About Workshop
This three-day expert-level workshop focuses on the design and evaluation of next-generation diabetes therapeutics, including GLP-1 multi-agonists and smart insulin systems. Participants will explore receptor biology, peptide engineering, molecular interactions, pharmacokinetics, safety and therapeutic prioritisation using accessible computational tools. By the end of the workshop, they will be able to compare advanced therapeutic strategies and identify promising candidates for further development.
Aim
To provide participants with advanced practical knowledge of structure-guided diabetes drug discovery, focusing on incretin multi-agonists, glucose-responsive insulin systems, peptide engineering, receptor pharmacology, pharmacokinetic evaluation and precision therapeutic prioritisation using accessible computational and biomedical platforms.
Advancing Next-Generation Diabetes Therapeutics through Precision Medicine and Biotechnological Innovation
- Understand the molecular pathophysiology and therapeutic targets associated with diabetes and metabolic disorders.
- Analyse the structural and functional characteristics of GLP-1R, GIPR, GCGR and insulin receptor systems.
- Compare mono-agonist, dual-agonist and triple-agonist therapeutic strategies.
- Evaluate peptide sequence modifications affecting potency, selectivity, stability and half-life.
- Interpret receptor–ligand binding interfaces and critical molecular interactions.
- Examine glucose-responsive and stimulus-sensitive insulin design mechanisms.
- Assess the pharmacokinetic, safety and developability profiles of peptide therapeutics.
- Integrate structural, pharmacological, PK–PD and safety evidence for candidate selection.
- Develop scientifically justified therapeutic-design and lead-prioritisation strategies.
Structure
📅 Day 1: Incretin Receptor Biology and Structural Pharmacology
Focus: Understanding the structural and pharmacological basis of GLP-1, GIP and glucagon receptor targeting.Topics Covered
- Molecular pathophysiology of diabetes, insulin resistance and metabolic dysfunction.
- Therapeutic roles of GLP-1, GIP, glucagon and insulin signalling pathways.
- Structural organisation of GLP-1R, GIPR and GCGR as class B G-protein-coupled receptors.
- Retrieval and assessment of experimentally determined and predicted receptor structures.
- Comparison of mono-agonist, dual-agonist and triple-agonist therapeutic mechanisms.
- Identification of orthosteric binding regions and receptor–peptide interaction interfaces.
- Mapping of hydrogen bonds, hydrophobic contacts, salt bridges and polar interaction networks.
- Interpretation of receptor selectivity, potency, efficacy and biased-signalling concepts.
- Evaluation of receptor structures for structure-guided peptide and therapeutic design.
🛠️ Hands-on Activities
- Retrieve GLP-1R, GIPR and GCGR sequences and structural information.
- Compare receptor domains, conserved motifs and ligand-binding regions.
- Visualise receptor–peptide complexes and identify critical binding residues.
- Map interaction networks associated with receptor activation and selectivity.
- Prepare a comparative structural-pharmacology annotation sheet for the three receptors.
🧰 Tools Covered
- UniProt, RCSB Protein Data Bank, AlphaFold Database, Mol*, PyMOL or UCSF Chimera, Clustal Omega, GPCRdb
📅 Day 2: Multi-Agonist and Smart Insulin Molecular Design
Focus: Applying peptide engineering and structure-guided strategies to next-generation diabetes therapeutics.Topics Covered
- Sequence–structure–activity relationships in incretin and metabolic peptide therapeutics.
- Rational design principles for GLP-1/GIP dual agonists and GLP-1/GIP/glucagon triple agonists.
- Balancing receptor potency, selectivity and pharmacological activity in multi-agonist design.
- Peptide-engineering strategies for protease resistance and prolonged therapeutic activity.
- Lipidation, albumin binding, amino-acid substitution and molecular-size optimisation.
- Insulin structure, insulin-receptor recognition and mechanisms of receptor activation.
- Molecular principles of glucose-responsive and glucose-sensitive insulin systems.
- Responsive molecular switches, polymeric carriers, hydrogels and controlled-release platforms.
- Developability challenges involving aggregation, immunogenicity, stability and manufacturability.
🛠️ Hands-on Activities
- Retrieve and compare reference incretin, glucagon and insulin peptide sequences.
- Identify amino-acid substitutions associated with receptor activity and peptide stability.
- Map sequence modifications onto three-dimensional peptide–receptor complexes.
- Compare candidate multi-agonists using a sequence–structure–function framework.
- Develop a conceptual smart-insulin or multi-agonist therapeutic-design profile.
🧰 Tools Covered
- UniProt, RCSB Protein Data Bank, AlphaFold Server or AlphaFold Database, ExPASy ProtParam, Clustal Omega, Mol*, PyMOL or UCSF Chimera, PubChem.
📅 Day 3: PK–PD Evaluation, Safety and Precision Therapeutic Prioritisation
Focus: Integrating molecular design, pharmacological performance, safety and patient-specific considerations for rational candidate selection.Topics Covered
- Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic principles for peptide-based diabetes therapeutics.
- Evaluation of absorption, distribution, metabolism, elimination and therapeutic exposure.
- Proteolytic stability, plasma half-life, clearance and dosing-frequency considerations.
- Assessment of physicochemical properties, aggregation tendency and formulation suitability.
- Safety considerations including hypoglycaemia, gastrointestinal effects and cardiovascular risk signals.
- Immunogenicity, off-target activity and receptor cross-reactivity assessment.
- Interpretation of dose–response relationships, therapeutic windows and efficacy–safety balance.
- Patient stratification using metabolic phenotype, comorbidities and therapeutic-response indicators.
- Multi-criteria prioritisation of multi-agonist and smart-insulin therapeutic candidates.
🛠️ Hands-on Activities
- Evaluate physicochemical and developability properties of selected peptide candidates.
- Compare predicted pharmacokinetic and safety characteristics across therapeutic designs.
- Analyse receptor activity, stability, dosing and safety trade-offs.
- Construct an integrated structure–pharmacology–PK–PD prioritisation matrix.
- Select a final therapeutic candidate and justify suitable backup strategies.
🧰 Tools Covered
- SwissADME, pkCSM, ADMETlab, ExPASy ProtParam, PubChem, ClinicalTrials.gov, Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets
Important Dates
Registration Ends
3:30 PM
Workshop Dates
2026-11-09
4:00 PM
4:00 PM
What You Will Gain
- Live guided computational sessions
- Step-by-step drug discovery workflow sheets
- Molecular visualization exercises
- Docking analysis practice files
- ADMET evaluation templates
- Precision drug design framework
- Certificate of Participation
Outcomes
- Interpret diabetes-relevant receptor and peptide structures.
- Compare single-, dual- and multi-receptor agonist strategies.
- Evaluate molecular approaches for smart and glucose-responsive insulin.
- Analyse peptide stability, receptor selectivity and therapeutic developability.
- Integrate structural, pharmacological, PK–PD and safety evidence.
- Develop a scientifically justified next-generation diabetes therapeutic-design strategy.
Who Should Attend
- Biotechnology, Biomedical & Life Science Students
- Pharmacy & Medical Students
- Faculty Members & Research Scholars
- PhD & Postdoctoral Researchers
- Clinical & Healthcare Professionals
- Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology Industry Professionals
Deliverables
- Live guided computational sessions
- Step-by-step drug discovery workflow sheets
- Molecular visualization exercises
- Docking analysis practice files
- ADMET evaluation templates
- Precision drug design framework
- Certificate of Participation