What, Who, How, and more…
Computation plays an increasing role in biology. The convergence between computing and biology suggests that open source methods can be used to organize early phase drug discovery. We argue that a new approach, which we call open source drug discovery, would significantly reduce the cost of discovering, developing and manufacturing cures for tropical diseases. First, it would give hundreds of scientists a practical way to donate urgently needed manpower. Second, open source discoveries would not be patented, permitting sponsors to award development contracts to the company that offered the lowest bid. Finally, competition from generic drug makers would keep manufacturing prices at or near the cost of production, significantly accelerating drug development for the 500 million people who currently suffer from tropical diseases.
The TDI was initiated by:
| Thomas Kepler | Duke University |
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| Marc A. Marti-Renom | Prince Felipe Research Center, Valencia, Spain |
| Stephen Maurer | University of California, Berkeley |
| Arti Rai | Duke University |
| Andrej Sali | University of California, San Francisco |
Active partners:
| The Synaptic Leap | The Synaptic Leap is a new organization dedicated towards providing a network of online communities that connect and empower scientific and medical researchers to conduct open source style research. |
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| Collaborative Drug Discovery | Collaborative Drug Discovery’s web-database enables scientists to archive, mine, and collaborate to more effectively develop new drug candidates for commercial and humanitarian markets. |
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