David M. Pollock Medical College of Georgia Discovery-Academia

Does an academic career mean that you cannot contribute to drug discovery? No.

Academic involvement in drug development Pre-clinical discovery Clinical trials

Potential Academic Contribution to Pre-clinical Drug Discovery Identification of new chemical entities Establish proof of concept/mechanism Identification of new drug targets

Target Validation and Proof of Concept Specific animal models and methodology Transgenic and knock-out mouse models Unique cell line DNA probe, antibodies, or other tools Use of tool compounds Collaborations, grants, licenses

Ways to Work with Industry Collaborating in basic science to drive an existing drug discovery target –Not dependent upon funding from industry Industry grant programs –Studies that require specific experiments License agreements

Key Elements to Foster Collaborations Interact with industry scientists Need a clear understanding of goals Science drives the collaboration - both sides must benefit –New information –Publications –Grant support –Help in drug discovery Money should not be the driving force

Why Collaborations Fail Experiments do not turn out as expected Failure to understand goals Failure to communicate Failure to deliver results in a timely fashion –Experiments cannot be low priority

Clinical Trials Phase II and Phase III clinical trials often use patients in medical school hospitals Clinical trial results often drive basic science research Clinical research associates help coordinate and design clinical trials

Developing Industry out of Academia Most schools have technology transfer offices NIH funding available: STTR and SBIR grants Low odds of getting a big pharmaceutical company to buy your idea unless a relationship is already established High risk –unproven approach –small market –high development costs