Date: Tuesday, October 29, 2015

Drug discovery against kinetoplastid diseases: The DNDi perspective

The Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) is a patients’ needs-driven organization committed to the development of new treatments for neglected diseases. At the discovery level, the main objective of DNDi is to build a solid portfolio of preclinical candidates using an original model based on partnership. To address this challenge DNDi has established a fully integrated process-oriented platform in close collaboration with a variety of partners, notably pharmaceutical companies. This discovery platform relies on high throughput/high content screening capacity and lead-optimization consortia supported by a pragmatic, structured and pharmaceutical-focused compound sourcing approach. The strategy adopted by DNDi to address drug discovery for Visceral Leishmaniasis and Chagas’ disease will be presented and illustrated with a few concrete examples of achievements, lessons learned and main challenges identified along the development road.

Jean-Robert Ioset, Discovery Manager, DNDi