![Craig M. Crews](/sites/default/files/styles/portrait/public/medien/speakers/2020hwpcrewscraignocopyright.jpeg?h=3fb67705&itok=I0x-PX23)
Craig M. Crews
John C. Malone Professor of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, and Professor of Chemistry, of Pharmacology, and of Management at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA Craig M. Crews is a pioneer in the field of controlled protein degradation. His early research, which was focused on blocking the cell’s protein degradation machinery, led to an FDA-approved drug used to treat multiple myeloma. More recently, Craig M. Crews conceived and demonstrated proof-of-concept of an entirely new approach to control protein levels in cells: the so-called PROTAC technology (PROTteolysis TArgeting Chimera). PROTACs activate a cell’s quality control system to target disease-causing proteins for degradation, paving the way for entirely new treatment options for various diseases. The first PROTACs are already in clinical trials by the Yale-based company Arvinas, which Craig M. Crews founded a few years ago. They target the androgen and estrogen receptors in patients with metastatic prostate and breast cancer.