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SUMMARY:Molecular assembly lines for drug biosynthesis - Professor Peter L
 eadley (Department of Biochemistry)
DTSTART:20081001T123000Z
DTEND:20081001T130000Z
UID:TALK12816@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Duncan Simpson
DESCRIPTION:Natural products represent a molecularly diverse\, genetically
 -encoded 'chemistry set' which has been honed by evolution\, and compounds
  based on natural products remain among the most valuable medicines ever i
 ntroduced to the clinic.  They include antibacterials\, antivirals\, antif
 ungals\, immunosuppressants\, cholesterol-lowering agents\, insecticides a
 nd an impressive array of anticancer compounds.  On the other hand\, the c
 omplexity of their structures hinders both chemical manipulation and total
  synthesis. The perceived difficulty of optimising an initial 'hit' into a
  patentable drug has led to a widespread disenchantment with natural produ
 cts in drug discovery.  Synthetic biology offers a new way to reconcile th
 e obvious merits of natural product-based drugs with the demands of the dr
 ug development process. It has recently become possible to redesign the ge
 nes that encode the synthesis of such chemicals\, to make precise changes 
 in the structure. A collection of bacteria housing such altered genes can 
 be used to produce 'libraries' of highly bioactive\, patentable chemical e
 ntities\, cheaply accessible by fermentation\, and capable of further dive
 rsification by conventional medicinal chemistry. Such compounds can also b
 e used as chemical genetic probes\, to study fundamental biochemical mecha
 nisms both in health and disease.\n
LOCATION:MR2\, Centre for Mathematical Sciences\, Wilberforce Road\, Cambr
 idge
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