Félix Torres
Post-doc at ETH Zurich, Switzerland
CEO and co-founder of NexMR
14:30-15:30
“Leveraging photo-induced hyperpolarization for ultrafast NMR fragment screening at high and low magnetic field”
Fragment-based drug design is an established drug discovery strategy, with 7 FDA–approved small molecules and over 50 clinical trials. NMR is the gold standard for fragment screening and affinity determination. However, the low sensitivity of NMR yields operational costs, limiting its implementation at scale. NexMR developed a method to design photo-hyperpolarizable fragment libraries for screening and affinity determination. With this approach, measuring low micromolar concentrations within a few seconds at high and low magnetic fields is possible, opening the way to benchtop NMR fragment screening.
Andre Godoy
Post-doc at Physics Institute of São Carlos
Member of the ASAP Discovery Consortium
16:00-16:30
“Enabling viral targets through high-throughput crystallographic fragment screening at the AI-driven Structure-enabled Antiviral Platform (ASAP)”
The ASAP Platform is an AI-driven structure-enabled antiviral discovery engine uniquely positioned to generate novel oral antivirals that suppress resistance. Our mission is to combine high-throughput crystallographic fragment with AI/ML and computational chemistry to accelerate structure-based development of oral antivirals via open science paradigm. The ASAP is one of the Antiviral Drug Discovery (AViDD) Centers, funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.
Cristina Nonato
Full Professor at FCFRP-USP
Co-founder of CRAFT, President of ABCr, Member of IUCr
16:30-17:00
“Fragments: CRAFT in the Search for Pharmaceuticals against Infectious Diseases”
The Center for the Research and Advancement of Fragments and Molecular Targets (CRAFT) is a pioneering research center focused on unlocking the potential of fragments for drug development against diseases that disproportionately affect vulnerable populations. Our group specifically investigates the inhibition of the enzyme DHODH as a strategy to combat viral and parasitic diseases. Preliminary results underscore the significant role of fragments in identifying potent and selective inhibitors, highlighting their potential to address critical health challenges in underserved communities.