Researcher Laura Bolognesi, a self-described collaboration enthusiast between Brazil and Italy, created the B2AlzD2 Joint Lab at the Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology of the Università di Bologna (UNIBO), the first joint laboratory between Brazil and Bologna dedicated to the development of new medicines for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. The partners include scientists from four Brazilian universities: the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), the University of Brasília (UnB), the University of São Paulo (USP Ribeirão Preto) and the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG).
One of the laboratory’s ongoing projects is to identify compounds with drug development potential in industrial waste, specifically in cashew nut shell liquid (CNL), a natural oil considered a byproduct of the industrial processing of cashew nuts, with a high content of phenolic compounds.
The line of research and the principles guiding the group’s work were presented by Bolognesi on Tuesday (October 15) in a panel discussion on health and the environment that was part of the FAPESP Week Italy program.
“We need to integrate the concept of sustainability into the search for bioactive molecules. This must be the key word,Bolognesi said in her presentation. ‘If we use waste as a raw material for drug development, the products resulting from the research will be inherently sustainable.”
The group’s work also takes a One Health approach, Bolognesi said. Coined around the turn of the century, this concept refers to an integrated approach that recognizes the link between human, animal, plant and environmental health. “It is a holistic vision that must involve everyone involved. We believe that it is not enough to simply find a new drug that is potent and bioavailable. It must also be accessible to the people who need it. For example, in the case of Chagas disease, more than 90% of affected patients do not have access to treatment, even though they live in three major economies [Brazil, Argentina and Mexico]” she noted.
Another concern of the B2AlzD2 Joint Lab, Bolognesi says, is integrating green chemistry principles into the drug development pipeline.
Neglected diseases
Luiz Carlos Dias, professor at the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), was another member of the panel. He presented the work of an international consortium established to support the search for new drugs against Chagas disease and malaria. The initiative brings together UNICAMP, USP and two non-profit organizations: the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi) and the Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV). The group is supported by FAPESP through the Research Partnership for Technological Innovation Program (PITE) (read more at: agencia.fapesp.br/32265).
Our work affects several SDGs [Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda]and its central purpose is to reduce the time it takes to discover drugs.“
Luiz Carlos Dias, professor, State University of Campinas (UNICAMP)
Dias explained to Agência FAPESP that the consortium receives information from the DNDi and the MMV on the structure of the molecules to be studied, all of which are no longer patented. “We synthesize the substances at UNICAMP, purify them and send them to several Brazilian laboratories in the network to test them against the parasite. For those that show antiparasitic activity, we develop analogous molecules with minor modifications to try to increase potency and stability and safety. Only after many in vitro tests did we move on to animal testing. Our challenge now is to develop a viable compound for a clinical trial.’
At the beginning of the project, he said, this entire preclinical testing phase was conducted outside Brazil because there was no installed capacity in the country. “Today we are doing the whole series of tests, the primary and secondary parasitology part. We have acquired a competence that we did not have because the country never invested in drug discovery and development. We have built a network with several partners with experience in different areas,” he noted.
Dias indicates that the group’s challenges are great and its goals are ambitious: to develop low-cost medicines that are safe enough to be used by children and pregnant women, who are among the main population groups affected by these neglected diseases .
In the case of malaria, there is an additional challenge: treatment must consist of a single dose, taken orally. “Plasmodium gets resistance very quickly. We need a drug that can eliminate it in 10 days, with a single dose, to get around that problem,” he said.
Also present on the panel was Monica Cricca, a researcher at UNIBO’s Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, which develops equipment for diagnosing infections. One of her group’s goals is to develop a surveillance system for detection Candida aurisa super fungus that is resistant to several classes of drugs and can cause serious infections.
She said the pathogen spread throughout Italy during the COVID-19 pandemic, a phenomenon also observed in Brazil (read more at: agencia.fapesp.br/36111). “We are trying to implement a surveillance system to limit its spread,” she said.
The topic of antimicrobial resistance was also discussed by Ana Cristina Gales, professor at the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) and vice-coordinator of the Antimbiotic Resistance Institute of São Paulo (ARIES Project), supported by FAPESP through the Research, Innovation and Program for distribution centers (RIDCs).
The panel also included Carmino Antonio de Souza, professor at UNICAMP, vice-president of FAPESP and one of the founders of the Italian-Brazilian Society of Hematology (AIBE), which aims to promote the integration of hematological services in both countries through the exchange of health professionals and the development of clinical and laboratory protocols of common interest.
The discussions were moderated by Bolognesi and Niels Olsen Saraiva Câmara, professor at USP and advisor to the Scientific Director of FAPESP.