Funding Boosts Endometriosis Drug Discovery Efforts

A key receptor is being targeted using robotic high-throughput screening at the National Drug Discovery Centre (NDDC) to fast-track new treatments for endometriosis.

• A Monash University-led research project has been announced as the latest beneficiary of subsidised access to the National Drug Discovery Centre, an important step towards the development of new medicines.
• The project will use the centre’s advanced robotic high-throughput screening technologies to speed up the drug discovery process for finding new treatments for endometriosis.
• The next round of applications for subsidised screens with the NDDC is now open until 31 October. Prospective applicants are encouraged to contact the NDDC for more information.

Advancing endometriosis treatment research
Endometriosis affects 10% of women of reproductive age, which equates to approximately 190 million women worldwide. Treatment options, however, are limited, and new therapeutic agents are urgently needed.

Research to be conducted at the NDDC will search for new first-in-class drugs that can be used in endometriosis patients to inhibit a key receptor found on inflammatory cells in the body.

The lead biology investigators are Dr Thomas Tapmeier, Head of Uterine Biology and Gynaecological Disease Group, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Monash University and Professor Beverley Vollenhoven, Head of Department, Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Monash University and Clinical Director of Gynaecology at Monash Health.

Dr Tapmeier has dedicated years of research to identifying the importance of the receptor and its potential as a novel target for future endometriosis medications. Previously working at the University of Oxford, he has shown that inhibition of this receptor reduced pain and inflammation in mouse models of endometriosis. The funding boost by the NDDC will accelerate efforts to identify new inhibitors.

“We are very hopeful that this new target for endometriosis might allow for treatment of the pain and inflammation typical for the condition without interfering with ovulation and conception,” Dr Tapmeier said.

Collaborating on the project is Professor Paul Stupple of Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (MIPS) and the Australian Translational Medicinal Chemistry Facility (ATMCF) at Monash University.

National Steering Committee
The NDDC’s National Steering Committee – an independent panel of drug discovery experts from around Australia – reviewed and selected the project from a rich field of applications.

Through the NDDC, selected projects can access the latest in advanced robotic high-throughput screening technologies to enable patients to potentially benefit from novel treatments sooner.

The subsidies cover 90 per cent of the cost of using the NDDC, reducing the cost of a traditional screening campaign, normally upwards of $300,000, to around $30,000 – $45,000.