{"id":112773,"date":"2024-06-26T02:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-26T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/?p=112773"},"modified":"2024-06-25T14:21:59","modified_gmt":"2024-06-25T19:21:59","slug":"bridging-the-drug-discovery-gap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2024\/06\/26\/bridging-the-drug-discovery-gap\/","title":{"rendered":"Bridging the drug discovery gap"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

This feature story recently ran in the University of Nebraska Foundation’s Pride of Place magazine.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Marsha and Neal Morien of Arizona decided to invest in the University of Nebraska Medical Center\u2019s Center for Drug Design and Innovation, they knew it could benefit not only the state of Nebraska, but possibly the world. That\u2019s because the newly opened center has a critical goal: to help shift the paradigm of drug discovery and development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe live in an environment where there are many opportunities to give, but instead of making a small impact, we wanted to put our funds toward a larger opportunity that can make a difference,\u201d Marsha Morien said. The Moriens\u2019 gift commitment is being matched by funds available through an estate gift made by College of Pharmacy alumnus Joe Williams and his wife, Millie.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
“This center will be a critical resource for the design of new therapeutics that provide new hope for Nebraskans facing challenging medical diagnoses.” -Keith Olsen, PharmD, the Joseph D. Williams Endowed Dean of the UNMC College of Pharmacy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The current system of drug discovery and development is ripe for innovation. Large pharmaceutical companies employ some of the world\u2019s best minds in drug development, but to maintain the complex infrastructure needed to bring a billion-dollar-plus drug through FDA approval, these companies tend to focus on blockbuster drugs. Within that paradigm, it may make little financial sense to develop drugs such as antibiotics, which are designed to be taken for a short period of time, or drugs that are otherwise unlikely to generate significant sales, such as so-called \u201corphan\u201d drugs. These drugs, however, may be critically needed by hundreds of thousands of people or, in the case of antibiotics, millions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The University of Nebraska at Omaha\u2019s close proximity to UNMC makes it an essential player in tackling this challenge by providing foundational STEM classes and a path to a health professions education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Corey Hopkins, PhD, professor of pharmaceutical sciences in the\u00a0UNMC College of Pharmacy<\/a>\u00a0and the center\u2019s inaugural director, said the Moriens\u2019 gift couldn\u2019t have come at a better time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt shows that the vision we had for the center is supported,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have people behind it, and this gift will benefit UNMC, the College of Pharmacy and Nebraska.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An important first step in drug discovery and development is seed funding for novel research, which the Moriens\u2019 gift will help provide. Seed funding allows researchers to complete their study or conduct another series of experiments to move their projects along  \u2014 either closer to translation into treatments or to obtaining a patent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe hardest part with grant funding is you first have to have results,\u201d  Dr. Hopkins said. \u201cA gift like this one from Marsha and Neal can act as the start of a new project rather than (researchers having to) rely on federal funding. It can help jump-start new and promising ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Along with allowing more opportunity to obtain federal grants, seed funding also can help the center  \u2014 and its researchers  \u2014 gain industry interest, which can lead to potential partnerships and funding for additional research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keith Olsen, PharmD, who serves as the Joseph D. Williams Endowed Dean of UNMC\u2019s College of Pharmacy, said the center not only will lay the foundation for seminal contributions from UNMC\u2019s research faculty, as well as the wider University of Nebraska System, but it also will put the university on par with other Big Ten institutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMost importantly,\u201d Dr. Olsen said, \u201cthis center will be a critical resource for the design of new therapeutics that provide new hope for Nebraskans facing challenging medical diagnoses.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UNMC\u2019s Center for Drug Design and Innovation has a critical goal: Shifting the paradigm of drug discovery and 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