# Targets, Structures and Drugs (TSD)

> **NIH NIH P30** · PURDUE UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $42,273

## Abstract

Targets, Structures and Drugs (TSD) Research Program
 Project Summary
 The mission of the newly formed Targets, Structures, and Drugs (TSD) Program is to accelerate the
development of novel therapies for cancer treatment through a pipeline that identifies lead compounds or
macromolecular target structures, and progresses their development by medicinal chemistry lead
optimization, rational design, and preclinical evaluation using animal models, including naturally occurring
canine models that are highly reflective of human disease. Purdue Center for Cancer Research (PCCR)
academic leadership in drug discovery is characterized by development of novel inhibitors for targets validated
by PCCR scientists. TSD's 50 Program members have shepherded 11 PCCR compounds into human
clinical trials and 37 compounds (up from 24 at the last review) into preclinical evaluation, including a total
of 22 canine studies of PCCR leads and novel technologies. Our goal the next grant cycle is to further enhance
drug development by continuing to enhance therapeutic lead development. The TSD is led by three co-leaders:
David Thompson (Lead, Medicinal Chemistry cluster), Deborah Knapp (Lead, Target Validation cluster), and
John Tesmer (Lead, Chemical and Structure Biology cluster). The TSD developmental pipeline is further
strengthened by the strategic addition of 24 new members since the last review, giving the TSD Program
robust coverage in each phase of the drug development pipeline. Members of the TSD Program are active
participants in the NCI Experimental Therapeutics – Chemical Biology Consortium (Thompson, Director), NCI
Comparative Oncology Clinical Trials Consortium (Childress, Purdue Director), DARPA Make It (Thompson, co-
Director), as well as NIH T32 Training Grants in Molecular Biophysics - (Tesmer, Director) and Drug Discovery
(Dai, co-Director). Over this last funding period, TSD faculty have secured $9.7 million in peer-reviewed cancer-
related support; have published 505 peer-reviewed articles, (25 % high-impact) with 14% intra-programmatic
and 15% inter-programmatic collaborations (49% inter-institutional). Further, TSD faculty translate their research
into deliverables, including 53 patents and 5 companies during this latest funding period.
 To facilitate our goals of advancing PCCR lead compounds, the TSD program plans to: (1) strategically
deploy programmatic funds to nucleate and support new inter- and intra-programmatic collaborations; (2)
leverage Purdue's strength in cryo-electron microcopy (cryo-EM) to enhance structure-based drug design and
target validation; (3) further develop scalable automated continuous synthesis of PCCR leads enabled by
Boilermaker Health Innovations (BHI); (4) expand lead testing in canine spontaneous cancer models; and (5)
inspire the continuing development of scientific leaders in cancer research through innovative training. We will
further these goals by recruiting leading scientists, particularly in the areas of drug d...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10024919
- **Project number:** 2P30CA023168-40
- **Recipient organization:** PURDUE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** DAVID H THOMPSON
- **Activity code:** P30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $42,273
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** — → —

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10024919

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10024919, Targets, Structures and Drugs (TSD) (2P30CA023168-40). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10024919. Licensed CC0.

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