ANN ARBOR -- A new center at the University of Michigan will accelerate the progression to the marketplace of drugs under development at laboratories across campus.

Called the Center for the Discovery of New Medicines, it will coordinate and support work in a range of departments and schools to streamline drug discovery and development. It's intended to support the translation of early research toward patient use -- a gray area where funding is scarce.

"The CDNM will be a central hub for a dynamic community of researchers working on cures for devastating diseases," said Phil Hanlon, UM provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. "Making collaborations possible and offering expert guidance throughout the process will catalyze activity in this area."

Funding for early stage drug discovery -- identifying pathways involved in disease and finding ways to interact with those pathways -- has declined in the pharmaceutical industry. The National Institutes of Health has recently increased funding for translational research, but the investment is insufficient and many projects frequently languish without the financial support to conduct the next stage of development.

The CDNM is a virtual organization founded by multiple schools and departments at UM that are involved in biomedical research. Through rapid-access seed grants and twice-yearly pilot grant competitions, the CDNM will fund crucial steps in the drug discovery process while linking facilities that are currently unconnected.

"There is a lot of exciting work happening in drug discovery at UM, but it's fragmented," said Rick Neubig, professor of pharmacology and director of the CDNM. "By marrying the power of chemical diversity with the broad reach and expertise of Michigan biologists, we expect a big impact."

Disease areas in which UM is making the most immediate progress are cancer, inflammation, orphan and metabolic diseases and neurodegeneration, Neubig said.

The participating organizations at UM pooled about $500,000 a year for the next three years to distribute as grants. Neubig expects the CDNM will fund 10 to 15 projects a year. Tenure-track and research-track faculty members at UM will be able to apply. Applications for the first round of grants are due Oct. 1.

"The NIH is increasingly awarding its research funding to translational areas like innovative pharmacology and drug discovery," said Dr. James O. Woolliscroft, dean of the UM Medical School. "The center will help position us to compete for this funding."

The CDNM will also be a hub to connect UM researchers with commercial partners and foundations, Neubig said, adding that he expected the CDNM to help stimulate the region's economy.

"The CDNM can really maximize the potential for academic drug discovery at UM and accelerate the discovery of new therapeutics," said David Sherman, the Hans W. Vahlteich Professor of Medicinal Chemistry and associate dean for research and graduate education in UM's College of Pharmacy and a Life Sciences Institute faculty member. "We hope this work will lead to increased business development around drug discovery, which has the potential ripple throughout the industry and the region."

The CDNM is distinguished from academic drug discovery efforts at other institutions by the breadth and depth of UM's biomedical research, its capabilities in areas like medicinal chemistry and pharmacokinetics that are traditionally associated with the pharmaceutical industry, unique natural product extract libraries and a data-sharing system that increases efficiency and supports collaboration.

"We've seen firsthand the progress than can be made when scientists are able to work together spontaneously and smoothly," said Alan Saltiel, the Mary Sue Coleman Director of the Life Sciences Institute. "The CDNM will make it possible for scientists with promising discoveries to work together in new and highly productive ways to further develop potential treatments."

Funding for the CDNM has been provided by the College of Pharmacy, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Department of Internal Medicine, Department of Pathology, Endowment for the Basic Sciences, Life Sciences Institute, Medical School Office of Research and the Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research.

For more information, visit http://cdnm.lsi.umich.edu.