Pathogenic bacteria are becoming more and more resistant to our antibiotics, and this poses a great challenge for future treatments. One particular promising source of new antibiotics is peptides. We recently achieved a breakthrough in using artificial intelligence to recognize generic patterns associated with the production of these peptides. This allows the systematic discovery of dozens of new classes of peptide natural products. Read more

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is the phenomenon that pathogens become insensitive to the antibiotics that we use against them. Fortunately, we have recently discovered a new class of antibiotics. These new antibiotics, potent semi-synthetic glycopeptides, exhibit exceptional activity against MRSA and a range of vancomycin-resistant organisms. Read more

Since it was shown that many drugs are effective because they bind to their target for a long time, improving a compound’s target residence time could have great clinical value. We were the first to show the structure of CCR2, and that the protein can be inhibited from inside the cell by a small molecule. Read more

Researchers at LED3 are working together with biopharmaceutical company Galapagos to develop software for use in early drug discovery. This software is able to design molecules with several simultaneously optimized characteristics and will also take prediction reliability into consideration in order to better manage the 'Design-Make-Test' cycle. Read more

Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease are the most common neurodegenerative disorders, but unfortunately no treatment that halts the disease exists. In recent years, lipid signaling in microglial cells has gained scientific attention for the development of novel therapies for these neuroinflammatory diseases. We are currently assessing lipase activity in human brain and preclinical models, and we have several hit- and lead optimization projects to modulate lipid signaling. Read more

Activity-based protein profiling (ABPP) allows the assessment of protein function in live cells and tissues). It is one of the pillars of chemical biology, and at LED3 we have taken it to the next level, and use it to accelerate drug discovery. Read more

Human cells are very complex. Different chemical processes are going on at the same time, but they are separated from each other because the cells are divided in compartments. These compartments can also hamper the effect of medicines. We have developed two imaging technologies that allow us to image the fate of intracellular pathogens in detail, so we can study how these antibiotics affect bacteria residing in different subcellular compartments. This may increase the success rate of new drug development. Read more

Cancer is the leading cause of death in the Netherlands, and, with over 100 different types of cancer, it’s not a simple disease. The discovery and development of new drugs has the ability to significantly improve the life span and quality of life for many cancer patients and their families. Therefore, we have many internal and external collaborations to pursue these new treatments. Read more

The company Azafaros was established in 2018 to translate innovative science from Leiden University and Amsterdam University Medical Center into novel disease-modifying treatment modalities for rare genetic metabolic disorders such as lysosomal storage diseases. Read more