BARCELONA, February 26 /PRNewswire/ — Prous Institute for Biomedical Research today presented its strategies for drug discovery on its newly designed website (http://www.prousresearch.com). A large computational project with basic research support and broad disease coverage is being developed at Prous Institute under the broad-based Epistemic Drug Discovery(R) project.

President and C.E.O. of the Institute, Dr. J.R. Prous, explained that “We are committed to accelerating biomedical knowledge by the synchronization of powerful expert knowledge-based systems and basic research. This next-generation drug R&D force is expected to increase the efficiency and efficacy of core drug R&D processes, facilitating continuous innovation.”

Two main drug discovery programs are being developed at the Institute. One is focused on the design, synthesis and biological evaluation of new small-molecule modulators of autophagy as therapeutic agents for cancer and neurodegeneration (Alzheimer’s disease and Huntington’s disease). Another program looks at target-driven drug discovery from natural sources, covering type 2 diabetes, psychological stress and asthma. The Institute’s computational tools enable the in silico screening of thousands of natural products in a rapid, reliable and cost-effective manner, as well as the discovery of new targets and new uses for existing drugs.

J.R. Prous commented “our approach is bringing us closer to drug discovery, and the Institute expects to have several compounds in preclinical evaluation by the end of this year (2009).”