Perspective for pharmaceutical innovation in Brazil - center for applied toxinology (CEPID- center for research, innovation and dissemination - FAPESP)

ABSTRACT

The Center for Applied Toxinology (CAT), an institutional research organization based at the Butantan Institute, is one of the several Centers of Research, Innovation and Dissemination (CEPID) created in September 1998. CEPID, a pioneering program of the The State of São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), was established to stimulate research, disseminate knowledge and foster contact between science and industry. CAT aims at conducting research on compounds derived from naturally occurring toxins, which might be of medical, ecological and economic interest. CAT takes a multidisciplinary approach in the investigation of natural toxins, including isolation and purification, pharmacological action, structural determination, structure-function studies, and molecular biology aspects. The following institutions will be involved in this endeavor University of São Paulo (USP) [Marine Biology Center; Departments of Physiology and Anatomy, Institute for Biomedical Sciences; Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Chemistry]; São Paulo State University (UNESP) [Laboratory of Structural Biology and Zoochemistry, Institute of Biosciences, Rio Claro; Laboratory of Crystallography, Department of Physics, Institute of Biosciences, Humanities, and Exact Sciences, São José do Rio Preto]; and the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP).(AU)