Phosphodiesterase Inhibitors for Neglected Parasitic Diseases PDE4NPD

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