GSK seeks development proposals from academics
pharmafile | March 25, 2015 | News story | Research and Development, Sales and Marketing | GSK, academics, fast track challenge, proposals
Registration has opened for GlaxoSmithKline’s third annual Discovery Fast Track challenge, which sees the company searching for new drug discovery research proposals from the academic community.
Scientists can submit details about biological targets and pathways they are researching and how this could direct future drug development. Up to 12 proposals will be selected based on the strength of the hypotheses, originality, initial progress, and the ability to deliver on an unmet medical need.
Selected candidates will collaborate with GSK’s research teams to test their hypotheses with the firm’s compounds. If it is then found to work against the pathways or targets, the winners could be offered the chance to work with the company on the development of a new medicine.
“The Discovery Fast Track challenge is a unique opportunity to integrate the deep biological expertise found in academia with the extensive drug development knowledge of GlaxoSmithKline,” says Carolyn Buser, global head of discovery partnerships with academia (DPAc) at the firm.
“Winning ideas are translated into a high throughput screen to identify tool compounds for additional proof-of-concept studies. Pending the results and the interests from both academia and GSK, the collaboration may be extended to a long-term partnership to jointly develop therapeutics for the benefit of patients worldwide.”
More than 500 proposals have been submitted for the Discovery Fast Track Challenge since its launch in 2013. These have covered a wide range of disease areas, including malaria, antibiotic resistance and cancer.
The first academic to enter the programme was Dr Richard Leduc, chairman of the department of pharmacology-physiology at Université de Sherbrooke in Canada. Several highly potent inhibiters were found when his biological target for iron overload disorder (IOD) was screened against GSK chemicals.
“In less than a year, we went from working on expression of the enzyme to screening for hits to discovering hits,” says Leduc.
Registering for the challenge involves submitting a one-page summary of a novel drug discovery concept, including non-proprietary details of the biological target. A panel of judges will select a group of up to 30 finalists to present their proposals in person. Registration is open from 23 March through 24 April.
George Underwood
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