Open Synthesis Network
Engage master’s and undergraduate students in research for neglected diseases.
current phase of drug development
updated 24 Feb 2025
The Open Synthesis Network (OSN) is a collaborative project that aims to engage master’s and undergraduate students in research for neglected diseases. Currntly, the OSN includes 32 institutions from around the world.
OSN participants have successfully delivered more than 1,000 new compounds for eight distinct DNDi projects in leishmaniasis, Chagas disease, mycetoma, and COVID-19. All successful compounds that come out of the OSN project will be further evaluated as part of DNDi’s discovery pipeline.
How the Open Synthesis Network works
DNDi shares data on existing compounds from the relevant research projects with university participants, along with a list of new, ‘wanted’ chemical compounds. Students then explore the existing data, learn about the design rationale for the new compounds through open discussions with DNDi experts, and carry out the synthesis for one or more of these wanted compounds as part of their lab training. Students can use the data to design their own new compounds. DNDi tests all new compounds for relevant anti-infective activity, sharing the results openly with all OSN participants.
Dr Kapil Juvale, Assistant Professor, Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, IndiaThis partnership will contribute to real-life medicinal chemistry projects featuring neglected disease research. By participating in the OSN project, our students will get an opportunity to enhance their skills in medicinal chemistry research and will develop an interest to work on real drug discovery projects.
Intellectual property
All work generated by OSN will be published in the public domain in real-time and remain free of intellectual property.
How to get involved
The online nature of OSN readily allows DNDi to open this collaboration to any universities interested in participating. To get involved, please contact Luiza Cruz: lcruz@dndi.org
Factsheet
Project information
More on the OSN current and historical projects.
- Project updates
- Project snapshots
- Assay Glossary
- Free, open source software for reading SDF files: Datawarrior
Current projects
CHAGAS DISEASE
OSN P1Tc
Status: Hit series identified
Goal: Identify lead compound(s) for in vivo proof of concept studies
- P1Tc project background
- P1Tc master target list: sdf / xls
- P1Tc data set: sdf / xls
MYCETOMA
OSN P4
Status: Hit series identified
Goal: Understand the physicochemical properties required to penetrate and impact eumycetoma grains
- P4 project background
- P4 master target list: sdf / xls
- P4 data set: sdf / xls
LEISHMANIASIS
OSN P5
Status: Hit series identified
Goal: Identify lead compound(s) for in vivo proof of concept studies
- P5 project background
- P5 master target list: sdf / xls
- P5 data set: sdf / xls
LEISHMANIASIS
OSN P7
Status: Hit series identified
Goal: Identify lead compound(s) for in vivo proof of concept studies
- P7 project background
- P7 master target list: sdf / xls
- P7 data set: sdf / xls
Previous projects
LEISHMANIASIS
OSN P1L
Status: Preclinical candidate nominated
Goal: Identify chemically distinct back-up candidate
- P1 project background
- P1 master target list: sdf / xls
- P1 data set: sdf / xls
CHAGAS DISEASE
OSN P3
Status: Hit series identified
Goal: Identify lead compound(s) for in vivo proof of concept studies
- P3 project background
- P3 master target list: sdf / xls
- P3 data set: sdf / xls
CHAGAS DISEASE
OSN P6
Status: Hit series identified
Goal: Identify lead compound(s) for in vivo proof of concept studies
- P6 project background
- P6 master target list: sdf / xls
- P6 data set: sdf / xls
COVID-19
OSN P8
Status: Fragment screen completed; multiple series ongoing
Goal: Identify lead compound(s) for in vivo proof of concept studies; building pipeline for future pandemic response
- P8 project background
- P8 master target list: sdf / xls
- P8 data set: sdf / xls
Project updates
2024
Optimization of compounds from project P7 is currently underway. Completion of projects P5 and P1Tc are currently under review. Three scientific manuscripts resulting from OSN projects have been published. The team at the University of Munster, led by Prof. Bernhard Wünsch, authored two publications focused on medicinal chemistry and compound optimization for leishmaniasis. The team at the University of Washington at Tacoma, led by Prof. Kelly Kim, authored a paper investigating the regioselectivity of certain reactions employed in project P6.
2023
A partnership with the University of Dundee Wellcome Center for Anti-Infectives Research (WECAIR) was initiated to support trainees in running DMPK assays (lipophilicity, microsomal clearance, solubility, and permeability) using OSN and MycetOS as tool compounds. The most active and non-cytotoxic compounds from the P5, P6, and P7 series were selected for the first wave of assays. Results now available for each series will allow for a more complete analyses of structure-activity and structure-property relationships that are hoped to provide insights into the design of new compounds.
2022
Two drug discovery projects for leishmaniasis and one for Chagas disease progressed in 2022. Work on MycetOS will continue under the leadership of University College London (UCL), UK, with support from DNDi.
2021
The first two manuscripts on the work of the OSN were completed in 2021 and are expected to be published in early 2022. The network continued to make progress on four DNDi discovery projects focused on visceral leishmaniasis and Chagas disease, while also contributing to the MycetOS and COVID Moonshot open science projects.
2020
Four new projects were launched by the OSN in 2020, including OSN’s participation in the global COVID Moonshot initiative. The OSN website was revised to increase ease of data access.
News & resources
- 14 March 2025 – Open Synthesis Network factsheet
- 21 May 2024 – Modular and divergent synthesis of 2,N3-disubstituted 4-quinazolinones facilitated by regioselective N-alkylation, Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry
- 30 April 2024 – N-Pyrazolyl- and N-Triazolylamines and -Ureas as antileishmanial and antitrypanosomal drugs, ChemMedChem
- 30 January 2024 – Late-stage diversification of pyrazoles as antileishmanial agents, ChemMedChem
- 29 June 2022 – How we came to start the Open Synthesis Network, The Medicine Maker
- 2 May 2022 – Open source, open science, The Medicine Maker
- 3 March 2022 – Open Synthesis Network research in an undergraduate laboratory: Development of benzoxazole amide derivatives against leishmania parasite, Journal of Chemical Education
- 8 January 2018 – Open Synthesis Network factsheet
- 13 June 2017 – Tapping student potential: Q&A on DNDi’s Open Synthesis Network with Ben Perry, Global Health NOW
- 3 May 2017 – New open source project engages universities in neglected diseases drug discovery
More information
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