Drugs from Bugs: The Anti-Inflammatory Drugs of Tomorrow (Z1) 2011

A recent global trend is that less novel therapeutics are progressing from the biopharmaceutical pipeline to the clinic. This has prompted the drug research and development sector to adopt less conventional approaches in broadening the search for new drugs. In this meeting we will examine the growing opportunities for discovery of novel drugs from pathogens, or the drugs from bugs approach. The genome of man is the product of the evolution of humans adapting to environmental factors, with infectious pathogens exerting potent selective pressure. Some of the major immune-mediated diseases of today are associated with genes that evolved to respond to pathogens. Novel therapeutic strategies and new drugs can be developed by both understanding how pathogens modulate and usurp the immune system, and also by identifying the functional molecules from pathogens. Indeed, a new generation of pathogen-derived immune modulating molecules is now in clinical trials. In this meeting leading experts will present the current status of the use of pathogens as a depository for new therapeutics. This forum will be an opportunity for industry to engage with academics for the development of novel strategies for drug discovery. This meeting will bring together cross-disciplinary scientists to exchange and share ideas, and thereby foster collaborations on the generation of new drug strategies for the future.