Open source drug discovery - a limited tutorial.

Open science is a new concept for the practice of experimental laboratory-based research, such as drug discovery. The authors have recently gained experience in how to run such projects and here describe some straightforward steps others may wish to take towards more openness in their own research programmes. Existing and inexpensive online tools can solve many challenges, while some psychological barriers to the free sharing of all data and ideas are more substantial.

Easy-To-Synthesize Spirocyclic Compounds Possess Remarkable in Vivo Activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Society urgently needs new, effective medicines for the treatment of tuberculosis. To kick-start the required hit-to-lead campaigns, the libraries of pharmaceutical companies have recently been evaluated for starting points. The GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) library yielded many high-quality hits, and the associated data were placed in the public domain to stimulate engagement by the wider community. One such series, the spiro compounds, are described here. The compounds were explored by a combination of traditional in-house research and open source methods. The series benefits from a particularly simple structure and a short associated synthetic chemistry route. Many members of the series displayed striking potency and low toxicity, and highly promising in vivo activity in a mouse model was confirmed with one of the analogues. Ultimately the series was discontinued due to concerns over safety, but the associated data remain public domain, empowering others to resume the series if the perceived deficiencies can be overcome.

Experiences with a researcher-centric ELN.

Electronic Laboratory Notebooks (ELNs) are progressively replacing traditional paper books in both commercial research establishments and academic institutions. University researchers require specific features from ELNs, given the need to promote cross-institutional collaborative working, to enable the sharing of procedures and results, and to facilitate publication. The LabTrove ELN, which we use as our exemplar, was designed to be researcher-centric (i.e., not only aimed at the individual researcher's basic needs rather than to a specific institutional or subject or disciplinary agenda, but also able to be tailored because it is open source). LabTrove is being used in a heterogeneous set of academic laboratories, for a range of purposes, including analytical chemistry, X-ray studies, drug discovery and a biomaterials project. Researchers use the ELN for recording experiments, preserving data collected, and for project coordination. This perspective article describes the experiences of those researchers from several viewpoints, demonstrating how a web-based open source electronic notebook can meet the diverse needs of academic researchers.

Efficient Synthesis and Anti-Tubercular Activity of a Series of Spirocycles: An Exercise in Open Science.

Tuberculosis afflicts an estimated 2 billion people worldwide and causes 1.3 million deaths annually. Chemotherapeutic solutions rely on drugs developed many years ago, with only one new therapeutic having been approved in the last 40 years. Given the rise of drug-resistant strains, there is an urgent need for the development of a more robust drug development pipeline. GlaxoSmithKline recently placed the structures and activities of 177 novel anti-tubercular leads in the public domain, as well as the results of ongoing optimisation of some of the series. Since many of the compounds arose from screening campaigns, their provenance was unclear and synthetic routes were in many cases not reported. Here we present the efficient synthesis of several novel analogues of one family of the GSK compounds-termed "Spiros"-using an oxa-Pictet-Spengler reaction. The new compounds are attractive from a medicinal chemistry standpoint and some were potent against the virulent strain, suggesting this class is worthy of further study. The research was carried out using open source methodology, providing the community with full access to all raw experimental data in real time.