Therehavebeenbreakthroughsinfightingsomeoftheworld'smostseriousandcommondiseases,thankstostart-upfundingfromSouthKorea'sscienceministry,alongwithcontributionsfromnon-governmentgroupsintheUnitedStates,Franceandothercountries.Combiningimagingtechnologyandbiotechnology,scientistsarenowabletowitnessinfectionsastheyoccur,inrealtime.UlfNehrbasscallsita"game-changer"fordevelopingnewdrugs.HeisthechiefexecutiveofficeroftheSouthKoreanbranchofthe124-year-oldInstitutPasteur[IPK]."Wehavebeen,forthefirsttime,abletoreconstitutethis,tohavepathogensinlivehumancellsandweimagethat.Welookattheinfectionasithappens.That'sentirelynew.Andsothishasallowedustodevelopdrugswhichareeffectiveinacomplex,veryrealisticsystem,"saidNehrbass.Oneofthetargetsistuberculosis,adiseasethathasplaguedhumanssincetheylivedincaves.Itremainsverydifficulttotreat.Patientsmustgobblehandfulsofslow-actingandtoxicpillsforbetweensixmonthsandtwoyears.KevinPetheleadsoneoftheIPKearlydiscoveryprogramgroups,whichisexaminingnaturalcompoundsandsyntheticcandidatestofindbettertreatments."Thereareatleast300or400naturalcompoundsthatarecurrentlyusedinthefightagainsttuberculosis,"saidPethe."Sowelookatboth.Soweareveryopportunistic."LawrenceAyongfromCameroonleadsateamseekingnewdrugstobattleendemictropicaldiseases,suchasmalaria."Theninsidetheredbloodcellsyouseetheyellowcolor,whichindicatesthepresenceofparasites,"saidAyong.Oneoftheirbiggestfrustrationsisthatdangerousorganismsareabletoevolveandoutwitthedrugsdesignedtokillthem."Herewearefocusedindevelopinginnovativeapproachesthatcanhelplimitthespreadofthesedrug-resistantparasites,beitinmalaria,inleishmaniasisorchagas,"hesaid.Ayonghasawarningforthoseinthedevelopedworldwhobelieveneglecteddiseasesareofnoconcernforthem."Withglobalizationitdoesn'tmatterwherethediseaseislocated.It'sgoingtoaffecteverybodyeconomicallyandevensocially.So,Ithinkthetimeisnowforallofustojoineffortsagainstallthesediseases,"saidAyong.OutsideofseveralU.N.-backedpartnerships,thebestlaboratoriesintheworldarenotpartofthoseefforts.Theybelongtothegiantfor-profitpharmaceuticalcompanies.InstitutPasteurKoreaCEONehrbasssaidthosecorporationsdevotethebulkoftheirresearchbudgetstofindingblockbusterdrugs,whichcouldringupbillionsofdollarsinprofits."Mostoftheinfectiousdiseases,eventheneglecteddiseases,donotfallunderthatcategory.Thereisahugeneed,however.AndIthinkweneedtolookatanewmodelofentities,newplatformsthathavetodevelopdrugsintheseareas,newpublic-privatepartnerships,"saidNehrbass.Inthecurrenteconomicclimateeventhemostgenerousofphilanthropistsarestreamliningcontributions.Thathasresearchersnervousthattheirmoneycouldrunoutbeforetheyareabletodevelopnewandeffectivedrugstargetingneglecteddiseases,aprocessthatcantakeyears,ifnotdecades.
