ITN project [IFM]

L’institut de chimie de Strasbourg (UMR7177) est heureux de vous informer que le projet ITN Européen ALLOD (“Allosteric Drug Design") déposé par l’équipe IFM (Laboratoire d'Ingénierie des Fonctions Moléculaires dirigé par Marco Cecchini) comme cosignataire a été sélectionné par la Commission Européenne pour être financé. Le réseau est composé de 13 partenaires européens dont 3 entreprises pharmaceutiques pour un financement total de l’UE de 3,7 millions d’euros pour 4 ans.

 - - - -

The Institute of Chemistry of Strasbourg (UMR7177) is pleased to inform you that the European ITN project ALLOD (“Allosteric Drug Design”) submitted by the IFM team (directed by Marco Cecchini) as partner has been selected by the European Commission for funding. This ITN is composed of 13 partners including 3 Pharma companies and runs over 4 years for a total EU funding of 3.7 million euros.

 

 

Summary of the project:

 

Innovative Training Networks (ITN)

Call: H2020-MSCA-ITN-2020

 

Allostery in Drug Discovery (ALLOD)

 

Most current drugs are designed to bind directly to the primary active sites (also known as orthosteric sites) of their biological targets. Allosteric modulators offer a powerful yet underexploited therapeutic approach, which grants for higher selectivity to their biological targets and therefore fewer side effects. ALLOD aims at training a new generation of scientists in exploiting the concept of allostery in drug discovery, putting together a whole array of technologies for therapeutically relevant targets. The primary goal is to create, test and apply methodologies for: (1) identifying molecules that bind to novel allosteric sites robustly and efficiently; (2) understand and predict the allosteric response in vitro (NAM, SAM, PAM) as well as in cells; (3) identify/develop experimental and computational techniques to uncover allosteric ligand function; (4) develop a theoretical framework for allosteric modulation in drug discovery, and (5) create a collection of validated tools that facilitate its practical application. This ITN is composed of 13 partners including Pharma companies with active R&D departments (Janssen, Merck, Heptares), research oriented institutes with strong links to industry (Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Forschungs Zentrum Julich, Karolinska Intitutet, Charite Berlin), a biomedical institute offering clinical services (Biomedical Research Foundation, Academy of Athens), and top European universities (Unistra, Universitat de Barcelona). The project runs over 4 years for a total EU funding of 3.7 million euros.