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Protein / target

Farnesyl pyrophosphate synthase

Encoded byFDPSP14324Homo sapiensSwiss-Prot
Clinically validated
Therapeutic maturity
11
Approved medicines
Open Targets target-level
View by indication →
30
Clinical trials
Small-molecule tractable
Druggability
Approved Drug

Protein at a glance

Biological role

(2E,6E)-farnesyl diphosphate synthase

Strongest disease association

Porokeratosis 9, multiple types

Via encoding gene FDPS · Genetic evidence · score 0.74

Therapeutic position

Established drug 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

Key enzyme in isoprenoid biosynthesis which catalyzes the formation of farnesyl diphosphate (FPP), a precursor for several classes of essential metabolites including sterols, dolichols, carotenoids, and ubiquinones.

View complete UniProt function annotation

Key enzyme in isoprenoid biosynthesis which catalyzes the formation of farnesyl diphosphate (FPP), a precursor for several classes of essential metabolites including sterols, dolichols, carotenoids, and ubiquinones. FPP also serves as substrate for protein farnesylation and geranylgeranylation. Catalyzes the sequential condensation of isopentenyl pyrophosphate with the allylic pyrophosphates, dimethylallyl pyrophosphate, and then with the resultant geranylpyrophosphate to the ultimate product farnesyl pyrophosphate

Subcellular location

Cytoplasm
Domains and Gene Ontology detail (16)

Gene Ontology

  • Ccytoplasm
  • Ccytosol
  • Cmitochondrial matrix
  • Cperoxisome
  • F(2E,6E)-farnesyl diphosphate synthase activity
  • Fdimethylallyltranstransferase activity
  • Fmetal ion binding
  • FRNA binding
  • Pcholesterol biosynthetic process
  • Pcholesterol biosynthetic process via desmosterol
  • Pcholesterol biosynthetic process via lathosterol
  • Pfarnesyl diphosphate biosynthetic process

419 aa · 48 kDa · 2 isoforms

Biological roles

Reactome v97

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

Lipid & lipoprotein metabolismUniProt · GO · Reactome
View supporting evidence

Lipid & lipoprotein metabolism

  • ·Key enzyme in isoprenoid biosynthesis which catalyzes the formation of farnesyl diphosph…
  • ·cholesterol biosynthetic process
  • ·cholesterol biosynthetic process via desmosterol
  • ·cholesterol biosynthetic process via lathosterol
View underlying pathways (2)

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

Interaction neighbourhood

STRING v12.0

Proteins with the strongest functional or physical association. Node size and line weight reflect STRING confidence; hover or select a partner to inspect one association.

HMGCS1GGPS1RSAD2FDFT1MVDIDI1IDI2HMGCS2PDSS1HMGCRFDPS

10 strongest partners — larger node and heavier line mean higher confidence

Functional and physical associations from STRING v12.0. Only associations with this protein are drawn — partner-to-partner links are not part of this evidence.

Approved medicines with mapped indications

1 medicine · 8 areas

Approved therapies targeting this protein, grouped by what they are approved to treat — the disease-first view of the medicines below. Relationships come from the canonical approved-indication graph (ChEMBL phase-4), the same source as the drug cards.

Bone Diseases1 medicine
Fractures, Bone1 medicine
Hypercalcemia1 medicine
Multiple Myeloma1 medicine
Neoplasm Metastasis1 medicine
Osteoporosis1 medicine
Osteoporosis, Postmenopausal1 medicine
Prostatic Neoplasms1 medicine

11 medicines meet Open Targets' target-level approved-medicine definition; the 1 shown here are those on this page with a canonical approved disease indication in the graph. Approved indications from ChEMBL (phase-4), via the canonical drug→disease graph.

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.

zoledronic acid
Narrow target profileApprovedInhibitor

Farnesyl diphosphate synthase inhibitor

Indicated for Bone Diseases, Fractures, Bone, Hypercalcemia, Multiple Myeloma

Direct interaction with this protein · Only this protein recorded as a target

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 FDPS

Gene-level evidence surfaced through the gene FDPSthat 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.

Osteoporosis
0.75Well supported

Clinical evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.61

Porokeratosis 9, multiple types
0.74Moderately supported

Genetic evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.64

Osteoporosis, Postmenopausal
0.74Moderately supported

Clinical evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.60

Multiple Myeloma
0.74Moderately supported

Clinical evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.60

Prostate carcinoma
0.73Moderately supported

Clinical evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.59

View evidence synthesis (5)
OsteoporosisWell supported
0.75
agreement 0.600.91
Clinical96%Literature4%

Open Targets aggregate 0.61 · 2 independent evidence families

Porokeratosis 9, multiple typesModerately supported
0.74
agreement 0.630.86
Genetic100%Genetic literaturedup

Open Targets aggregate 0.64 · 1 independent evidence family · 1 not counted as duplicate

Osteoporosis, PostmenopausalModerately supported
0.74
agreement 0.590.90
Clinical98%Literature3%

Open Targets aggregate 0.60 · 2 independent evidence families

Multiple MyelomaModerately supported
0.74
agreement 0.600.88
Clinical98%Literature2%RNA expression1%

Open Targets aggregate 0.60 · 3 independent evidence families

Prostate carcinomaModerately supported
0.73
agreement 0.580.89
Clinical97%Literature3%

Open Targets aggregate 0.59 · 2 independent evidence families

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
Porokeratosis 9, multiple types0.64
Disseminated superficial actinic porokeratosis0.62
Osteoporosis0.61
Osteoporosis, Postmenopausal0.60
Multiple Myeloma0.60
Prostate carcinoma0.59
Prostatic Neoplasms0.57

Drug development

11 compounds recorded · 11 approved

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 (1 with a mapped approved indication, shown above): these count different sets and are not a subset relation.

