TBD-UK: The UK response in the discovery and development of new TB drugs.

Dr Geoff Coxon

Deputy Leader & Director of Medicinal Chemistry, TBD-UK

APPG-TB New Tools meeting HoC 23rd June 2011

www.tbd-uk.org.uk

Why are we here today?

• We all know the facts and figures about TB

New tools urgently required:

Rapid, robust, reliable & accurate diagnostics

Vaccines

Key Biomarkers

New drugs

Why new TB drugs?

• Treatment takes 6 to 9 months

• Contributes to low compliance, resistance and relapse

• Co-infection with HIV/AIDS is limits the use of current drugs

• No new drugs since the 1960s!

• New drugs urgently needed to reduce treatment time, combat resistance and be compatible with HIV/AIDS sufferers

Broad spectrum antibiotics

Drug regime for drug susceptible TB

The Challenge !

State of the current development pipeline

• Long & Very complex with high rates of attrition

• Highly multi disciplinary

• Very expensive - £100s millions

• No commercial market to sustain the development pipeline

Current strategy:

• TB Alliance is the “Global Coordinator” working with partners in academia and pharmaceutical industry

• UK can increase its’ established role within this strategy

State of the current Global development pipeline

Early Stage Discovery

Basic Science

Identification of new “actives”

Numerous projects in UK and globally from academia and pharmaceutical industry

At least 30 known projects to discover new actives

Exploratory Development

Pre-clinical

Clinical

At least 6 known projects

8 projects at Phase I and II

Full Development

3 projects including REMox-TB (UCL & St Andrews) at Phase III

None at launch & phase IV (since 1960s)

Start

FinishProgressing BUT grossly insufficient

The UK perspective: TB Drug discovery UK (TBD-UK)

• Funded for 2 years in 2009 by the Medical Research Council

• UK wide consortia of academic and industrial partners involved in TB drug discovery and development research

• Goal: To engage the UK in coordinated research and maximise it’s contribution to global efforts to facilitate drug development and provide new drugs at the clinic

TBD-UK: What has been achieved so far?

• New class of anti-TB agent identified (others now integrated into TBD-UK)

• New basic science breakthrough discoveries in drug targets

• IMI-EU framework 7 pre-DICT consortia formed to support “models”

• Working TBD-UK blueprint created to guide all UK research

• Significant UK outreach with 40+ researchers engaged in collaboration

• International outreach via website www.tbd-uk.org.uk

TBD-UK: Conclusion & Future direction

• UK science ready to integrate with DFID & BIS policy to make real impact

• Development of public private partnerships is a key factor

• Dialogue with pharmaceutical industry, MRC, NGOs, Charities and DFID essential to move forward and maximise UK potential

• APPG-TB round table meeting with all parties should be the next step to achieve our common goals in finding new TB drugs