Abstract 94: DrugPath: A web database for academic investigators to identify drugs that match oncology molecular targets

Abstract

Abstract High-throughput genomics can identify oncology molecular targets, but translation into novel therapeutics requires access to relevant drugs. Pharmaceutical pipeline databases, such as MedTRACK (www.medtrack.com), can identify such drugs, but these databases are geared for commercial operations and present significant cost barriers to non-profit academic research. We have developed the DrugPath database (www.drugpath.org) as a comprehensive, free-of-charge resource for academic investigators. DrugPath can identify drugs within the cancer pipeline that may act against molecular targets of interest. DrugPath searchable data include names and mechanisms of drugs in the oncology pipeline (organized by clinical trial phase and route of administration), drug sponsor, and also tested combinations with other drugs. Drugs and drug sponsors are initially identified from ClinicalTrials.gov, biotech company websites, and other online resources; specific pipeline information is extracted by DrugPath personnel according to written protocols. PERL scripts to automate a portion of the data mining are being developed, although manual verification will remain to ensure data accuracy and relevance. The website is authored in XHTML and PHP, and content is stored in a MySQL database. We compared the extent of the DrugPath database to that of MedTRACK. DrugPath covers more than 475 companies, or 50% of 938 companies with oncology therapeutics in development as identified by MedTRACK. A search of DrugPath for inhibitors of VEGF, a well-established target, yielded 58 lead drug candidates (17% of 332 drugs identified by MedTRACK) from 45 total companies (47% of 95 companies identified by MedTRACK). A search for Hsp90 inhibitors yielded 15 companies (78% of 19 in MedTRACK) and 17 lead drug candidates (30% of 56 in MedTRACK), and a search for aurora kinase inhibitors yielded 17 companies (94% of 18 in MedTRACK) and 17 lead drug candidates (70% of 24 in MedTRACK). Ongoing efforts to populate the DrugPath database are focused on identifying drug development programs for emerging drug targets rather than expanding existing coverage of drug candidates against well-known targets. To support the end-goal of DrugPath–to facilitate obtaining drugs for academic research–DrugPath contains contact information (when available) for each company to assist with the process of developing material transfer agreements (MTAs). This database should be useful to academic investigators studying particular molecular targets and also to clinical investigators seeking to develop novel clinical trials. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 94.