Pharmacelsus participates in FLUCURE project to develop novel therapeutics against influenza

Pharmacelsus GmbH announces its participation in the 4 year multi-national research cooperation project "FLUCURE" supported by the European Union with the goal of developing novel, small molecule based therapeutics for respiratory diseases caused by influenza viruses. The consortium also joined Vironova AB and Beactica AB (Sweden), Pike Pharma GmbH (Switzerland) and university-based research groups from Italy, Germany, Bulgaria, Lithuania, and the Netherlands.

Pharmacelsus will contribute its in vitro ADMET and in vivo pharmacokinetics expertise through sophisticated safety tests and by screening several drug candidates for beneficial pharmacological properties. The project started in October 2010 and runs for 4 years with almost €6 million in funding provided by the EU.

The FLUCURE project aims at developing innovative, first-in-class therapeutics against influenza by targeting its replication machinery. Small molecule inhibitors will be designed that interfere with virus-specific protein-protein interactions ultimately avoiding viral replication and spread. A consortium of 10 European partners will bring their expertise together to deliver several drug candidates suitable for clinical development.