Drug Discovery Mission

Drug Discovery Mission (DDM) is designed as an interactive tool to understand the processes involved in drug discovery. Drug discovery is a highly collaborative process that utilizes scientists from all disciplines. Without this multi-disciplinary approach, it would not be possible for drugs to make it to market. DDM will ask you to step outside of your comfort zone by exposing you to all aspects of the pre-clinical drug discovery process.

Despite the drug discovery process taking ~15 years from idea to market, the DDM will ask you to cover most of this process in 1-week. By embedding yourself into a team of drug discovery scientists, you will be asked to find a cure/treatment for a neglected tropical disease of WCAIR’s choosing. In order to succeed, you must work as a team to make critical analytical decisions and make conclusions on data presented to you.

DDM is comprised of talks and workshops.  Topics included:

• Target product profiles and its role in unifying team goals
• Using biological data to drive compound design
• Physiochemical properties and guidelines to succeed in drug discovery
• In vitro drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics (DMPK) and associated data
• Linking in vivo data to compound design

When: 16th – 21st February 2025

Where:  CIBION Buenos Aires, Argentina

20 places available open to applicants from Argentina and Uruguay only.

Limited travel bursaries available.  We would like to thank Meton and CDD Vault for their support for this programme.

Applications Open Now

Applications close on 8th November 2024 5pm GMT

What is a drug? How are drugs designed? How does a drug navigate in the body to its desired target? What is a drug target? 

This course has been designed to give scientists, with the aim of working in drug discovery space, a flavour of how a drug project goes from idea to pre-clinical candidacy. Our course highlights how to start and progress a drug discovery campaign with real life examples from experts working in this area of science, both academia and industry. By utilising a series of interactive talks, workshops and tutorials, participants will learn the success, failures and challenges of drug discovery. 

Throughout the course, the team will take you through a series of topics to give you an appreciation of all aspects of drug discovery research. After a brief introduction to drug discovery, you’ll be taught on the following subjects: 

• Screening methods and technologies 

• Hit validation and optimisation 

• Structure-based drug discovery 

• in vitro and in vivo DMPK 

• Lead optimisation 

• Mode of action 

• Pre-clinical follow-up 

WHEN: 18th – 29th November 2024 

LENGTH: 3 hrs per day over 2 weeks 

WHERE: Online via Microsoft Teams 

WHO: WCAIR welcome applicants who are PhD and early-stage researchers working in any field of drug discovery. 

PLACES: 20 places available 

Applications are now closed

Medicinal Chemistry 101

What does a medicinal chemist need to know about drug discovery? What contributions can this discipline make and how? 

This course has been designed to give chemists working in medicinal chemistry a flavour of the different stages of the drug discovery process. Drug Discovery is highly collaborative, expensive and time consuming but reaps rewards of single dose single cures, vaccinations, and treatments. Our course highlights how to start and progress a drug discovery campaign with real life examples. By utilising a series of interactive talks, workshops and tutorials, participants will learn how chemical matter can be progressed using chemical optimisation, in vitro and in vivo DMPK. 

Over 6-weeks, the team will take you through a series of topics to give you an appreciation of all aspects of drug discovery research.
• Target assessment and screening
• Hit discovery and structure activity relationship
• In vitro/In vivo DMPK and strategies to optimise
• How to optimise pharmacokinetic properties 

WHEN: 3rd June – 12th July 2024 

LENGTH: 3 hr per week over 6 weeks 

WHERE: Online via Microsoft Teams 

WHO: WCAIR welcome applicants who are PhD and early-stage researchers working in the field of chemistry/medicinal chemistry. 

PLACES: 20 places available 

Applications are now closed.

DMPK 101

I have a potential drug but what happens next? The drug does not work when I dose it to an animal, why could that be? 

Along with clinical efficacy, compounds can fail to reach the clinic due to poor pharmacokinetic properties. The importance of understanding how well a drug can be dissolved, absorbed and metabolised can assist in understanding your in vivo data and whether your drug could cause the desired pharmacological response. 

DMPK 101 will explore DMPK’s place in drug discovery by covering topics including:
• Drug absorption, metabolism and route to the systemic circulation
• The 3 Rs in animal testing
• Understanding pharmacokinetic data and what this means for your drug project
• Potential for toxicity and how to identify 

WHEN: 3rd June – 12th July 2024 

LENGTH: 3 hr per week over 6 weeks 

WHERE: Online via Microsoft Teams 

WHO: WCAIR welcome applicants who are PhD and early-stage researchers working in any field of pharmacology. Please note priority will be given to applicants from DMPK Africa associated groups.

PLACES: 20 places available 

Applications are now closed.

Synthesis Simplified

Knowing how to make molecules is vital for medicinal chemists, but how do we know where to start? 

Over 4 weeks, we will build a solid understanding of the most popular reactions in medicinal chemistry, including when and how to use them.  Using a mixture of interactive talks and workshops, this course will focus on organic synthesis for medicinal chemists. 

Week 1: Amides, Esters and Protecting Groups 

Week 2: Heterocyclic Synthesis 

Week 3: Aromatic Substitution Reactions 

Week 4: Cross-coupling and Metal-Catalysed Reactions 

 WHEN: 30th September – 25th October 2024 

LENGTH: 2 hr per week over 4 weeks 

WHERE: Online via Microsoft Teams 

WHO: WCAIR welcome applicants who are PhD and early-stage researchers working in the field of chemistry/medicinal chemistry. 

PLACES: 12 places available 

Applications are now closed