Rational Drug Design

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary disease. COPD

Our COPD program provides a good illustration of the rational drug design capabilites of our SMNH platform. There are 30M US patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (“COPD”), a classification that includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis. These patients suffer from increasing loss of breathing capacity caused by chronic inflammation, airway constriction, and progressive breakdown of lung tissue. Our COPD program targets a selective inhibitor of enzymes that increase the level of cyclic AMP, which in turn activates protein kinase A and thereby relaxes smooth muscle cells in the airways.  We used 3D structural information to design novel SMNH compounds that specifically and selectively inhibit the targeted enzymes, thereby enhancing cyclic AMP.

About Hepatitis

Over 350 million people are chronically infected with HBV virus worldwide. The HBV virus is a DNA virus which incorporates into the hepatocyte DNA. Read More >>

Approximately 170 million people worldwide and 4 million in the United States are infected with HCV. HCV infection is one of the most significant public health threats facing Americans.
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