A Week of Collaboration: C4D Partners Unite to Advance Nature-Inspired Antibiotic Discovery
It all begins with an idea.
Earlier this month, in a week filled with scientific insights, strategic discussions, and celebrations, C4D, a non-profit initiative on a mission to discover chemical entities from nature for future medicines, co-organized an exciting series of events to establish new networks relating to antibiotic drug discovery. Key stakeholders from academia and industry convened to advance collaboration and funding strategies for this global, non-profit drug discovery initiative.
The week began with a strategic session at Castle Oud Poelgeest in Leiden, where representatives of C4D, H3D and GARDP explored the future activities needed to fill the antibiotics drug discovery pipeline with novel nature-inspired products. Hosted by C4D Founder and Leiden University Professor Gilles van Wezel, the session centered on two pilot projects between several international partners of C4D and the mechanisms required to strengthen the collaboration.
Commenting on the discussions, session moderator Jon de Vlieger, Strategy Director at the Lygature Foundation said: “What a fantastic start to a week focused on nature-inspired drug discovery and its potential to diversify the early-stage pipeline for new antibiotics. Lygature is excited to join forces with this group of top scientists and key players worldwide that aim to shape the future of antibiotics discovery.”
Participants from C4D, H3D, NAICONS, UCSD, GARDP, Fundacion Medina, Leiden University, Leiden University Medical Centre, Wageningen University & Research Institute, and Foundation Lygature.
Next, at the LED3/LUCID Symposium on Drug Discovery for Global Health, many leading scientists from academia, industry and nonprofit organizations, including several C4D partners, presented their latest research findings and views on nonprofit drug discovery. The morning session focused on drug discovery and application of AI, with Mario van der Stelt (Leiden) on new DNA gyrase inhibitors, Paul Jensen (University of California San Diego) on marine sources for antibiotic discovery, Miquel Duran-Frigola (Ersilia, Barcelona), Marnix Medema (Wageningen) and Gerard van Westen (Leiden) on AI-driven approaches for drug discovery, and Paula Picotti (ETH Zurich) on novel proteomics based methods to study drug-target interactions.
During the afternoon session on Global Health, Susan Winks (H3D) presented the Grand Challenges African Drug Discovery Accelerator, Anil Koul (Johnson & Johnson and London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine) shared the impressive story of the discovery of the anti-tuberculosis drug Bedaquiline. Meta Roestenberg (Leiden University Medical Center) reported the design of a novel vaccine against Malaria, Alan Hennessy (GARDP) and Moy Bracken (Access to Medicines Foundation) discussed collaborative discovery and development models for new antibiotics. Gilles van Wezel highlighted the mission and vision behind C4D and the importance of a true global partnership.
“To strengthen our antibiotic drug discovery pipeline, we need to tap into the wealth of chemicals nature already has to offer. The C4D initiative provides us with direct access to a unique global network of top scientists with extensive experience in sourcing, optimizing and producing these complex bioactive structures,” says Dr Manica Balasegaram, Executive Director GARDP.
In his keynote lecture, H3D Founder and University of Cape Town Professor, Kelly Chibale, presented the story of the first-ever clinical stage antimalarial compound co-developed on the African continent. In his speech, he emphasized the significance of global partnerships like C4D: “Leveraging our Centre for Translational AMR Research (CTAR) co-established with LifeArc and vast expertise in other infectious diseases, H3D looks forward to working together in the discovery of new antimicrobial agents to counter the daunting threat of a world without effective antibiotics.”
The week concluded with the celebration of Leiden University’s 450th Dies Natalis. In a packed university church Pieterskerk, and in the presence of Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrix, former Queen of the Netherlands, Kelly Chibale received the University’s honorary doctorate out of the hands of Gilles van Wezel and the dean of the Faculty of Sciences, professor Jasper Knoester. Read more about Kelly Chibale’s drive to discover new drugs and build essential capacity on the African continent.
Gilles van Wezel presenting the honorary doctorate to Kelly Chibale during Leiden University 450th Dies Natalis celebration.Photo by Monique Shaw.
Summarizing the impact of the week, Gilles van Wezel said: “These intense few days with key stakeholders have brought us closer to concrete actions in line with C4D’s mission. Our goal is to discover nature-inspired future antimicrobials through open, global, collaborative research. This means ensuring a free flow of knowledge and ideas, as well as the equitable sharing of data, samples, technologies, and resources. I am looking forward to tackling these grand challenges with our partners.”