Absolutely. Our lab, for instance, has been working to develop inhibitors of glutaminase enzymes, for instance, which play a major role in supporting oncogenic growth. A number of other groups are pursuing such inhibitors as well, including some big players such as Astra Zeneca and Sanofi. And that's just one protein target. If you check the literature, you'll see that there are groups trying to inhibit various enzymes in the glycolytic pathway, nutrient import receptors, etc. It seems especially prominent in cancer research, but auto-immune diseases rely on hyperactivation of the immune system, which behaves much like cancer, metabolically speaking.

The major challenge, as always, is toxicity. Since all cells need metabolism, you have to try and drug targets that are more important in your disease system than in healthy cells.