A professor from the University of Warwick has been awarded the first ever Discovery STAR Award by Domainex Ltd, a drug discovery company specialising in translational research support.
The award given to professor Vilmos Fulop will give him access to Domainex’s drug discovery capabilities to support his research for a much-needed new treatment for Chagas disease, a potentially life-threatening illness.
Chagas disease is a tropical parasitic infection that is commonly transmitted to humans and other mammals by an insect bite. It can also be spread through blood transfusions or organ transplants.
The disease causes 14,000 deaths annually and is mainly found in Latin America.
Domainex CEO Eddy Littler said: "Domainex received many strong applications to its Discovery STAR award scheme, but professor Fulop’s project stood out as he had all the elements needed to start a drug discovery project in this area of unmet medical need."
Professor Fulop added: "I am absolutely delighted with this award and looking forward to working with Domainex.
"I regard this collaboration as a starting point towards making significant steps in the finding of a new cure for the treatment of neglected Chagas
and the related African sleeping sickness disease."
Professor Fulop has been working with the University of Warwick’s innovation support team, Warwick Ventures, to take forward his research.
Domainex will provide Professor Fulop with expert drug discovery guidance and exclusive access to its unique LeadBuilder virtual hit screening technology.
Once Professor Fulop has identified hits using this approach he will be looking for additional funding to progress his work to identify potential new drug candidates against Chagas disease.
Photo: Trypanosoma forms in blood smear from patient with African trypanosomiasis. Image: courtesy of Wikipedia.
