Drug Discovery Services
H3D has a number of drug discovery platforms which can be accessed through collaborations with H3D or as a fee for service.
1. ADMET (Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion and Toxicity) Platform
Currently available ADMET assays are summarised below:
2. PK (Pharmacokinetic) and Metabolite Identification Platform
The H3D DMPK team routinely conducts in vivo PK (pharmacokinetics) evaluation studies and our platform capabilities are highlighted below:
3. Tuberculosis Biology Platform
H3D has a dedicated TB biology team housed at the Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine (IDM) with access to BSLII and BSLIII facilities. The TB biology team routinely conducts whole-cell and target-based screening, biology triaging, target identification and validation studies for the TB projects. The BSL2 Drug Discovery Lab houses a separate access-controlled tissue culture facility, the TB screening platform; and bench space for assay development and target ID/mechanism of action work.
4. Malaria Biology Platform
The Centre contributes to world-class scientific output, encapsulated by its flagship compound MMV048, an anti-malaria medicine undergoing clinical testing in African patients in Ethiopia. This is the first clinical candidate to come out of Africa with the potential to be used as part of a single-dose cure. The drug is active across all stages of the parasite life cycle.
H3D has a dedicated parasitology team to perform blood stage screening for malaria with access to other lifecycle stages through our partnerships. The malaria biology team have developed various enzymatic assays as well as an in vivo mouse model.
5. AMR Biology Platform
H3D has joined the global antimicrobial resistance (AMR) response, by collaborating with key partners and in building an AMR screening platform of ESKAPE pathogens (Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter cloacae). This builds on our existing expertise in infectious disease drug discovery, H3D has now has facilities for AMR biology and a screening centre to test novel therapies, small molecules and natural products as starting points for potential AMR treatments. New protocols for AMR work include phenotypic screening, resistance profiling, mechanism of action studies including Target-ID and validation.