The Wellcome Trust, one of the world’s largest medical charities, has awarded £8.1 million over 5 years to a team of six scientists at the University of Dundee to help discover new drugs to treat some of the world’s most neglected tropical diseases.
The grant awarded to Professor Mike Ferguson, Professor Alan Fairlamb, Professor Bill Hunter, Professor Ian Gilbert, Professor Julie Frearson and Dr Daan van Aalten, all based within the School of Life Sciences at the University, is among the largest given by the Wellcome Trust.
The scientists’ goal is to translate basic research discoveries into candidate drugs ready for clinical trials. The diseases, which include African sleeping sickness, Chagas’ disease and leishmaniasis, are among the most neglected in the world, affecting millions of the world’s poorest people and attracting little or no interest from pharmaceutical companies.
"Sleeping sickness is endemic in sub-Saharan Africa and is fatal if not treated, but the front-line arsenical drug, melarsoprol, is so poisonous that it kills 5% of patients receiving treatment," said Professor Fairlamb, who is leading the project with Professor Ferguson.
"Chagas’ disease is a silent killer; patients are often unaware of being infected but about 15% of them will die prematurely from heart failure or other complications. The existing drugs are toxic and only cure some patients in the early stages of infection.
"The leishmaniases are a set of diseases ranging from nasty skin infections - oriental sore - to grossly disfiguring infections that eat away the nose and mouth – espundia - or to fatal infections of the liver, bone marrow and spleen - kala azar. Again, the existing drugs leave much to be desired and drug resistance is a major problem. "
There are over 140,000 reported deaths from these diseases each year, but it is generally agreed that this is an underestimate because of the lack of medical reporting in many under-developed countries.
The gap between basic research in academic laboratories and applied research in the drug industry has widened considerably in this area over the last decade. The Dundee scientists aim to bridge this gap by embarking on a programme to exploit ‘drug targets’ already discovered in their basic research by adding industry-style compound screening and medicinal chemistry.
"This initiative aims to marry the best of drug industry practice with academic excellence in a University environment," said Professor Ferguson.
The parasites causing these diseases are protozoan microbes spread by blood-sucking insects, and afflict millions of people. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimate that;
- there are around 400,000 cases of tsetse fly-transmitted African sleeping sickness each year.
- more than 16 million people have Chagas’ disease (endemic in South and Central America)
- more than 12 million have leishmaniasis (a range of diseases found throughout the tropics and sub-tropics).
No vaccines exist to prevent these debilitating and often lethal infections. Many of the current drugs have serious side effects and would not meet current standards for safety and efficacy. Others are either too expensive for widespread use or becoming less effective because of resistance.
The University of Dundee team are renowned for their academic contributions to tropical disease research. Together, they integrate many disciplines directed towards the discovery of new therapies for tropical diseases.
The £8.1 million grant will allow them to add a team of 16 scientists to their existing 60 and to span all the disciplines needed to go from biology to drug design, synthesis and testing. The new activities will be housed in the newly completed Centre for Interdisciplinary Research at the University, a £20 million building specialising in tropical disease research, diabetes and cancer. Professors Ferguson said, "We are delighted with the enthusiasm, good-will and financial support we have received from The University and the Wellcome Trust to get this underway. This initiative will have a major impact on those suffering from these appalling diseases."