Projects
Phosphodiesterase Inhibitors for Neglected Parasitic Diseases PDE4NPD
Lead identification and optimization, to develop novel drugs for neglected diseases
The PDE4NPD consortium aims to develop novel treatments for neglected parasitic diseases (NPDs), with a specific focus on four diseases that significantly contribute to the NPD medical burden: sleeping sickness, leishmaniasis, Chagas disease, and schistosomiasis. The consortium brings together experts from throughout the world, from academia and from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
€7.6 M
Funding: European Commission FP7
10
partners European, African & South American
About PDE4NPD
The Phosphodiesterase Inhibitors for Neglected Parasitic Diseases (PDE4NPD) drug discovery platform specifically targets parasitic phosphodiesterases (PDEs), enzymes that were previously shown to be essential for parasite survival. Phosphodiesterases (PDEs) make good drug targets because most of them have a unique architecture at the active site. Human PDEs have been widely studied as drug targets, and the experience and technologies from those studies are employed by the consortium to identify PDE inhibitors that specifically target parasite PDEs.
The program was operational early 2014 and covers the full range of activities from hit identification to lead optimization for clinical use.
Managing a worldwide consortium
TI Pharma – now part of Lygature – helped to drive project success from the beginning, managing the worldwide consortium of 10 partners. From January 2016, a broad range of resources and support are provided under the Lygature brand and include:
- Program management and leadership. Lygature is responsible for management of the program office where organizational aspects of the program as a whole are coordinated. In addition, Lygature coordinates the consortium meetings and all communication and dissemination efforts, both within the project and to the outside world.
- Coordination of sustainability discussions. Lygature coordinates development of an Open Innovation Platform that will assure sustainability and data sharing.
- Communications. Other contributions include brand building of PDE4NPD from the ground up; communicating project results and disseminating (scientific) articles; and providing a custom-built secure communications platform for internal use.
The worldwide PDE4NPD consortium has required extensive expertise in both management and communication. It is an important example of the Lygature mission to bring together partners with complementary areas of expertise to jointly fight neglected diseases.
Lygature together with
Fraunhofer IME-Hamburg-Germany, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz-Rio de Janeiro-Brazil, IOTA Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge-United Kingdom, The Spanish National Research Council-Madrid-Spain, Theodor Bilharz Research Institute-Imababa-Egypt, University of Antwerp-Antwerp-Belgium, University of Glasgow-Glasgow-United Kingdom, University of Kent-Kent-United Kingdom, VU University-Amsterdam-The Netherlands.
Project updates
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Start Drug Hunting ASAP
Photo by Stephanie Thee
In Jan 2016, 39 2nd year BSc-students Pharmaceutical Sciences were involved in Drug Discovery for Neglected Diseases. Each student prepared a new derivative of a hit molecule targeting a parasitic PDE enzyme. In three hectic days, three reaction steps as well as column chromatography and chemical analyses (TLC, LC-MS, H-NMR) were performed under the guidance of the PDE4NPD chemists.
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Meet PDE4NPD researchers at the COST Action meeting
The COST Action CM1307 meeting, titled "Targeted chemotherapy towards diseases caused by endoparasites" will be held in Porto (Portugal) on 5 and 6 May.
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Meet us at Keystone’s Drug Discovery for Parasitic Diseases
From January 24 to 28, Tahoe City in California will be the scientific hub for researchers in the field of drug discovery for parasitic diseases. The Keystone conference provides an opportunity not to be missed by the PDE4NPD consortium, and a large number of consortium members will be present.