Molecular and Functional Biology

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Creating solutions for chronic degenerative and neglected diseases (Tuberculosis, Malaria, Leishmaniosis and Chagas Disease)

The activities of the Research Center in Molecular and Functional Biology (CPBMF) focus on neglected diseases. Under the coordination of Professor Diógenes Santiago Santos, researchers of the CPBMF focus on the investigation and development of drugs from defined molecular targets against human tuberculosis, malaria, leishmaniosis, Chagas disease, and chronic degenerative diseases, including neoplasia. The pharmaceutical drugs IQ6 607 (undergoing pre-clinical trials for the treatment of human tuberculosis), IQG 641 (treatment for bone loss), IQG 642 (treatment of neoplasia), CPBMF 26 (adjunctive treatment of neoplasia treated with 5-Fluorouracil), and CPBM 215 (inhibitor of thymidine phosphorylase to block angiogenesis) are products of the CPBMF.

With regard to the production of knowledge, CPBMF is also recognized as the National Institute of Sciences and Technology in Tuberculosis. Every year, approximately 15 original articles are published in journals indexed internationally at levels A1 and A2. Through 2012, CPBMF has five submitted patents (PCT and INPI) and 40 submissions of three-dimensional structures of proteins resolved by x-ray spectroscopy in the Protein Data Bank.

Among the nine laboratories of the CPBMF, there is a biosafety level 3 (BSL3) laboratory, which allows for the study of multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis. These facilities made PUCRS a leader in basic research on tuberculosis, enzymology, and protein chemistry, giving the group the largest number of papers and patents in Latin America in its area of activity.

The CPBMF is related to the company Quatro G, which is adjoined to the laboratories and to União Química Farmacêutica S.A. and Radiopharmacus Ltda., allowing for an academia-industry interaction. Another key factor for success is the partnership with the Schools of Pharmacy, Medicine, and Dentistry of PUCRS and other educational and research institutions in Brazil and abroad, such as the Albert Einstein School of Medicine (USA), the National University of Rosario (Argentina), the University of Minnesota (Saint Paul, USA), the University of California, Berkeley (USA), and the University of Colorado (USA), among others.