Anonymous donor helps bridge the ‘valley of death’

There is limited government funding available for drug discovery research, and the high cost and risk can deter biotech and pharmaceutical companies from investing.

Medicinal chemist Professor Guillaume Lessene says these factors limit the ability of not-for-profit and academic research programs to undertake drug development research without an industry partner.

“The gap in funding for drug discovery and validation has led to this research being referred to as the ‘valley of death’”.

Professor Lessene’s research into a new cancer treatment was nearly stopped by the valley of death. His team had discovered a new drug that showed considerable promise as a treatment for people with cancer, but could not fund the next stage of research.

It was at this point that an anonymous donor decided to help the project continue. The donor has provided funding that will enable 12 months of further research on the potential new drug.

The donation has allowed the team to investigate how this new drug blocks cancer growth.

With this information, the next stage will be to progress the drug closer to patients, and potentially seek a commercial partner that may fund clinical trials.

“We are extremely grateful for the generosity of this donor, who has enabled an exciting project to continue, which we hope will one day benefit people with cancer,” Associate Professor Lessene said.

To discuss how you can support drug discovery projects at the Institute, please contact Sally Elford on (03) 9345 2345 or elford.s@wehi.edu.au.