A Knowledge Based Approach to Drug Repurposing for Socially Important and Rare Diseases
RSF - DST Project # 16-45-02012 - INT/RUS/RSF/12

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  • Diabetes

    According to the World Health Organization, diabetes is a chronic, metabolic disease characterized by elevated levels of blood glucose (or blood sugar), which leads over time to serious damage to the heart, blood vessels, eyes, kidneys, and nerves. It affects approximately 422 mln people worldwide with about 1.5 mln deaths directly attributed to diabetes each year. In the framework of our project we will study the most acute problems associated with diabetes treatment in close collaboration with medical doctors from Department of Endocrinology of Osmania General Hospital and Osmania Medical College, Hyderabad, India.

    Leishmaniasis

    According to the World Health Organization, there are 3 main forms of leishmaniases – visceral (the most serious), cutaneous (the most common), and mucocutaneous. Leishmaniasis is caused by the protozoan Leishmania parasites which are transmitted by the bite of infected female phlebotomine sandflies. In the framework of our project we will investigate the existing targets for antileishmanial drugs, and try to identify the novel promising targets and their ligands that may improve the curation of the disease.

    Cancer

    According to the World Health Organization, cancers (malignant tumors, neoplasms) are one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, with approximately 14 million new cases and 8.2 million cancer related deaths. Cancer is a generic term for a large group of diseases with a complex etiology. In the framework of our project we will focus on a breast cancer, particularly on a triple negative form, which is not associated with the estrogen and progesterone hormones, or with the presence of too many HER2 receptors. In addition to design of antineoplastic compounds active against triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), we will try to identify the inhibitors of heat shock protein 70, which is overexpressed in breast cancer (Jagadish N. et al., 2016. DOI: 10.1186/s13046-016-0425-9). Ideally, the desired pharmaceutical agents have to combine the multitarget inhibitory activity on TNBC and Hsp70.

  • Tuberculosis

    Tuberculosis (TB), is a common and potentially deadly infectious disease caused by species and subspecies of the Myocobacterium tuberculosis complex, primarily Mycobacterium tuberculosis. According to the World Health Organization, in 2015 there were about 10.4 mln new (incident) TB cases worldwide, including 480000 new cases of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) and an additional 100000 people with rifampicin-resistant TB (RR-TB) who were also newly eligible for MDR-TB treatment. In the framework of our project we will focus on identification of molecular targets and their combinations, action on which may be the most promising for treatment of MDR-TB.

    Malaria

    According to the World Health Organization, malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. In 2015 malaria affects approximately 212 mln people with 429000 deaths. In the framework of our project we will investigate the existing targets for antimalarial drugs, and try to identify the novel promising targets and their ligands that may improve the prevention and curation of the disease.

    Epilepsy

    According to the World Health Organization, epilepsy is a chronic noncommunicable illness of the brain that affects about 50 million people of all ages worldwide. Nearly 80% of the people with epilepsy live in low- and middle-income countries, and about three fourths of those people do not get the treatment they need. In the context of our project, we will focus on refractory (pharmacoresistant) epilepsy, which affect about 30% of epileptic patients, who may suffer from irreversible disabilities and pre-mature deaths. The mechanisms of refractory epilepsy are still unclear; however, many efforts are ongoing into discovery and development of novel antiepileptic agents with better therapeutic profiles. Better understanding of the heterogeneous nature of epilepsy and the multiple complex factors, which contribute to the abnormal neural discharges, will create the basis for progress in development of etiological rather than symptomatic therapies.