Community

Synergy community

BACKGROUND
In 2013, the European Commission launched the 7th Framework Program. Four projects were selected: A-ParaDDisE, KINDReD, NMTrypI and PDE4NPD.

As part of the negotiation process, the European Commission called for strong cooperation and synergy amongst the four projects to maximize the impact of the EU funds received.

The representatives of the four Consortia met on December 5th, 2013, in Paris, France, on the occasion of the DNDi meeting: 10 years of research in neglected infectious diseases. This meeting provided an opportunity for members of the projects to come together and discuss potential areas of synergies.

All of the four Consortia have representatives of GSK (GlaxoSmithKline) in their Scientific Advisory Board (SAB), and three of them (PDE4NPD, NMTrypI and KINDReD) share Dr. Eric Chatelain, Head of DNDi, as their SAB Member, too.

The four Consortia met again on September 17th, 2014, on the occasion of the NMTrypI and KINDReD Consortium meetings in Porto, Portugal, and concrete Synergy activities were planned. The EC Project Officer, Dr. Hannu Laang, and SAB members also joined this meeting.

In addition, the Coordinators of the "Synergy projects" met every three months via teleconference to ensure the further development of the synergy activities.

SCOPE OF SYNERGIES

  1. To foster cooperation and positive spillover between the four funded projects focused on drug development in Neglected Parasitic Diseases in order to ensure the best value for the public money granted.

  2. To identify and develop specific concepts for in vitro (cell screening) and in vivo (animal testing) candidate drugs to be shared among the four funded projects.

  3. To perform activities in the four projects that can help the communication, the analysis process and to create a larger platform for dissemination of the projects' results.

AREAS OF SYNERGIES

  • TPP (Target Product Profile)
  • Standardized procedures and animal testing
  • Novel proteomic approaches to on-/off-target drug interactions
  • Common database for further EU involvement in neglected infectious diseases
  • Communication and dissemination activities
  • Building relations with other international initiatives on NTDs

Partner-Projects involved in the synergy activities

KINDReD:
Kinetoplastid Drug Development


Scientific Coordinator: Dr. Jane MacDougall

The KINDReD consortium has been drawn together from academia and industry to strengthen and advance the current drug development pipeline against Trypanosomatid diseases, Leishmaniasis, Human African trypanosomiasis and Chagas disease. KINDReD ambition is to bring much needed new drug candidates through the preclinical development process with the ultimate aim of gaining regulatory approval for initial phase I clinical trials for each of the three major trypanosomatid diseases.

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A-ParaDDisE:
Anti-Parasite Drug Discovery
in Epigenetics


Scientific Coordinator: Dr. Raymond J. Pierce

The overall objective of the A-ParaDDisE project is to develop epigenetic inhibitors for further testing and optimization as drug candidates against the four parasites studied (S. mansoni, Leishmania, T. cruzi and Plasmodium sp.).

The Consortium will employ a target-based strategy for the development of novel drug leads against epigenetic targets in schistosomiasis, leishmaniasis, Chagas disease and malaria, focusing on key histone modifying enzymes, in particular those involved in acetylation/deacetylation and methylation/demethylation.

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PDE4NPD
Phosphodiesterase Inhibitors
for Neglected Parasitic Diseases


Scientific Coordinator: Dr. Rob Leurs

The PDE4NPD Consortium was established to jointly find drugs for Neglected Parasitic Diseases (NPDs), targeting phosphodiesterases, to find and develop selective inhibitors. The Consortium focuses on three kinetoplastid diseases: Human African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness), leishmaniasis and Chagas disease, and one major helminth disease: schistosomiasis (also known as bilharzia or snail fever). In order to optimally exploit the generated data, there will be a strong focus on developing an open, innovative model for data sharing.

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External collaboration partners

Libra project
IIT - D3 PharmaChemistry



Compound database of the Italian Institute of Technology in Genova (IIT).

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