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Protein / target

Folate receptor alpha

Encoded byFOLR1P15328Homo sapiensSwiss-Prot
Clinically validated
Therapeutic maturity
2
Approved medicines
Open Targets target-level
View by indication →
20
Clinical trials
Small-molecule tractable
Druggability
Structure with Ligand

Protein at a glance

Biological role

Folic acid receptor

Strongest disease association

Neurodegenerative syndrome due to cerebral folate transport deficiency

Via encoding gene FOLR1 · Genetic evidence · score 0.86

Therapeutic position

Established drug target

Antibodies

Research activity

Emerging research

4 papers · latest 2025

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

Binds to folate and reduced folic acid derivatives and mediates delivery of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate and folate analogs into the interior of cells.

View complete UniProt function annotation

Binds to folate and reduced folic acid derivatives and mediates delivery of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate and folate analogs into the interior of cells (PubMed:19074442, PubMed:23851396, PubMed:23934049, PubMed:2527252, PubMed:8033114, PubMed:8567728). Has high affinity for folate and folic acid analogs at neutral pH (PubMed:23851396, PubMed:23934049, PubMed:2527252, PubMed:8033114, PubMed:8567728). Exposure to slightly acidic pH after receptor endocytosis triggers a conformation change that strongly reduces its affinity for folates and mediates their release (PubMed:8567728). Required for normal embryonic development and normal cell proliferation (By similarity)

Subcellular location

Cell membraneApical cell membraneBasolateral cell membraneSecretedCytoplasmic vesicleCytoplasmic vesicle, clathrin-coated vesicleEndosome
Domains and Gene Ontology detail (34)

Gene Ontology

  • Capical plasma membrane
  • Cbasolateral plasma membrane
  • Cbrush border membrane
  • Ccell surface
  • Cclathrin-coated vesicle
  • Cendoplasmic reticulum membrane
  • Cendoplasmic reticulum-Golgi intermediate compartment membrane
  • Cendosome
  • CER to Golgi transport vesicle membrane
  • Cexternal side of plasma membrane
  • Cextracellular exosome
  • CGolgi membrane

257 aa · 30 kDa

Biological roles

Reactome v97

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

Cell migrationGOImmune signallingGO
View supporting evidence

Cell migration

  • ·cardiac neural crest cell migration involved in outflow tract morphogenesis
  • ·neural crest cell migration involved in heart formation

Immune signalling

  • ·cardiac neural crest cell migration involved in outflow tract morphogenesis
  • ·neural crest cell migration involved in heart formation
View underlying pathways (3)

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.

FOLH1SLC46A1PCBP1TYMSEGFRMSLNFGF3EPCAMSLC19A1TFRCFOLR1

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 · 4 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.

Carcinoma, Ovarian Epithelial1 medicine
Fallopian Tube Neoplasms1 medicine
Peritoneal Neoplasms1 medicine
Broader indication categories (1)
Neoplasms1 medicine

Broad umbrella indications (e.g. “Neoplasms”). Shown here because every medicine also appears under a more specific disease above — kept for completeness, de-emphasised for clarity.

2 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.

mirvetuximab soravtansine
ApprovedBinding agent

Folate receptor alpha binding agent

Indicated for Carcinoma, Ovarian Epithelial, Fallopian Tube Neoplasms, Peritoneal Neoplasms, Neoplasms

Direct interaction with this protein · 1 of 16 recorded protein targets — broad pharmacology

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 FOLR1

Gene-level evidence surfaced through the gene FOLR1that 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.

