Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Betting on β-catenin inhibitors in oncology

The WNT–β-catenin pathway is often overactive in cancer. Can emerging drugs — including stabilized peptides, condensate modulators and degraders — safely and effectively tamp it back down?
By
  1. Asher Mullard

A long list of drug targets are deemed undruggable, beyond the reach of current drug discovery technologies. A few companies hope to soon cross the β-catenin transcription factor off that list.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Nature Reviews Drug Discovery 25, 3-7 (2026)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41573-025-00206-8

Updates & Corrections

  • Clarification 16 December 2025: The text has been updated to clarify questions about the cell-penetrating capabilities of some stapled peptides and to note that the stapled peptides reported in 2004 enter cells via endosomes.

Nature Careers

Jobs

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing

Search

Advanced search

Quick links