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Protein / target

Baculoviral IAP repeat-containing protein 2

Encoded byBIRC2Q13490Homo sapiensSwiss-Prot
Clinical-stage
Therapeutic maturity
1
Clinical candidates
12
Clinical trials
Small-molecule tractable
Druggability
Advanced Clinical

Protein at a glance

Biological role

Ubiquitin-protein transferase

Strongest disease association

Pre-Eclampsia

Via encoding gene BIRC2 · Genetic evidence · score 0.46

Therapeutic position

Clinically advancing target

Small molecules

Derived from structured UniProt, Open Targets and literature data on this page.

Protein profile

UniProt 2026_02

Canonical identity and biological annotation from UniProt.

Function overview

Multi-functional protein which regulates not only caspases and apoptosis, but also modulates inflammatory signaling and immunity, mitogenic kinase signaling, and cell proliferation, as well as cell invasion and metastasis.

View complete UniProt function annotation

Multi-functional protein which regulates not only caspases and apoptosis, but also modulates inflammatory signaling and immunity, mitogenic kinase signaling, and cell proliferation, as well as cell invasion and metastasis. Acts as an E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase regulating NF-kappa-B signaling and regulates both canonical and non-canonical NF-kappa-B signaling by acting in opposite directions: acts as a positive regulator of the canonical pathway and suppresses constitutive activation of non-canonical NF-kappa-B signaling. The target proteins for its E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase activity include: RIPK1, RIPK2, RIPK3, RIPK4, CASP3, CASP7, CASP8, TRAF2, DIABLO/SMAC, MAP3K14/NIK, MAP3K5/ASK1, IKBKG/NEMO, IKBKE and MXD1/MAD1. Can also function as an E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase of the NEDD8 conjugation pathway, targeting effector caspases for neddylation and inactivation. Acts as an important regulator of innate immune signaling via regulation of Toll-like receptors (TLRs), Nodlike receptors (NLRs) and RIG-I like receptors (RLRs), collectively referred to as pattern recognition receptors (PRRs). Protects cells from spontaneous formation of the ripoptosome, a large multi-protein complex that has the capability to kill cancer cells in a caspase-dependent and caspase-independent manner. Suppresses ripoptosome formation by ubiquitinating RIPK1 and CASP8. Can stimulate the transcriptional activity of E2F1. Plays a role in the modulation of the cell cycle

Subcellular location

CytoplasmNucleus
Domains and Gene Ontology detail (52)

Domains & features

CARD

Gene Ontology

  • CCD40 receptor complex
  • Ccytoplasm
  • Ccytoplasmic side of plasma membrane
  • Ccytosol
  • Cnucleoplasm
  • Cnucleus
  • Cplasma membrane
  • CXY body
  • Fcysteine-type endopeptidase inhibitor activity involved in apoptotic process
  • FFBXO family protein binding
  • Fidentical protein binding
  • Fprotein-containing complex binding

618 aa · 70 kDa · 2 isoforms

Biological roles

What this protein does, drawn together from its UniProt function, Gene Ontology terms and Reactome pathways.

Cell proliferation & survivalGOApoptosis & cell deathUniProt · GOTranscriptional regulationUniProt · GOImmune signallingGOMetabolic enzyme activityGO
View supporting evidence

Cell proliferation & survival

  • ·regulation of cell population proliferation

Apoptosis & cell death

  • ·Multi-functional protein which regulates not only caspases and apoptosis, but also modul…
  • ·cysteine-type endopeptidase inhibitor activity involved in apoptotic process
  • ·negative regulation of apoptotic process
  • ·regulation of apoptotic process

Transcriptional regulation

  • ·Multi-functional protein which regulates not only caspases and apoptosis, but also modul…
  • ·transcription coactivator activity
  • ·DNA-templated transcription

Immune signalling

  • ·inflammatory response
  • ·regulation of inflammatory response
  • ·regulation of innate immune response

Metabolic enzyme activity

  • ·transferase activity
  • ·ubiquitin-protein transferase activity

Concepts derived from UniProt GO Reactome — each badge above shows which sources supported that role.

Drugs targeting this protein

1

How approved and investigational drugs engage this protein — mechanism and action type, direct vs complex targeting, and how broadly each acts across other targets. A drug-first view (the section above groups the approved ones disease-first); direct binders with few recorded targets are listed first.

