Drugs from Bugs: The Anti-Inflammatory Drugs of Tomorrow

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This proposal requests support for a Keystone Symposia meeting entitled Drugs from Bugs: The Anti- Inflammatory Drugs of Tomorrow, organized by Padraic G. Fallon, Grant McFadden and Amanda E.I. Proudfoot Fichard, which will be held in Snowbird, Utah from April 3 - 7, 2011. A recent global trend is that fewer novel therapeutics are progressing from the 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. The Keystone Symposia meeting on Drugs from Bugs: The Anti-Inflammatory Drugs of Tomorrow 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 wellspring 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 directed at the generation of new drug strategies for the future. Opportunities for interdisciplinary interactions will be significantly enhanced by the co-location of this meeting with the Keystone Symposia meeting on Evolving Approaches to Early-Stage Drug Discovery. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Advances in drug discovery technology have raised expectations that the global drug development industry will deliver "magic bullets" or "wonder drugs" for a range of diseases, in particular inflammatory disorders. In fact, fewer novel therapeutics are progressing from the pipeline to the clinic, and the lack of new treatments is a growing health concern due to the worldwide increase in the incidence of a range of many diseases, such as asthma and inflammatory bowel disease. The Keystone Symposia meeting on Drugs from Bugs: The Anti- Inflammatory Drugs of Tomorrow will examine the growing opportunities for discovery of novel drugs from pathogens, or the "drugs from bugs" approach.