An Investigation Of The Involvement Of Clotting Factors In Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) Progression Within A Mouse Model
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$189,401.00
Summary
Early stage weakening of the main abdominal artery is present in ~100,000 Australians and currently has no accepted therapy. Development of drug therapies which limit progression of the weakening process is urgently needed. In this study involvement of the clotting cascade in artery weakening will be investigated. The study have been planned in order to identify new strategies which can be developed as treatments for artery weakening in patients.
Characterisation Of A New Poor-Risk Sub-Category Of Chronic Phase Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$609,320.00
Summary
The introduction of targeted therapy for chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) has resulted in excellent responses for many patients. However, some 30-40% of patients respond very poorly to this therapy and therapeutic advances are urgently needed to improve response in these patients. In order to better treat these poor risk patients we aim, in this project, to develop a greater understanding of their disease, and from this identify specific cellular targets for future drug treatment/combination ther ....The introduction of targeted therapy for chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) has resulted in excellent responses for many patients. However, some 30-40% of patients respond very poorly to this therapy and therapeutic advances are urgently needed to improve response in these patients. In order to better treat these poor risk patients we aim, in this project, to develop a greater understanding of their disease, and from this identify specific cellular targets for future drug treatment/combination therapy.Read moreRead less
Discovery Of New And Better Treatments For Human African Trypanosomiasis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$837,615.00
Summary
Sleeping sickness, or human African trypanosomiasis, is present in 36 countries where there are 60 million people at risk of infection, with 50,000-70,000 new cases and 48,000 deaths per annum. Transmitted by the bite of the tsetse fly, this disease is caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma brucei, and without treatment, death is inevitable. We have discovered some compounds that weakly inhibit T.brucei and the aim of this project is to make them potent enough to become drug candidates.
Pharmacological Targeting Of Integrated Oncogenic And Tumour Suppressive Pathways Using Novel Therapeutics.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$510,953.00
Summary
We will investigate NDRG1, a novel molecular target that has been demonstrated to inhibit the progression of numerous cancers. We aim to better understand the underlying function of NDRG1 in pancreatic cancer and how we can potentially target this gene with novel therapeutics being developed in our lab. We hope that this new approach will lead to promising treatments and a better outcome for those suffering from pancreatic cancer.
Lipoceramic Technologies: A Solution To Low And Variable Bioavailability Of Poorly Soluble Anti-inflammatory Drugs
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$200,600.00
Summary
A novel oral drug delivery platform will be developed that improves the absorption of poorly soluble drugs from the GI tract, leads to improved clinical outcomes and has significant commercial value. This development will be based on the combination of formulation, in vitro analysis and in vivo animal model studies. An advanced prototype formulation will be established for celecoxib (a non-steroidal anti-inflamatory drug) that will be suitable for human phase 1 clinical trials.
Interaction Of New Kinase Inhibitor Drugs With Multi-drug Resistance (MDR) Transporter Proteins.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$411,000.00
Summary
Multidrug transporter proteins are remarkable molecular pumps that expel a wide variety of drugs and toxins from cells. They are located at strategic sites where they eliminate harmful substances from the body or prevent them being absorbed from our diet in the first place. Multidrug transporters are also found at natural barriers within the body where they protect vulnerable tissue compartments, including the brain, cerebrospinal fluid, testes and, in preganant women, the foetus. Nevertheless, ....Multidrug transporter proteins are remarkable molecular pumps that expel a wide variety of drugs and toxins from cells. They are located at strategic sites where they eliminate harmful substances from the body or prevent them being absorbed from our diet in the first place. Multidrug transporters are also found at natural barriers within the body where they protect vulnerable tissue compartments, including the brain, cerebrospinal fluid, testes and, in preganant women, the foetus. Nevertheless, multidrug transporters sometimes interfere with drug therapy. They can prevent efficient absorption of drugs, increase the rate of drug elimination from the body, or prevent drug access to some tissues . Moreover, the activity of the transporters is quite variable, both between patients and within the same patient over time. This makes it difficult to provide optimal drug doses, particularly when treating cancer, where the drugs must be given at the maximum tolerated dose. The presence of drug transporter proteins in tumour cells can prevent entry of anticancer drugs, rendering them resistant to treatment. This is the main cause of failure in chemotherapy. This project will investigate a class of very promising new anticancer drugs, kinase inhibitors, to determine whether they are pumped by multidrug transporters, whether they alter the amounts of drug transporters in cells, and whether they alter transporter activity. We will also determine the consequences that follow from this for drug therapy. This information will help clinicians to rationally optimise therapy with the new drugs, to identify in advance both favourable (synergistic) and unfavourable (harmful) drug interactions in combination chemotherapy, to optimise drug doses and to minimise toxic side effects. The information will also add to our general understanding of drug absorption and elimination, and to the basic science of the remarkable multidrug transporter proteins.Read moreRead less
Investigating The Therapeutic Potential Of FTY720 For Human African Trypanosomiasis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$653,736.00
Summary
FTY720, is a drug currently used to treat multiple sclerosis, which we have shown is also be able to kill the parasite responsible for African sleeping sickness, Trypanosomes. We aim to identify the target the drug acts on in the parasite to have its affect. Our objective is to improve the activity further by chemical modification to produce a potent, orally available and well characterised, non-toxic drug suitable for preclinical development.
In Vivo Evaluation Of The Safety And Efficacy Of A Novel Chitosan Gel In The Reduction Of Adhesions Following Abdominal Surgery In Both Animal And Human Models
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$532,076.00
Summary
Up to 95% of abdominal surgery patients will develop adhesions within the abdomen, with nearly 1 in 5 requiring hospital readmission for pain, reduced gastrointestinal function and bowel obstruction. Newly developed Chitodex gel has been shown to be effective in the control of bleeding and the reduction of adhesions following sinus surgery. These projects will now explore its use in abdominal surgery. Chitodex gel has the potential to benefit millions of patients each year and drastically lessen ....Up to 95% of abdominal surgery patients will develop adhesions within the abdomen, with nearly 1 in 5 requiring hospital readmission for pain, reduced gastrointestinal function and bowel obstruction. Newly developed Chitodex gel has been shown to be effective in the control of bleeding and the reduction of adhesions following sinus surgery. These projects will now explore its use in abdominal surgery. Chitodex gel has the potential to benefit millions of patients each year and drastically lessen the burden on our health system.Read moreRead less
Exploring The Pluridimensionality Of Drug Efficacy.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$326,184.00
Summary
Dysfunction of cell surface receptors is the underlying cause of many pathological conditions. Using cell based screening methods we aim to investigate the mechanisms underlying drug action, to understand how drugs acting at common targets promote distinct biological responses. This will aid the development of new therapeutics based on the ability to predict specific drug effects.