Professors Mike Gelb and Wes Van Voorhis recently received a New Drug Discovery grant from the Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) to develop inhibitors of protein farnesyltransferase as novel anti-malarial compounds. Only two such awards were given in 2002, and these were selected by an international panel of experts including clinicians, pharmaceutical company program directors and university scientists. The Gelb and Van Voorhis labs have teamed up with scientists at Bristol-Myers Squibb and Schering-Plough Research Institute to test a large collection of protein farnesyltransferase inhibitors that have already been prepared at these companies. In addition, medicinal chemistry and structure-based drug design will be used to prepare additional inhibitors for testing, including compounds prepared in the Gelb lab and in the lab of Professor Andrew Hamilton, Yale University. Protein farnesyltransferase inhibitors have been well developed by major pharmaceutical companies and are showing promise in clinical trials for the treatment of various forms of human cancer. Preliminary results show the promise of using protein farnesyltransferase inhibitors as anti-malaria agents. The collaboration nicely illustrates the "Piggy-Back" approach for the rapid development of anti-parasitic agents.
Additional information about Medicines for Malaria Venture and this award can be found at: www.mmv.org