A Kernel for Open Source Drug Discovery in Tropical Diseases

Authors

• Leticia Ortı
• Rodrigo J. Carbajo
• Ursula Pieper
• Narayanan Eswar
• Stephen M. Maurer
• Arti K. Rai, Duke Law SchoolFollow
• Ginger Taylor
• Matthew H. Todd
• Antonio Pineda-Lucena
• Andrej Sali
• Marc A. Marti-Renom

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2009

Abstract

Open source drug discovery, a promising alternative avenue to conventional patent-based drug development, has so far remained elusive with few exceptions. A major stumbling block has been the absence of a critical mass of preexisting work that volunteers can improve through a series of granular contributions. This paper introduces the results from a newly assembled computational pipeline for identifying protein targets for drug discovery in ten organisms that cause tropical diseases. We have also experimentally tested two promising targets for their binding to commercially available drugs, validating one and invalidating the other. The resulting kernel provides a base of drug targets and lead candidates around which an open source community can nucleate. We invite readers to donate their judgment and in silico and in vitro experiments to develop these targets to the point where drug optimization can begin.

Citation

Leticia Ortı, Rodrigo J. Carbajo, Ursula Pieper, Narayanan Eswar, Stephen M. Maurer, Arti K. Rai, Ginger Taylor, Matthew H. Todd, Antonio Pineda-Lucena, Andrej Sali & Marc A. Marti-Renom, A Kernel for Open Source Drug Discovery in Tropical Diseases, 3 PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases: e418, 1-10 (2009)

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.