Medicinal Chemistry

Our Pandemic Science Hub chemists work on streamlining the development of new drugs from finding the right candidates to the release of clinical-grade safe-for-human medical products. Their activities range from drug ingredient development to stability study and sterile drug product manufacture & release.

When selecting promising drug candidates, our chemists collaborate with the multidisciplinary Pandemic Science Hub team. We seek to either find already known molecules that could treat a disease they are not currently used against, or to discover new potential pharmaceutical compounds through large scale screenings done in cooperation with our external collaborators. The chemistry team then either sources the necessary ingredients if they are commercially available, or if they are not, partner with manufacturing organisations or manufacture them in-house. We can develop a wide range of new drugs or modified drug molecules right here at the Pandemic Science Hub.

Our chemistry team works in tandem with Pandemic Science Hub biologists to test sourced or produced drug molecules. They support biological research with chemical analytical techniques, for example by testing the composition and purity of molecules, or attaching markers to molecules, customized to the specific technical challenges of their colleagues. Housed within the Healthcare Translational Accelerator Facility, our chemistry laboratories can then prepare our validated drugs for clinical studies. The facility operates under the highest quality standards, including a government regulation compliant Sterile Fill Unit to safely package treatments.

The team has already produced several medical advancements that have been tested in first in-human trials, including imaging technologies to monitor disease causing bacteria and molecular activity in the lung.