Medicinal Chemistry for Cyclic Peptide Drug Discovery

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On August 26, 2025, Viva Biotech hosted a Viva BioInsights webinar, themed “Medicinal Chemistry for Cyclic Peptide Drug Discovery”. The session featured Dr. Kejia Ding, Executive Director of Chemistry, and was moderated by Mr. Simon Bury, VP of Business Development.

Dr. Kejia Ding:

Dr. Ding emphasized the potential of cyclic peptides to address challenging targets such as protein–protein interactions and complex receptors. He presented two case studies: Cyclosporine A, a natural product achieving ~30% oral bioavailability through conformational switching; and MK-0616, a rationally engineered tri-cyclic peptide from mRNA display, optimized through SAR and structural design, which demonstrated long half-lives (35–130 h), >80% PCSK9 reduction, and ~65% LDL-C lowering.

He further highlighted Viva Biotech’s one-stop peptide drug discovery platform, integrating DEL and phage display screening, AI-enabled design, automated synthesis, bioassays, and DMPK studies, supported by structural biology and advanced chemistry. This comprehensive approach enables efficient development of peptide therapeutics in collaboration with global partners.

Introduction

Simon Bury

Vice President of Business Development

Mr. Simon is a member of Viva's Global Business Development Team and is based in the UK.

He has worked in the life sciences industry for the past 25 years and is an experienced and well-networked business developer.Simon has worked for contract research organizations based in the US, UK, China and Australia providing a range of services spanning the entire drug discovery and development process including chemistry, biology, ADME-Tox and fully integrated drug discovery services.

Dr. Kejia Ding

Executive Director of Chemistry

Dr. Ding oversees a portfolio of projects for Medicinal and Synthetic Chemistry for global clients. As a distinguished leader of the Viva Chemistry team since 2015, Dr. Ding has made significant contributions to multiple chemistry projects that successfully reached key milestones. His core scientific expertise is in the Medicinal and Synthetic Chemistry for structure-based small molecule drug discovery that is strengthened by his deep understanding of molecular structures and interactions. In the recent years, he continues to lead chemistry efforts into the development of new drug modalities such as cyclic peptide, bifunctional molecules, and various drug conjugates. Dr. Ding received his Ph.D. degree in Chemistry from UCSD with his thesis work focusing on the design and synthesis of small molecules targeting viral RNA. His work has been published as journal articles and patents.

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