Scientists at Goethe University Frankfurt, together with colleagues from Darmstadt, Heidelberg, Oxford and Dundee (UK), have investigated how the fit of potent inhibitors to their binding sites can be optimised so that they engage longer with their target proteins. Long target residency has been associated with more efficient pharmacological responses e.g. in cancer therapy. The result: High resolution structures revealed that when the interaction between the inhibitors and the target proteins lasts long, the target proteins „nestle“ against the inhibitors. In future, the researchers want to use computer simulations to predict the residence time of inhibitors during drug development.