MAX IV CASE: Developing novel peptide drug candidates using X-ray crystallography
We’re proud to have the amazing Swedish MAX IV Laboratory, delivering high-quality X-ray light for cutting-edge research, as part of our innovation cluster. Here’s one example of how it makes a difference within life science:
Peptide therapy – the targeted use of peptides to elicit specific biological responses in the body – can be used to treat a wide range of diseases, including diabetes. The early-stage drug development company Follicum (now Coegin Pharma) partnered with SARomics Biostructures and Lund University, using X-ray crystallography (MX), to explore new potential drug candidates based on tissue-repair peptides.
This collaboration provided critical structural insights into how the NRP1–peptide complex interacts with its receptor. These insights enable improved design of peptide structures and sequences. Overall, the research data and knowledge generated have strengthened Follicum’s development process for peptide platforms through rational peptide design.
More on this research at: https://beams.se/case/developing-novel-peptide-drug-candidates-using-x-ray-crystallography
More on MAX IV at: https://www.maxiv.lu.se
The MAX IV Laboratory is a Swedish national synchrotron facility hosted by Lund University, operating since 2016. Today, it employs more than 300 people and welcomes over 1,700 users annually, with demand exceeding supply. The facility is primarily funded by Swedish and international research funders, consortia, and 14 Swedish universities.
MAX IV Laboratory is the first fourth-generation synchrotron light source in operation worldwide, enabling the development of advanced experimental techniques based on exceptional brightness and coherence. It offers access to 16 beamlines providing state-of-the-art X-ray spectroscopy, scattering/diffraction, and imaging techniques to address scientific challenges across a wide range of disciplines. These beamlines are open to academia, research institutes, industry and government agencies worldwide through established user access programmes.
Located just 3,000 meters from Medicon Village, MAX IV is a core part of our innovation ecosystem. Several of our members, like SARomics Biostructures, RG Discovery, Xintela, and Truly Labs, use MAX IV to solve complex scientific challenges for clients in life science. Among the most frequent users are AstraZeneca and Novo Nordisk, underlining the importance of this facility for life science research.