Birinapant
Phase 2Inhibitor

cIAP1/cIAP2 inhibitor

Acts on a complex — shared with BIRC3 · 1 of 2 recorded protein targets — narrow recorded profile

ChEMBL mechanism, action type, target identity and approved indications. Open Targets clinical status.

Translational evidence

Open Targets 26

Why this target matters therapeutically, strongest evidence first. Disease associations are gene-level (via the gene that encodes this protein) and open into the full confidence synthesis; the development universe, tractability and safety annotations are target-level, from Open Targets.

Strongest disease associations · via encoding gene BIRC2

Gene-level evidence surfaced through the gene BIRC2that encodes this protein — not a direct protein–disease relationship. Ranked by Forefront's causal-directness weighting, so genetically- and clinically-evidenced diseases lead over ones that merely share the literature.

Pre-Eclampsia
0.46Limited support

Genetic evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.28

Neurodegenerative Diseases
0.30Preliminary

Pathway evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.45 · no direct causal or clinical evidence

Ovarian Neoplasms
0.17Preliminary

Literature evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.09

Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck
0.16Preliminary

Literature evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.10

Neoplasms
0.14Preliminary

Literature evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.11 · no direct causal or clinical evidence

View evidence synthesis (5)
Pre-EclampsiaLimited support
0.46
agreement 0.340.58
Genetic100%

Open Targets aggregate 0.28 · 1 independent evidence family

Neurodegenerative DiseasesPreliminary
0.30
agreement 0.070.52
Pathway100%

Open Targets aggregate 0.45 · 1 independent evidence family · no direct causal or clinical evidence

Ovarian NeoplasmsPreliminary
0.17
agreement 0.020.33
Literature52%Clinical49%

Open Targets aggregate 0.09 · 2 independent evidence families

Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and NeckPreliminary
0.16
agreement 0.010.32
Literature68%Clinical33%

Open Targets aggregate 0.10 · 2 independent evidence families

NeoplasmsPreliminary
0.14
agreement 0.000.41
Literature100%

Open Targets aggregate 0.11 · 1 independent evidence family · no direct causal or clinical evidence

This ranking differs from Open Targets' own: re-weighting moves genetically-evidenced diseases above more heavily co-mentioned ones. The evidence agreement range shows how closely the independent evidence families agree — it is not a statistical confidence interval, and nothing here is fitted to outcome data. Derived from Open Targets evidence types under Forefront weighting; the per-type scores above show the calculation.

Show all associations
Neurodegenerative Diseases0.45
Pre-Eclampsia0.28
Neoplasms0.11
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular0.10
Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck0.10
Ovarian Neoplasms0.09
Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung0.09
Cholangiocarcinoma0.09
Breast Neoplasms0.09

Drug development

1 compounds recorded · 1 in clinical development

Open Targets' development universe — every compound recorded against the target at any stage, not all approved medicines. Distinct from the 1 drug that targets this protein in Forefront's canonical graph: these count different sets and are not a subset relation.

View all recorded compounds (1)
BIRINAPANTPhase 2

Open Targets known-drugs universe. Drug name and highest clinical stage only — the disease relationship is NOT read from this slice (it carries trial-context noise); approved indications come from the canonical graph above.

Tractability

Small moleculesStrong

Advanced Clinical and Structure with Ligand support this modality.

Protein degradersEmerging

Feasibility evidence (uniprot ubiquitination and database ubiquitination) — no clinical-stage drug of this modality recorded.

View underlying tractability evidence (9)
SM · Advanced ClinicalSM · Structure with LigandSM · High-Quality LigandSM · High-Quality PocketSM · Druggable FamilyPR · UniProt UbiquitinationPR · Database UbiquitinationPR · Half-life DataPR · Small Molecule Binder

Raw Open Targets tractability assessment buckets, by modality.

Clinical trials

12

Trials of drugs that target this protein — reached indirectly through those drugs, so a trial listed here studies the drug, not the protein. Ranked by active status, then clinical phase and recency, and spread across the targeting drugs.

View all trials (8)

ClinicalTrials.gov via the drug-target graph.