LIVEMAP: Live-cell mapping of drug–protein interactions across the human proteome

Cel

Drug discovery remains one of the most challenging endeavours in modern medicine. Despite decades of investment, approximately 90% of clinical drug candidates fail before reaching patients, with late-stage failures costing billions and delaying effective therapies. A key underlying reason is the inability to reliably determine the full range of proteins a drug engages in living cells, including both intended targets and unintended off-targets. Existing technologies either miss large portions of the proteome, require disruptive sample processing, or measure binding indirectly, leaving drug mechanisms of action incompletely understood and safety liabilities undetected until late in development.

LIVEMAP is a differentiated platform arising from ERC-funded research that enables direct, proteome-scale mapping of drug-binding proteins in intact cells. Existing validation studies demonstrate that the platform can identify both established drug targets and previously unrecognised binding proteins across multiple drug classes, with findings confirmed by orthogonal methods.

This ERC Proof of Concept project will advance LIVEMAP towards an industry-ready platform by automating key workflow steps, defining scalable implementation, and assessing market demand through direct engagement with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, CROs, and other industry partners.

By the end of the project, LIVEMAP is expected to provide a transfer-ready platform, supported by broader application data across relevant use cases and a clear commercialisation pathway, including service-based deployment, licensing, and spin-out formation.

By enabling earlier and more reliable identification of drug targets and off-targets, LIVEMAP has the potential to improve decision-making across drug discovery and development, reduce attrition and associated costs, and accelerate the delivery of safer and more effective medicines.