Abstract

Drug Discovery for Neglected Diseases

Ian Gilbert, Head of Chemistry, University of Dundee

The Drug Discovery Unit (DDU) was set up at the University of Dundee in 2006. It is a fully integrated drug discovery unit, combining hit discovery, medicinal and computational chemistry, drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics. The key aims of the unit are to tackle unmet medical need. We have two main therapeutic focuses: neglected tropical diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and kinetoplastid infections; and novel drug targets emerging from the academic sector. In this presentation, I will summarise the capabilities of the DDU and outline some of the work that we have carried out on drug discovery for neglected diseases.