11 May 2011

Dundee to lead Drug Discovery Network

The Drug Discovery Unit at the University of Dundee, together with other leading not-for profit UK drug discovery and chemistry groups, is to coordinate building a UK-wide network in a developing area of drug discovery.

Professors Ian Gilbert and Paul Wyatt, based in the Drug Discovery Unit at Dundee, have received a £200,000 networking grant from the EPSRC, BBSRC and MRC for the project involving the generation of 3D fragment libraries.

Fragment libraries are collections of small molecules which are increasingly important for use in the discovery of potential new treatments for diseases through the process of drug discovery and design.

'This award will allow us to build a unique consortium, with engagement of the major UK not-for-profit drug discovery groups in combination with excellent synthetic and computational chemistry groups in UK universities. This network grant gives us the opportunity to develop this consortium and actively seek further members and interactions,' said Professor Gilbert.

'Fragment based drug discovery is an emerging area and one in which the UK as a whole is playing a leading role. This network of research groups will help us maintain our position on a global stage.'

The founding organisations in the network are:

• Drug Discovery Unit, University of Dundee
• MRC Technology
• Cancer Research Technology
• The Institute of Cancer Research
• Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge
• Structural Genomics Consortium, Oxford
• University College London
• The Beatson Drug Discovery Program

The project is one of seven new networks being funded by the EPSRC, BBSRC and MRC, aimed at increasing collaborative research and identifying and refining research priorities and challenges.

For more information contact Prof Paul Wyatt (p.g.wyatt@dundee.ac.uk) or Prof Ian Gilbert (i.h.gilbert@dundee.ac.uk).

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