Health & Wellbeing
39
Candidate drug discovery for Alzheimer’s disease
CASE STUDY
Background
Laboratory research at Liverpool had discovered a
novel drug target for Alzheimers disease. The research
team had undertaken an initial drug discovery
programme with semi-synthetic modified natural
products based on variants of the well-known anti-
coagulant drug heparin, with commercial development
to be undertaken via a University of Liverpool spin-out
company, IntelliHep Ltd.
To further drive forward this candidate screening,
a collaboration was also established with Industrial
Research Limited (New Zealand) which provided
Liverpool with access to the company’s world-class
expertise for synthetic chemistry of this class
of compounds.
The project
The University has world-class expertise in the chemical
biology of heparin glycans. Research has successfully
identified novel targets for drug development and
biotechnology applications, and the resulting IP
licensed to IntelliHep for commercial development.
The collaboration with Industrial Research Limited has
provided Liverpool with complementary expertise in
the difficult synthesis of these complex compounds.
A joint project was developed which harnessed the
complementary expertise of the three groups.
Working together the partners have the capacity to
develop high value heparin-based compounds for drug
discovery, with additional applications in biotechnology
such as stem cell regulation, tissue engineering and
regenerative medicine.
Outcomes / benefits
•
Synergistic research collaboration – novel drug
targets discovered at Liverpool were linked to
Industrial Research Limited’s unique chemistry
expertise in glycan synthesis
•
Added value of single chemical entity drug
compounds to drug development pathways.
Partner
Industrial Research Limited (New Zealand) and IntelliHep Ltd (Liverpool)
Activity type
Collaborative research, Intellectual Property (IP)
Academic lead(s)
Professor Jerry Turnbull, Faculty of Health & Life Sciences, Institute of Integrative Biology,
Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology
Funded by
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), NZ Ministry for Science &
Innovation (MSI)
Heparin sulfate (HS) contains
sugar sequences that are
specific for the control of
specific biological processes.
The University’s laboratory
is one of the few in the world
capable of unravelling this
complex code – which
oligosaccharide structure is
responsible for controlling
what biological process. The
IRL Carbohydrate Chemistry
Group have likewise achieved
what is possible in only a
few laboratories in the world.
Together, we are keen to see
this technology harnessed for
the discovery and development
of further nature-like drug
candidates.
Dr Richard Furneaux,
Industrial Research Limited
