Researchers from Imperial College London, Singapore’s Duke-NUS Medical
School, and UCB worked together to devise and validate a new
computational method for drug discovery. This advanced framework known
as CRAFT (Causal Reasoning Analytical Framework for Target discovery),
has the potential to predict novel targets for future drugs.
As
proof-of-concept, the investigators applied their approach to epilepsy
resulting in the discovery of a new drug target for epilepsy that was
experimentally confirmed in pre-clinical models.
The
discovery and validation of this potential new anti-epileptic drug took
less than two years – much faster than traditional approaches to
medical research.
It has
the potential to transform medicine and improve lives by dramatically
speeding up the identification of new drug targets across the spectrum
of human disease.
The team of scientists published their findings in
Nature Communications, an international peer-reviewed publication.
This
research, funded by UCB, is an example of a successful international
collaboration between academia and industry. It illustrates our
commitment to partnership and to bringing together leading scientists to
work together a common goal – improving the lives of patients.
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