About
Your success is our commitment.
Our passion for science is your advantage.
Meet the Founder
Dear Colleagues, Dear Scientists, Dear Visitors,
I am Václav, founder of Ambrosigen and scientist at heart. My core expertise lies in organic synthesis and medicinal chemistry. I enjoy the intellectual challenge of deconstructing complex biological and chemistry problems into efficient solutions.
Over my career, I have worked on diverse research projects in four different countries (Czech Republic, UK, France, Germany), spanning early drug discovery, chemical biology, synthetic chemistry and also establishment of chemogenomic library. At the Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC), I led a team of medicinal chemists and coordinated interdisciplinary projects at the interface of industry and academia, collaborating with institutions such as University of Oxford, University of Toronto, Karolinska Institute, ETH Zurich, as well as biotech and pharma companies (e.g. Merck, Pfizer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Neosphere, Promega).
This equipped me with the ability to understand not only chemistry but also related biological disciplines and navigate the complexity of large organisations and projects.
Over my career, I was involved in numerous projects focused on the development of novel degraders (PROTACs), and E3 ligase ligands. Together with my team at SGC we developed, for instance, the first-in-class PROTAC degrader targeting CK1δ/ε, the first-in-class small-molecule ligand for E3 ligase TRIM7, and a workflow for evaluating E3 ligases and their ligands for their utility in targeted protein degradation.
In addition, I gained expertise in the development of biologically active small molecules targeting, protein kinases (e.g. CLKs, HIPKs, ALK1/2, CK1), epigenetic targets (e.g. WDR5), transmembrane receptors (Smoothened) or human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) and other biological targets.
Beyond medicinal chemistry, I gained also experience with total synthesis of natural products, chemo-enzymatic synthesis of carbohydrate chains and handling mammalian cell cultures.
Some of my significant contributions include the development of high-quality chemical probes (e.g. LH168, MU1210, MU1742, MU1920) that became commercially available and are widely used by the community. Among these we identified for instance highly selective ALK1/2 chemical probe MU1700 exhibiting favorable PK/PD profile and extraordinary brain penetration. Moreover, I led the chemistry efforts that yielded best-in-class CK1 inhibitors which led to identification of preclinical candidate and the establishment of a spin-out company.
Since 2022, I also serve as a non-profit scientific expert and reviewer for the international Chemical Probes Portal.
- Recognized by RSC Chemical Biology as an emerging investigator for contributions to the field of chemical biology.
- Jean Marie Lehn Award for the best PhD research in chemistry (2nd place, 2019, French embassy + Solvay).
- PhD Talent Award (14 % success rate).
- Finalist in the RSC 5th National Retrosynthetic Competition (London, 2018).
- Twice received Dean’s Awards (Masaryk University) for exceptional research contributions (2015, 2018).
- Synthon Award for his master’s research in organic chemistry (2015, pharma company Synthon).
- Workflow for E3 Ligase Ligand Validation for PROTAC Development ACS Chem. Biol. 2025 20, 2, 507–521
- Development and Discovery of a Selective Degrader of Casein Kinases 1 δ/ε. J. Med. Chem. 2025, 68 (1), 506-530
- A C-Degron Structure-Based Approach for the Development of Ligands Targeting the E3 Ligase TRIM7. ACS Chem. Biol. 2024 19 (7), 1638-1647
- Discovery of Two Highly Selective Structurally Orthogonal Chemical Probes for Activin Receptor-like Kinases 1 and 2. J. Med. Chem. 2024, 67 (15), 12632-12659
- Discovery of Potent and Exquisitely Selective Inhibitors of Kinase CK1 with Tunable Isoform Selectivity. Angew. Chem. 2023, e202217532.
- Furo[3,2‐b]pyridine: A Privileged Scaffold for Highly Selective Kinase Inhibitors and Effective Modulators of the Hedgehog Pathway. Angew. Chem. 2019, 131, 1074
- Furopyridines as Inhibitors of Protein Kinases, WO2015165428A1
- 4-(1H-imidazol-5-yl)-1H-pyroolo[2,3-b]pyridines for use in the treatment of leukaemias, lypmphomas and solid tumors, WO2019185631A1
- Substituted furopyridines for therapeutic use, WO2024078649A1
Our vision and mission
We believe that scientific research and advancement should be driven by the quality of innovative ideas and should not be limited by budget, access to technology or lack of complementary expertise.
However, modern life science research is highly complex, competitive and expensive and researchers are facing a number of challenges. Most research projects require interdisciplinary expertise, access to advanced technologies and collaboration became more important than ever.
Therefore we are on the mission to support excellent projects and researchers in life sciences and to transform innovative ideas into impactful discoveries. Through our in hands-on expertise, strategic partnerships and our network of experts, we aim to break the barriers that prevent excellent research from reaching its potential.
Would you like to discuss how we can support your project?
Or would you like to become part of our scientific network as external partner?