[Ip-health] \UC Berkeley: New $7 Million Pledge for neglected diseases

[Temina Madon]

BERKELEY CENTER FOR NEGLECTED DISEASES RECEIVES $7 MILLION PLEDGE
Program Launches with Innovative Drug Discovery Competition

BERKELEY, CA, December 11, 2008=97The University of California Berkeley
today announced a $7 million pledge from philanthropist Henry Wheeler
to establish the Center for Emerging and Neglected Diseases (CEND).
The new program seeks to advance scientific discovery for disabling
diseases=97like drug-resistant tuberculosis, trypanosomiasis, and
dengue fever=97that primarily impact people in developing countries.

In recognition of Mr. Wheeler's generosity, the campus is seeking
approval to name the Center in his honor.

For now, CEND has announced that it will sponsor a community research
competition to identify new drug targets for neglected diseases. The
winner of the contest will be decided at the Center's inaugural
symposium, to be held December 12th at UC Berkeley.

"The target competition is an experiment," says Tom Alber, professor
and faculty director of CEND. "Already, it has activated research
groups at Berkeley, UC San Francisco and Stanford to think about how
their research findings can be used to combat neglected diseases.
It's an exciting opportunity to focus some of the bay area's top
scientists on global health."

As a prize, the winning drug target will be screened against a
library of small molecules maintained by the Small Molecule Discovery
Center at UCSF. Any new drugs resulting from the screening will
follow Berkeley's socially responsible licensing policy, which
ensures access to life-saving medicines for people in developing
countries.

In future, CEND plans to use community research competitions=97as well
as targeted grants and fellowships=97to catalyze new collaborations
amongst campus experts in biology, chemistry, engineering,
nanoscience, ecology, and public health. The Center also draws on
Berkeley's strengths in law, economics and business to address global
health policy issues=97including the needs for innovation incentives
and intellectual property models that accelerate the discovery of
medicines for neglected diseases.

Altogether, more than 60 scientists, engineers, and scholars are
affiliated with the new program.

"To me, the role of the university here is absolutely essential,"
said W. Geoffrey Owen, emeritus dean of biological sciences at
Berkeley. "So many people die every year from diseases that aren't
treated. Meanwhile, we're facing potential disaster with multi-drug
resistant tuberculosis, HIV, and staphylococcus. With this
collaboration between world-class scientists, hopefully we can feed
the pipeline with discoveries of new drugs."

In addition to seeding cutting edge interdisciplinary research, the
Center will facilitate research translation=97by supporting
partnerships with biotech and pharma, non-profits, and academic
partners in low-income countries.

According to Dr. Alber, "We're particularly excited to be working
with researchers at developing country institutions, who are helping
us train our students in entirely new ways." Through CEND, he is
forging institutional links with collaborating universities in
several countries, including the Indian Institute of Technology at
Kharagpur and Stellenbosch University in South Africa.

The pledge of $7 million from Mr. Wheeler is the latest of several
gifts he has made to the biological sciences at Berkeley. Says Dr.
Owen, "it will provide the Center with essential resources to support
a vibrant research community."

Indeed, for its inaugural symposium CEND has collected an impressive
group of scientists from academia and biotech to stimulate thinking
about drugs and vaccines for neglected diseases. The event is co-
sponsored by the UC Discovery Grant program, which funds university-
industry partnerships to translate research into public benefit.

Contact:
Temina Madon
(510) 375-6257
tmadon@berkeley.edu

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