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SUMMARY:Genomics\, Structural Biology and Making New Medicines: An Opportu
 nity for Academia to Contribute - Professor Sir Tom Blundell FRS FMedSci\,
  Emeritus Professor and Director of Research\, Department of Biochemistry
DTSTART:20131113T180000Z
DTEND:20131113T190000Z
UID:TALK46595@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Beverley Larner
DESCRIPTION:Knowledge that is now emerging from the sequences of genomes o
 f human and pathogens has the potential to accelerate diagnosis\, prognosi
 s and cure of disease. We are moving quickly into an era of personalised m
 edicine\, not only in familial diseases where a mutation in one gene is im
 portant\, but also for multigene diseases like diabetes and cancer. Academ
 ia can help understand the impacts of both Mendelian and somatic mutations
  on living organisms.\nGenome sequences\, when taken together with structu
 ral and functional information on gene products\, mainly proteins\, can be
  helpful in identifying new targets for drug discovery. High-throughput bi
 ophysical and structural analyses can be used to investigate the chemical 
 molecules that proteins might bind. I will argue that this is best achieve
 d by structure-guided and small molecule-screening techniques. Here academ
 ia can and must contribute\, but it is not only Nature papers but also sma
 ll ideas\, often difficult to publish\, that are most useful.\nMy lecture 
 will also examine the dynamics of translational processes in academia\, bi
 otech and big pharma. We have seen over the past twenty years many mergers
  and acquisitions in big pharma\, but most recently a change of policy tow
 ards closing down large research centres\, clustering with universities an
 d outsourcing research to small companies and university groups - for exam
 ple recent developments in Pfizer\, AZ and GSK.\nI will base my comments o
 n my experience of working with big Pharma\, on cofounding a small biotech
 \, Astex Therapeutics in Cambridge\, and on research funded by Gates Found
 ation and the Wellcome Trust in the University into infectious disease and
  "undruggable" targets.\n
LOCATION:Lady Mitchell Hall\, Sidgwick Avenue\, Cambridge
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