Neurodegenerative syndrome due to cerebral folate transport deficiency
0.86Well supported

Genetic evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.81

Ovarian Neoplasms
0.68Moderately supported

Clinical evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.53

Neoplasms
0.64Moderately supported

Clinical evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.50

Fallopian Tube Neoplasms
0.57Moderately supported

Clinical evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.46

Ovarian neoplasm
0.48Limited support

Clinical evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.38

View evidence synthesis (5)
Neurodegenerative syndrome due to cerebral folate transport deficiencyWell supported
0.86
agreement 0.721.00
Genetic99%Literature2%Genetic literaturedup

Open Targets aggregate 0.81 · 2 independent evidence families · 1 not counted as duplicate

Ovarian NeoplasmsModerately supported
0.68
agreement 0.520.83
Clinical82%Literature18%

Open Targets aggregate 0.53 · 2 independent evidence families

NeoplasmsModerately supported
0.64
agreement 0.480.79
Clinical80%Literature20%

Open Targets aggregate 0.50 · 2 independent evidence families

Fallopian Tube NeoplasmsModerately supported
0.57
agreement 0.420.73
Clinical99%Literature1%

Open Targets aggregate 0.46 · 2 independent evidence families

Ovarian neoplasmLimited support
0.48
agreement 0.330.64
Clinical91%Literature10%

Open Targets aggregate 0.38 · 2 independent evidence families

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 syndrome due to cerebral folate transport deficiency0.81
Ovarian Neoplasms0.53
Neoplasms0.50
Fallopian Tube Neoplasms0.46
Ovarian neoplasm0.38

Drug development

4 compounds recorded · 2 approved · 2 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 (1 with a mapped approved indication, shown above): these count different sets and are not a subset relation.

View all recorded compounds (4)
VINTAFOLIDEApproval
MIRVETUXIMABPhase 2
MIRVETUXIMAB SORAVTANSINEApproval
FARLETUZUMABPhase 3

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 moleculesEmerging

Feasibility evidence (structure with ligand and high-quality ligand) — no clinical-stage drug of this modality recorded.

AntibodiesStrong

Advanced Clinical and UniProt loc high conf support this modality.

Protein degradersEmerging

Feasibility evidence (small molecule binder) — no clinical-stage drug of this modality recorded.

Other modalitiesStrong

Approved Drug support this modality.

View underlying tractability evidence (8)
SM · Structure with LigandSM · High-Quality LigandAB · Advanced ClinicalAB · UniProt loc high confAB · UniProt SigP or TMHMMAB · GO CC med confPR · Small Molecule BinderOC · Approved Drug

Raw Open Targets tractability assessment buckets, by modality.

Clinical trials

20

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 (16)

ClinicalTrials.gov via the drug-target graph.

What's happening now

3

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. Regulatory approval2024-11-14

    Approval: Elahere (EMA)

    ema · regulatory · ema · via mirvetuximab soravtansine

  2. New publication2024-04-01
    Mirvetuximab soravtansine-gynx: first antibody/antigen-drug conjugate (ADC) in advanced or recurrent ovarian cancer.

    International journal of gynecological cancer : official journal of the International Gynecological Cancer Society · 2024 · 34 citations · Europe PMC · via mirvetuximab soravtansine

  3. New publication2023-01-30
    Efficacy and Safety of Mirvetuximab Soravtansine in Patients With Platinum-Resistant Ovarian Cancer With High Folate Receptor Alpha Expression: Results From the SORAYA Study.

    Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology · 2023 · 261 citations · Europe PMC · via mirvetuximab soravtansine

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.

Research activity

4 papers · to 2025

Papers linked directly to this protein. This is the protein's own literature — descriptor-derived papers are kept separate below.

Most cited

Matulonis UA · Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology · 2023

Gonzalez T · International journal of molecular sciences · 2024

Bogani G · International journal of gynecological cancer : official journal of the International Gynecological Cancer Society · 2024

Recent

Mirvetuximab soravtansine-gynx: first antibody/antigen-drug conjugate (ADC) in advanced or recurrent ovarian cancer.

Bogani G · International journal of gynecological cancer : official journal of the International Gynecological Cancer Society · 2024

Folate Receptor Alpha-A Novel Approach to Cancer Therapy.

Gonzalez T · International journal of molecular sciences · 2024

Efficacy and Safety of Mirvetuximab Soravtansine in Patients With Platinum-Resistant Ovarian Cancer With High Folate Receptor Alpha Expression: Results From the SORAYA Study.

Matulonis UA · Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology · 2023

Europe PMC papers linked directly to this protein.