Garcia-Segura P, Llop-Peiró A, Novau-Ferré N, Mestres-Truyol J, Saldivar-Espinoza B, Pujadas G, Garcia-Vallvé S. SARS-CoV-2 main protease (M-pro) mutational profiling: An insight into mutation coldspots. Comput Biol Med. 2024 Nov 11;184:109344. doi: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2024.109344.

This opinion article addresses a major issue in molecular biology and drug discovery by highlighting the complications that arise from combining polyproteins and their functional products within the same database entry. This problem, exemplified by the discovery of novel inhibitors for the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) main protease, has an influence on our ability to retrieve precise data and hinders the development of targeted therapies. It also emphasizes the need for improved database practices and underscores their significance in advancing scientific research. Furthermore, it emphasizes the need of learning from the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in order to improve global preparedness for future health crises.

Guillem Macip Sancho defended his PhD thesis entitled “Studying the limits of protein-ligand docking to predict new non-covalent inhibitors for the SARS-CoV-2 main protease” last 15^th of May 2023 at the Faculty of Chemistry. Congratulations Guillem.