PORTEFEUILLE

Protozoan parasites represent a major threat to human/animal health and food security due to limited success in developing broadly applicable vaccines and to the emergence of multiple drug resistance pathogens against most of the available drugs. There is a rising and urgent need for new and safe drugs with novel mode of action to help the fight against the multiple diseases of Humans, Animals and in Agriculture caused by parasites. At ASTRA Therapeutics we have developed an innovative strategy to specifically target Tubulin from parasites, which is a key protein conserved in all eukaryotic pathogens required for cell division. Our goal is to bring precision to anti-parasitic drug discovery. We are designing and developing specific drugs, called Parabulins®, that can differentiate between the parasites and their hosts. Our approach has the potential to revolutionize the way infectious parasitic diseases were managed till now.

With our innovative approach we have successfully designed drug leads effective against human pathogens like Toxoplasma which is a big problem in immunocompromised and transplant patients. Thanks to the Innobooster we’re taking our approach to the next level by addressing the lack of new drugs and drug resistance in veterinary medicine which can be a game changer for this field. During this project our goal is to design and develop Parabulins_V as specific anti-parasitic drugs for animal health. We will achieve the following concrete goals to ensure successful development and market access:
1. Establish in-house setup to design and screen Parabulins_V using computational methods and cell-based screening in model organisms.
2. Develop ASTRA Therapeutics’ team with expertise in Animal Health drug development and business development.
3. Establish a network of strategic partners, which are established pharmaceutical companies in the field of animal health, for Parabulins_V co-development and/or out-licensing