

1.  Expand the informatics tools developed in the pilot phase to include additional data and allow users to access a wide range of information on sets of proteins.

2.  Elucidate the function of understudied proteins from three key druggable protein families, non-olfactory G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), ion channels, and protein kinases.

3.  Disseminate the IDG-generated resources and data to the greater scientific community.

By focusing on understudied genes similar to those for which there are already many drugs, the IDG hopes to find potential targets for medications to treat or cure some of our most burdensome diseases – and then share what was learned so that all can build on this knowledge.