The Institute of Materia Medica (IMM), a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was recently awarded a grant from the Chinese government to develop a novel riminophenazine compound for the treatment of both drug-sensitive and drug-resistant tuberculosis. The compound was identified through a partnership between the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development (TB Alliance), IMM, and Beijing Thoracic Tumor and Tuberculosis Research Institute (BTTRI), led by IMM Professors Dali Yin and Haihong Huang, and BTTRI's Dr. Yu Lu. The grant is part of the largest-ever investment by the Chinese government into the research and development of new drugs-including new drugs against tuberculosis.
"The Chinese government deserves praise for recognizing both the humanitarian and economic value of investing in developing new treatments for tuberculosis," said Dr. Mel Spigelman, President and CEO, TB Alliance. "Hopefully, we will see more governments become true partners in addressing neglected diseases by investing in promising science with the potential to drastically reduce the overwhelming societal burden of diseases."
Members of the riminophenazine class have been effective in treating mycobacterial infections like leprosy, though existing compounds have been known to have undesirable physicochemical properties and cause severe cosmetic side effects such as pronounced skin discoloration in patients. Thus, riminophenazines long remained a potentially effective, but relatively unexplored, class of drugs.
However, riminophenazines have displayed activity against M.tb, the bacterium that causes tuberculosis, and their mechanism of action indicates that they could be used to treat both drug-sensitive and drug-resistant forms of tuberculosis. In 2007, the TB Alliance partnered with IMM and BTTTRI in Beijing to design, synthesize, and test new compounds in this promising class of drugs with better efficacy and without the skin pigmentation side effects. In this collaboration, the TB Alliance provides financial support and expertise in TB drug discovery and development, IMM contributes medicinal chemistry support, and BTTTRI is responsible for biological testing against M.tuberculosis.
Since its inception, the collaboration has progressed quickly. Most recently, the program reached a key milestone, where a lead compound was selected for preclinical development. "We are very pleased that the collaboration between IMM, BTTTRI, and the TB Alliance has reached this next stage," said Professor Xiao-liang Wang, Director of Institute of Materia Medica.
"This effort is resuscitating a class of drugs that show promise in treating TB that were ostensibly given up on many years ago," said Dr. Zhenkun Ma, Chief Scientific Officer, TB Alliance. "This is a textbook example of how leveraging cutting-edge science and accessing a diverse pool of expertise and resources allow us to forge progress in ways that would otherwise seem impossible."
About the Institute of Materia Medica
The Institute of Materia Medica, a member of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, is one of the primary institutions for drug research in China. The mission of IMM is to research and develop innovative drugs with self-owned intellectual property rights. The main task of the institute is searching for new drugs for the treatment of commonly occurring diseases that seriously threaten people's health. At the same time, emphasis is put on the application and development of modern medical theory and high technology. The institute contains seven research departments including Medicinal Chemistry, Chemistry of Natural Products, Pharmacology, Pharmaceutical Analytical Chemistry, Biosynthesis of Natural Products, Pharmaceutics, and Evaluation of Drug Safety. Furthermore, IMM has several national research centers and a key laboratory, including the National Research Center for Analysis of Drugs and Metabolites, the National Engineering Research Center for the Development of New Drugs, the National Center for Pharmaceutical Screening, and the Laboratory of Biosynthesis of Natural Products. IMM was founded in 1958, and today has three members in the Chinese Academy of Sciences and two members in the Chinese Academy of Engineering. For more information: www.imm.ac.cn/en/index.html
About Beijing Tuberculosis Thoracic Tumor Research Institute
Beijing Tuberculosis Thoracic Tumor Research Institute, established in 1955, is also named "Beijing Chest Hospital." The main task of the Institute is preventing and treating tuberculosis and chest diseases, and researching new drugs for TB and thoracic tumor. The Institute contains 20 clinical departments and 10 research departments including pharmacology, molecular biology, bacterium immunology, epidemiology, cell biology, et al. The hospital also has some affiliated Departments: "Beijing Diagnosis and Treatment Center on Osteo-articular Tuberculosis," "National Base for Clinical Pharmaceutical Trial," "Clinical Center on Tuberculosis, CDC China," "WHO Collaborating Center for Research and Training on Tuberculosis," and "Beijing Diagnosis and Treatment Center for Lung Cancer." The hospital completed the integrated national 10th Five-Year Plan contract program that focused on MDR-TB treatment. It contributed an international leading achievement in MDR-TB, far advanced critical massive tuberculosis and senile tuberculosis. Now, we are charging in the national 11th Five-Year Plan with infectious disease, major science and technology, and the major project of new drugs innovation. For more information: http://www.bjxkyy.cn/.
Global Alliance for TB Drug Development
The TB Alliance is a not-for-profit, product development partnership accelerating the discovery and development of new TB drugs that will shorten treatment, be effective against susceptible and resistant strains, be compatible with antiretroviral therapies for those HIV-TB patients currently on such therapies, and improve treatment of latent infection.
Working with public and private partners worldwide, the TB Alliance is leading the development of the most comprehensive portfolio of TB drug candidates in history. It is committed to ensuring that approved new regimens are affordable, adopted and available to those who need them.
The TB Alliance operates with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DGIS), the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).