Distributed Drug Discovery, Part 1: linking academia and combinatorial chemistry to find drug leads for developing world diseases.

Abstract

There continues to be a need for innovative and inexpensive drugs to treat diseases of the developing world.1,2 It is also important to link academic training and research to critical societal needs. Indiana University−Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) is addressing both these concerns by developing a concept called “Distributed Drug Discovery” (D3).(3) This Perspective describes how D3 can harness combinatorial chemistry, distributed over multiple academic and industrial locations, to educate students while they perform a key role in the early stages of drug lead discovery for developing world and otherwise neglected diseases. Two other articles in this issue of the Journal of Combinatorial Chemistry present case histories implementing the chemistry component of D3. One involves replicated D3 syntheses in the United States, Poland, Russia, and Spain.(4) The second is an application in which students at IUPUI make analogs of a potential anticancer agent.(5) In this Perspective, D3 is discussed in three parts: (I) The Concept of D3, (II) The Role of Combinatorial Chemistry in D3, and (III) Implementation of D3.