Jin Li received his B.Sc. in Chemistry from Nanjing University in 2009. He is a recognized KOL on LinkedIn, where his posts on medicinal chemistry and molecular building blocks have attracted widespread attention and a following of over 7,000 professionals.

Since joining PharmaBlock, he has been primarily responsible for the design and synthesis of novel molecular building blocks for traditional small molecule drug discovery. With over 10 years of hands-on experience in organic chemistry, he has authored more than ten publications and patents. During his tenure, he also authored two industry-acclaimed books—SAR Kits for Drug Discovery (6th Edition) and Building Blocks: Robust Solutions for Critical Issues in Medicinal Chemistry which have been well recognized by professionals across the pharmaceutical and medicinal chemistry sectors.

As the development of novel therapeutic modalities continues to gain momentum—particularly in areas such as targeted protein degraders (TPDs), radiopharmaceuticals, antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), and peptide and oligonucleotide therapeutics—Jin now leads a team focused on designing and synthesizing innovative building blocks tailored to these next-generation drug modalities with blockbuster potential.

Presentation Topic: Application of Novel CRBN Ligands and Rigid Linkers in the Development of Protein Degraders

CRBN ligands and linkers are two essential components of protein degrader molecules.

• Lenalidomide-based CRBN ligands used in earlier designs exhibit issues related to chemical stability and toxicity. Novel CRBN ligands have the potential to overcome these critical problems.

• Long, flexible linkers often possess high conformational freedom, which can negatively impact the physicochemical properties and overall performance of protein degraders. As a result, structurally rigid linkers are emerging as a promising strategy to address these challenges.