The open access malaria box: a drug discovery catalyst for neglected diseases.

Historically, one of the key problems in neglected disease drug discovery has been identifying new and interesting chemotypes. Phenotypic screening of the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum has yielded almost 30,000 submicromolar hits in recent years. To make this collection more accessible, a collection of 400 chemotypes has been assembled, termed the Malaria Box.

The cyclophilin inhibitor SCY-635 suppresses viral replication and induces endogenous interferons in patients with chronic HCV genotype 1 infection.

Background & Aims: SCY-635 is a non-immunosuppressive analog of cyclosporin A that inhibits cyclophilins A and B and hepatitis C virus (HCV) replication in vitro. In a phase 1b multi-dose escalation study, we evaluated the safety, plasma pharmacokinetics, and antiviral activity of 15 days of monotherapy with SCY-635 in adults with chronic genotype 1 HCV infection.

Methods: Twenty adults with chronic HCV genotype 1 were randomized to SCY-635 oral doses of 100, 200, or 300 mg three times daily for 15 days.

Informatics for neglected diseases collaborations.

Many different public and private organizations from across the globe are collaborating on neglected diseases drug-discovery and development projects with the aim of identifying a cure for tropical infectious diseases. These neglected diseases collaborations require a global, secure, multi-organization data-management solution, combined with a platform that facilitates communication and supports collaborative work. This review discusses the solutions offered by 'Software as a Service' (SaaS) web-based platforms, despite notable challenges, and the evolution of these platforms required to foster efficient virtual research efforts by geographically dispersed scientists.