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Leveraging genetics to help inform drug target discovery

General Research

Researchers from the University of Oxford, together with colleagues across Europe as part of the ULTRA-DD Consortium (Unrestricted Leveraging of Targets for Research Advancement and Drug Discovery) have established a novel approach to maximise the informativeness of genetic evidence for drug target prioritisation.

In a paper published today in Nature Genetics, Professor Julian Knight at the Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics and colleagues from the ULTRA-DD Consortium shows how genetics and knowledge of networks can prioritise drug targets for immune-mediated diseases. 

The Priority Index or ‘Pi’ pipeline was developed by the study first-author Dr Hai Fang to be open-source and customisable, promoting collaborative efforts to accelerate early-stage drug development. This ethos was central to the ULTRA-DD Consortium, which included academic and pharma partners through an Innovative Medicines Initiative. A web interface allows users to visualise gene priority ratings, underlying data and analysis.

Read more (Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics website)

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