Participant 6: Cambridge Molecular Therapeutics Programme
Institution
Cambridge Molecular Therapeutics Programme (CMTP) is a multidisciplinary initiative, pioneering methods for the discovery of drugs against new types of targets traditionally viewed as 'difficult-to-drug'. Equally important, these drugs are being used as chemical tools to find innovative ways for the successful clinical development of new medicines.
The CMPT group will be involved in a new screen to be carried out employing a fragment library. Fragment-based drug discovery is a recent and powerful strategy which has yielded interesting drug leads even in instances in which conventional high-throughput screen had failed.
Profile of the Group
CMPT aims to explore new scientific paradigms for the discovery and development of small molecule therapeutics through collaborative, goal-oriented research programmes in the therapeutic areas of oncology (co-ordinated by Ashok Venkitaraman) and third-world infectious diseases (co-ordinated by Chris Abell).
The CMTP aims:
- To pioneer lead discovery approaches for novel or difficult targets such as atypical enzymes, protein-protein complexes, or nucleic acid structures, through the development of inventive enabling technologies, including fragment-based screening, chemical genetics, and biophysical assays.
- To guide the clinical development of anti-cancer drugs through novel biological understanding, and to develop innovative methods for enhancing their therapeutic index by targeting the tumour micro-environment.
CMTP laboratories are on two sites, the first based at the Hutchison/MRC Research Centre on the Addenbrooke's Hospital site, uniquely positioned to benefit from strong scientific and clinical interactions with departments in the University Clinical School, the MRC Cancer Cell Unit & the CRUK Cambridge Research Institute. The second group of CMTP laboratories are based in central Cambridge where fragment-based drug discovery is carried out in well-funded laboratories for structural biology located in the Department of Biochemistry, and for organic synthesis and biophysics, in the nearby Department of Chemistry.
Chris Fuller is Principal Assistant and responsible for financial coordination in the central CMPT Cambridge laboratories concerned with structural biology.
Dr May Marsh is a post-doctoral fellow with training in structural biology and structure-guided drug design; she has recently joined the SFMET project.