[opensourcepharma] OSP @ RHH 2015 will happen Sep 1-3

Tue Jun 9 00:02:20 UTC 2015

Dear Peter,

Thanks for the note and all the superb effort!

And dear all,

There is so much to discuss and plan and make sense of, as the open source meme seems to be catching on.  (And a quick personal apologia - I’ve been buried in things operational – trying to add some heft and muscle to this discussion and movement, so sorry for my relative silence of late on the email list-serv.)  For the meeting at the Castle, as you can see from the spreadsheet, we are already at 14 attendees, a mix of  “new” and “old” blood (i.e. those who attended Bellagio and those who did not), hailing from San Francisco (Linux Foundation) to Seattle (a special person from Gates) to Oxford (Structural Genomics), with some heavy hitters, so let us know if you are interested soon, as this is again a small venue, and we are trying to get the optimal mix.  Suggestions of people are also welcome.

As those of you who were at Bellagio remember, this is a special group, and a special colloquy and movement, operating in a realm that is at the cutting edge of the cutting edge, yet animated by human need.  It is a union of those adept at concretizing dreams.  And it is superfun, a bonding experience.  Thanks again to Peter for securing such an unbelievable spot.

And as a precis and discussion starter, a question, perhaps foolish and ill-informed, considering the vast expertise in this group, but posed in the spirit of risk-taking and thinking big, is appended below.

With warm regards,
Jaykumar

Repurposing (admittedly imprecise and perhaps inaccurate description):    Repurposed drugs offer the prospect of huge cost savings.  The goal of repurposing is to deploy approved drugs or abandoned clinical candidates in new disease areas.  Directing such drugs – particularly those that are fully approved and off patent - towards new diseases can deliver cures at a fraction of the cost of developing a new drug.  This is due to savings in R&D expense and reduced clinical trial requirements.

A question came up recently in a discussion with a funder, and we novices didn’t know the answer, and I thought I’d take it to the group mind.

Would it make any sense to have a grand and almost comprehensive repurposing project, an Apollo project of sorts, where we look at essentially all/large numbers of generic drugs, to see their applicability against a particular condition (or many) of (public) health need?  Has it already been adequately done?  (There have been  efforts from NIH NCATS, working with under-patent drug candidates from pharma companies, but evidently not with generics and approved drugs, and other efforts too).  Would it be at all needed, feasible and fruitful?  If so, crowdsourcing and openness would seem to be essential.  It is thus a natural fit for those intrigued by open source pharma.

j

From: Peter Kolb [mailto:peter.kolb at uni-marburg.de]
Sent: Monday, June 08, 2015 1:50 PM
To: opensourcepharma at lists.okfn.org
Cc: Jaykumar Menon, Prof.; Matthew Todd
Subject: OSP @ RHH 2015 will happen Sep 1-3

Dear past and future OSP participants,

The 2015 meeting will take place on September 1-3, 2015, in castle Rauischholzhausen<https://goo.gl/maps/TmERX>, near Marburg (greater Frankfurt area), Germany.  Here are some key facts to assist in your planning:

  *   Arrival is possible from Aug 31, 10am. Departure is on Sep 3 after lunch. The conference program will run from Sep 1 morning until Sep 3 noon.
  *   Please sign up at http://tinyurl.com/osprhh by June 30 in order to participate. This spreadsheet also allows you to record dietary preferences as well as arrival and departure times.
  *   The easiest travel option is to fly into Frankfurt airport (FRA), then take a train<http://www.bahn.de/p_en/view/index.shtml> to Marburg (approx. 90 mins), followed by a short cab ride to the castle. More detailed instructions will follow to participants at a later time.
  *   Accommodation as well as meals and coffee breaks will be provided at the castle.
  *   We have secured some sponsorship and are trying to secure more.  The worst-case scenario, in case we completely fail to do so, will be a lodging fee of EUR 250 per person (covering all accommodation and meals for the 3-4 days, which is quite reasonable). Please do not let it be an impediment to registering initially; if you need to drop out later, that will be all right.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to write!

Looking forward to a fruitful meeting in September,
Jay, Mat & Peter

--

P e t e r   K o l b

Emmy Noether Group Leader

Pharmaceutical Chemistry @ Philipps-University Marburg

Tel +49 6421 28 25908 | Fax +49 6421 28 28994

http://www.kolblab.org

Chair | GLISTEN: COST Action CM1207

http://www.glisten-gpcr.eu/

Editor | Journal of Postdoctoral Affairs

http://www.postdocjournal.com
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