View all recorded compounds (10)
PAMIDRONATE DISODIUMApproval
RISEDRONIC ACIDApproval
RISEDRONATE SODIUMApproval
PAMIDRONIC ACIDApproval
IBANDRONATE SODIUMApproval
ZOLEDRONIC ACID ANHYDROUSApproval
ZOLEDRONIC ACIDApproval
ALENDRONATE SODIUMApproval
ALENDRONIC ACIDApproval
IBANDRONIC ACIDApproval

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

Approved Drug and Structure with Ligand support this modality.

Protein degradersEmerging

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

View underlying tractability evidence (8)
SM · Approved DrugSM · Structure with LigandSM · High-Quality LigandSM · High-Quality PocketSM · Druggable FamilyPR · Database UbiquitinationPR · Half-life DataPR · Small Molecule Binder

Raw Open Targets tractability assessment buckets, by modality.

Safety-related annotations

osteonecrosisClinPGx

Terms indexed against this target in Open Targets' safety data, with their datasource. These are annotations, not causal claims: the direction of effect (whether activation or inhibition is implicated), species and evidence strength are not captured here, so an entry does not mean that modulating this target is known to cause that condition.

Clinical trials

30

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.

ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING · via zoledronic acid · NCT05666310

ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING · via zoledronic acid · NCT05058976

View all trials (26)

ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING · via zoledronic acid · NCT03173976

COMPLETED · via zoledronic acid · NCT04087096

UNKNOWN · via zoledronic acid · NCT04085419

COMPLETED · via zoledronic acid · NCT03868033

COMPLETED · via zoledronic acid · NCT02176382

ClinicalTrials.gov via the drug-target graph.

What's happening now

12

Recent therapeutic activity around this target — regulatory actions, clinical trials and safety signals for a drug that targets this protein, plus publications where such a drug is a genuine subject. Every item is reached indirectly through the drug, not the protein itself; incidental mentions (a paper that merely measures a drug) and press items are excluded.

  1. Withdrawn from market2026-03-13

    Market withdrawal: Zoledronic acid medac (EMA)

    ema · market · ema · via zoledronic acid

  2. Withdrawn from market2024-03-01

    Market withdrawal: Zoledronic acid Actavis (EMA)

    ema · market · ema · via zoledronic acid

  3. Withdrawn from market2024-02-22

    Market withdrawal: Zoledronic Acid Hospira (EMA)

    ema · market · ema · via zoledronic acid

  4. New publication2021-04-20
    Treatment With Zoledronate Subsequent to Denosumab in Osteoporosis: A 2-Year Randomized Study.

    Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research · 2021 · 69 citations · Europe PMC · via zoledronic acid

  5. New publication2016-05-18
    A Single-dose Zoledronic Acid Infusion Prevents Antiretroviral Therapy-induced Bone Loss in Treatment-naive HIV-infected Patients: A Phase IIb Trial.

    Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2016 · 41 citations · Europe PMC · via zoledronic acid

  6. Regulatory approval2014-01-16

    Approval: Zoledronic Acid Accord (EMA)

    ema · regulatory · ema · via zoledronic acid

  7. Regulatory approval2012-08-23

    Approval: Zoledronic acid Mylan (EMA)

    ema · regulatory · ema · via zoledronic acid

  8. Regulatory approval2012-08-16

    Approval: Zoledronic acid Teva (EMA)

    ema · regulatory · ema · via zoledronic acid

  9. New publication2011-02-22
    Randomized, double-blind study of denosumab versus zoledronic acid in the treatment of bone metastases in patients with advanced cancer (excluding breast and prostate cancer) or multiple myeloma.

    Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology · 2011 · 814 citations · Europe PMC · via zoledronic acid

  10. Regulatory approval2005-04-15

    Approval: Aclasta (EMA)

    ema · regulatory · ema · via zoledronic acid

  11. New publication2002-10-01
    A randomized, placebo-controlled trial of zoledronic acid in patients with hormone-refractory metastatic prostate carcinoma.

    Journal of the National Cancer Institute · 2002 · 1,091 citations · Europe PMC · via zoledronic acid

  12. Regulatory approval2001-03-20

    Approval: Zometa (EMA)

    ema · regulatory · ema · via zoledronic acid

Objective event titles are shown unmodified; the event kind and significance line are derived from structured fields. Forefront AttentionEvent stream aggregating Europe PMC Regulatory filings ClinicalTrials.gov.