The Institute for Environmental Solutions (IES) supported the 3rd Drug Discovery Conference, held in Riga on 24–25 September 2026, as one of the event’s sponsors. Organized by the National Institute of Research and Innovation together with EU-OPENSCREEN, the conference brought together researchers from academia and industry to discuss the latest advances in medicinal chemistry, pharmacology, drug delivery and biologics.
IES was represented by leading researcher Dr. chem. Ilva Nakurte, who took part in evaluating the poster session, an important platform for researchers, especially those early in their careers, to present new results and connect with the wider scientific community. On the final day, Dr. Nakurte presented the IES Recognition Prize to Olga Bobileva from the National Institute of Research and Innovation for the poster “Adenosine 5′-carboxamide-based inhibitors of METTL1”. The work was carried out with co-authors Francesco Nai, Sandija Niedrite, Lidia Mayordomo Soler, Irena Leite and Amedeo Caflisch from the National Institute of Research and Innovation and the University of Zurich.
The research targets METTL1, an enzyme that adds chemical modifications to RNA. High levels of METTL1 are linked to cancer development, tumor growth and resistance to chemotherapy, yet the enzyme has so far received little attention as a drug target, which creates an opportunity to develop the first small-molecule inhibitors against it. Using a structure-based design strategy, the team improved the potency of their starting compound more than 178-fold. One of the new compounds also showed high selectivity and good stability, and a crystal structure revealed exactly how the inhibitor binds to the enzyme. Next, the researchers plan to further improve the compounds’ activity, metabolic stability and ability to cross cell membranes.
“What made this poster stand out was its clear and logical scientific story- from targeted optimization of the initial hit to substantially improved potency and selectivity, supported by experimental confirmation of the binding mode through a co-crystal structure.” says Dr. Ilva Nakurte.
Supporting the conference reflects IES’s own research focus. Our work on medicinal plants and their bioactive compounds is closely connected to the search for new, effective solutions in health and pharmaceutical science, and events like this strengthen the dialogue between natural product research and drug discovery.
We congratulate Olga Bobileva and her colleagues, and thank all poster presenters, the organising committee and fellow sponsors for an inspiring conference.
