Antiparasitic and Antibacterial Drug Discovery. from Molecular Targets to Drug Candidates (Drug Discovery in Infectious Diseases)

Description

Mainly addressing parasitic diseases but also focusing on diseases caused by bacteria, this much-needed reference and handbook provides a unique insight into the approach adopted by commercial science towards infectious diseases, including the work of medicinal chemists. Many of the authors are scientists with hands-on experience of drug discovery units within the pharmaceutical industry. In addition, the text covers efforts towards drug development in infectious diseases from academic groups and non profit organizations.

Table of Contents

Preamble
Editor Preface

PART I Drug Discovery Approaches

1 Target identification and mechanism-based screening for anthelmintics: Application of veterinary antiparasitic research programmes to search for new antiparasitic drugs for human indications
2 Anthelmintic resistance as a guide to the discovery of new drugs?
3 Drug discovery for neglected diseases: view of a public-private partnership
4 Bioinformatics and Chemoinformatics: Key Technologies in the Drug Discovery Process
5 Target identification and validation in anti parasitic drug discovery
6 Selective Drug Targets in Parasites
7 Lessons Learned From Target Based Lead Discovery
8 Approaches towards Antiparasitic Drug Candidates for Veterinary Use
9 Learning to Relate Structural Space with Property Space
10 Recruiting the Host Defense Mechanisms: Roles for Vaccines and Chemotherapeutics

PART II Protozoan Parasites

11 Proteases of Parasitic Protozoa - Current Status and Validation
12 In Search of Trypanocidal Drugs
13 Trypanosomatid protein kinases as potential drug targets
14 Targeting the malaria kinome; discovering kinase inhibitors as novel antimalarial agents
15 Malaria and anti-malarials - a focused view

PART III Multicellular Parasites

16 Chemotherapeutic development strategies for schistosomiasis
17 Searching new Anti-Parasitics in the Virtual Space
18 Cyclooctadepsipeptides ? an anthelmintically active class of compounds exhibiting a novel mode of action
19 Chemical Optimization of Anthelmintic Compounds ? a Case Study

PART IV Bacteria

20 Pathogenomics: identification of novel drug targets and vaccine candidates in bacteria
21 Tuberculosis Drug Discovery: Issues, Gaps and the Way Forward
22 Decreasing the number of gaps in the draft assembly of the Mannheimia haemolytica M7/2 genome sequence
23 Total synthesis and configurational assignment of pasteurestin A and B, a natural product with antimicrobial acitivty on Pasteurellaceae

Author Information

Prof. Dr. Paul M. Selzer studied Biology and Biochemistry at the University of Tuebingen, Germany, where he also received his PhD in Biochemistry on subjects related to the protozoan parasite Trypanosom brucei, the causative agent of sleeping sickness. As a selected participant for the famous MBL-Woods Hole, MA, USA summer course on "Biology of Parasitism" he strengthened his knowledge on parasites and established a world wide network with leading scientists in the field. This opened him the door for a 3 years post-doctoral fellowship at the well renowned laboratory of Prof. Dr. James H. McKerrow at the University of California, San Francisco, USA. In the following years, Dr. Selzer broadened his scientific and business knowledge as a researcher within diverse pharmaceutical companies like SmithKline Beecham, UK, Boehringer Mannheim, Germany, Hoechst Roussel Vet, Germany and finally Intervet, Germany, one of the leading animal health companies in the world. Very remarkable, Dr. Selzer functioned all the time as a teacher in Bioinformatics and Chemoinformatics at the University of Tuebingen in the department of Biochemistry, which just lately awarded him the title Professor for his achievements in teaching and research. In addition, Dr. Selzer is recommended for a honorary Professorship in the Department of Infection and Immunity at the University of Glasgow, UK. By today, Dr. Selzer is not only a manager in research at a global pharmaceutical company, but also an outstanding, international recognized scientist who is well respected among his colleagues.