Early career researchers from REMEDi4ALL institutions across Europe bring their unique expertise to explore the drug repurposing pathway.
The first edition of the REMEDi4ALL Hackathon kicks off today near Barcelona, Spain. Under the impressive backdrop of Montserrat, the week-long Hackathon will bring together early career researchers from REMEDi4ALL research institutions across Europe to work through the drug repurposing pathway, an essential method to develop new treatments for rare diseases with limited or no current treatment options.
Throughout the week, participants will have the opportunity to network with colleagues from institutions across the REMEDi4ALL Consortium to develop new relationships and collaborations within the context of drug repurposing. With mentoring from experts in the field of medicines repurposing, participants will apply and develop technical expertise and transferable skills.
“We are looking forward to welcoming REMEDi4ALL researchers from across Europe to gain hands-on experience exploring the drug repurposing pathway for rare diseases. We hope that participants will feel inspired to take learnings forward into their future research endeavors.”
– Berta Gumí Audenis, Head of Training and Education at Teamit and Hackathon co-organiser
Working in multidisciplinary teams, researchers will utilise REMEDi4ALL tools to identify, shortlist and prioritise potential drug candidate compounds for several neurodevelopmental disorders. Groups will then generate a target product profile (tools which guide drug development with information on intended use, target population, safety and efficacy) of their chosen drug candidates in a patient-centric manner. Then, participants will put their heads together to develop a drug repurposing development plan taking a multidisciplinary approach to consider impacts for stakeholders in healthcare, industry, and academia. The week will be rounded off by participants presenting their work to an expert panel.
Participants will have the opportunity to reflect on their learnings and return to their respective roles with a renewed understanding of the drug repurposing pathway and how this can be incorporated into their own research. We hope that the first edition of the Hackathon will be a great success for all those involved, and we are looking forward to giving a warm welcome to all our attendees.
