Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions
Combating Disease: Much more than pasta and potatoes
Environmental Science & Technology
April 14, 2009
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SummaryToday’s topic is research on combating disease. |
When you think carbohydrates, spaghetti, rice and freshly baked loaves of bread usually come to mind. A group of scientists in Germany led by Peter Seeberger see carbs a bit differently. Much more than just pasta and potatoes, they envision carbohydrates as the basis of revolutionary new vaccines and drugs to battle malaria, HIV, and a bevy of other diseases.
Peter H. Seeberger, Ph.D.
Speaking at the 237th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, Seeberger, Ph.D., reported a major advance toward opening the doors of a carbohydrate-based medicine chest for the 21st Century. He described development of an automated carbohydrate synthesizer, a device that builds these intricate molecules in a few hours — rather than the months or years required with existing technology.
“This was the first time we report now on a new prototype synthesizer that is highly reliable, very fast and can be operated by somebody who is not experienced in chemistry. That opens up a lot of applications — not only diagnostics but also vaccines.”
The automated synthesizer is now the fastest method to make complex carbohydrates. According to Seeberger, there are currently no competitive methods available.
Carbohydrates are tough molecules to build because of their complicated, branched structure. So instead of trying to build carbohydrates from scratch, scientists today use molecules isolated from nature, a painstaking process that could take months.
Seeberger’s leading goal is to create an inexpensive, carbohydrate-based vaccine for malaria. It is only one of over a dozen vaccines from Seeberger’s lab headed for clinical trials. Carbohydrate-based vaccines could target some of today’s most serious infectious diseases, including antibiotic-resistant infections and HIV.
“A more immediate app for carbohydrates is likely to be in carbohydrate-based
vaccines. They are right now two carbohydrate based vaccines for small children
on the market. These are blockbuster drugs — they protect small children from
infectious material diseases including meningitis. …
“I mainly focused my presentation on our carbohydrate-based vaccine against Malaria…
We are now getting very close to clinical trials. We have just finished preclinical trials
and we hope to have a cost of under 1$ per child, which is particularly important for
diseases like Malaria and Leishmaniasis. These are diseases that mainly affect adults
and children in the developing world. Right now, we have a total of 15 carbohydrate
antigens that are entering different stages of the clinical development process to
animal testing and finally, the clinic.”
Smart Chemists/Innovative Thinking
Smart chemists. Innovative thinking. That’s the key to solving global challenges of the 21st Century. Please check our full-length podcasts on combating disease. For the American Chemical Society, I’m Adam Dylewski in Washington.