Kent in fight against parasites

The University’s School of Biosciences is to play a major role in a global project to develop new drugs to combat parasites.

A Kent-based team led by Professor David Brown will be part of a four-year, multi-centre research programme funded by the European Union. The programme will focus on neglected parasitic diseases (NPDs) – classified as ‘neglected’ because investment in finding cures for these illnesses is extremely low, despite their devastating impact on human and veterinary health. A cause of this drug development standstill is a lack of financial incentive and low return on investment for the pharmaceutical industry.

The project titled PDE4NPD (PhosphoDiEsterase inhibitors to target Neglected Parasitic Diseases) will focus specifically on Chagas’ disease, human African trypanosomiasis, leishmaniasis and schistosomiasis.

Professor Brown is Programme Director for the MSc Drug Design. Further information about the project and its global academic and industrial partners can be found here.