WIPO Re:Search: Catalyzing Public-Private Partnerships to Accelerate Tropical Disease Drug Discovery and Development

Chemical Strategies towards the Synthesis of Betulinic Acid and Its More Potent Antiprotozoal Analogues

Betulinic acid (BA, 3β-hydroxy-lup-20(29)-en-28-oic acid) is a pentacyclic triterpene acid present predominantly in Betula ssp. (Betulaceae) and is also widely spread in many species belonging to different plant families. BA presents a wide spectrum of remarkable pharmacological properties, such as cytotoxic, anti-HIV, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic and antimicrobial activities, including antiprotozoal effects. The present review first describes the sources of BA and discusses the chemical strategies to produce this molecule starting from betulin, its natural precursor. Next, the antiprotozoal properties of BA are briefly discussed and the chemical strategies for the synthesis of analogues displaying antiplasmodial, antileishmanial and antitrypanosomal activities are systematically presented. The antiplasmodial activity described for BA was moderate, nevertheless, some C-3 position acylated analogues showed an improvement of this activity and the hybrid models—with artesunic acid—showed the most interesting properties. Some analogues also presented more intense antileishmanial activities compared with BA, and, in addition to these, heterocycles fused to C-2/C-3 positions and amide derivatives were the most promising analogues. Regarding the antitrypanosomal activity, some interesting antitrypanosomal derivatives were prepared by amide formation at the C-28 carboxylic group of the lupane skeleton. Considering that BA can be produced either by isolation of different plant extracts or by chemical transformation of betulin, easily obtained from Betula ssp., it could be said that BA is a molecule of great interest as a starting material for the synthesis of novel antiprotozoal agents.

Public-Private Partnerships: Compound and Data Sharing in Drug Discovery and Development

Collaborative efforts between public and private entities such as academic institutions, governments, and pharmaceutical companies form an integral part of scientific research, and notable instances of such initiatives have been created within the life science community. Several examples of alliances exist with the broad goal of collaborating toward scientific advancement and improved public welfare. Such collaborations can be essential in catalyzing breaking areas of science within high-risk or global public health strategies that may have otherwise not progressed. A common term used to describe these alliances is public-private partnership (PPP). This review discusses different aspects of such partnerships in drug discovery/development and provides example applications as well as successful case studies. Specific areas that are covered include PPPs for sharing compounds at various phases of the drug discovery process-from compound collections for hit identification to sharing clinical candidates. Instances of PPPs to support better data integration and build better machine learning models are also discussed. The review also provides examples of PPPs that address the gap in knowledge or resources among involved parties and advance drug discovery, especially in disease areas with unfulfilled and/or social needs, like neurological disorders, cancer, and neglected and rare diseases.

A public-private partnership to enrich the development of in silico predictive models for pharmacokinetic and cardiotoxic properties

A novel framework for a public-private (PP) partnership was established by a national initiative of the Development of a Drug Discovery Informatics System, supported by the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED). This informatics PP partnership consortium comprised private and public sectors. A database of pharmacokinetic (PK) and cardiotoxic properties was developed, with considerable expansion after integrating proprietary data from private-sector members. This database led to robust in silico prediction models with higher performance than those from the original database. This partnership is a unique example worldwide and could substantially strengthen drug discovery capabilities in both sectors.

Crowdsourcing and open innovation in drug discovery: recent contributions and future directions

The past decade has seen significant growth in the use of 'crowdsourcing' and open innovation approaches to engage 'citizen scientists' to perform novel scientific research. Here, we quantify and summarize the current state of adoption of open innovation by major pharmaceutical companies. We also highlight recent crowdsourcing and open innovation research contributions to the field of drug discovery, and interesting future directions.

Point of Care Diagnostics in Resource-Limited Settings: A Review of the Present and Future of PoC in Its Most Needed Environment

Point of care (PoC) diagnostics are at the focus of government initiatives, NGOs and fundamental research alike. In high-income countries, the hope is to streamline the diagnostic procedure, minimize costs and make healthcare processes more efficient and faster, which, in some cases, can be more a matter of convenience than necessity. However, in resource-limited settings such as low-income countries, PoC-diagnostics might be the only viable route, when the next laboratory is hours away. Therefore, it is especially important to focus research into novel diagnostics for these countries in order to alleviate suffering due to infectious disease. In this review, the current research describing the use of PoC diagnostics in resource-limited settings and the potential bottlenecks along the value chain that prevent their widespread application is summarized. To this end, we will look at literature that investigates different parts of the value chain, such as fundamental research and market economics, as well as actual use at healthcare providers. We aim to create an integrated picture of potential PoC barriers, from the first start of research at universities to patient treatment in the field. Results from the literature will be discussed with the aim to bring all important steps and aspects together in order to illustrate how effectively PoC is being used in low-income countries. In addition, we discuss what is needed to improve the situation further, in order to use this technology to its fullest advantage and avoid “leaks in the pipeline”, when a promising device fails to take the next step of the valorization pathway and is abandoned.

Partnerships for better neglected disease drug discovery and development: how have we fared?

Introduction: In the field of neglected disease, mushrooming partnerships have changed the landscape in the last decades. With high diversity in participants, type, scope, and operational models, partnership becomes the ultimate choice for drug discovery and development. This paper aims to reflect on this phenomenon based on experiences and lessons learned, providing insights for the future.Areas covered: Lack of safe and effective drugs for neglected diseases stems from market and public policy failure. Combining resources, skills, and expertise justifies working collaboratively in the R&D quest. The advancement of public-private partnerships (PPP), including product development partnership (PDP) for neglected diseases, is described, herein, including the rationale behind their conception, evolution, expansion, and alternative approaches. The author also discusses the appeals and the pitfalls of partnership in this field.Expert opinion: The progressive partnerships in drug discovery and development for neglected diseases need to be encouraged, especially in alignment with an open science culture. Experiences in partnerships vary with bias for successful ones, rendering more rigorous evaluation and research necessary. Eventually, the focus of improving partnership should not only be on addressing discovery bottlenecks, but also safeguarding access and delivery. Expanding focus to include vaccines and diagnostics is necessary.