OUR BURDEN
Historically, nature has played a significant role in drug discovery in treating infectious and non-infectious diseases. About 50% of global pharmaceutical products are derived from nature, mostly from medicinal plants and microorganisms.
With the yearly record of death in millions caused by Cancer, Diabetes, Covid-19, Antimicrobial Resistance, and others, it's no news that diseases and infections are becoming a great threat to global human health. In recent times, WHO has called for new medicines, vaccines, and surveillance measures to tackle it.
This is our burden at GENOMAC HUB, where we integrate creativity, innovation, and biotechnology to proffer sustainable solutions to contemporary global health challenges through bioinformatics, Artificial Intelligence, and medicinal chemistry.
Utilizing Nature to Improve Health
We combine Bioinformatics, Artificial Intelligence, and Medicinal Chemistry to explore African medicinal plants and microbes from which we discover new medicinal products and create sustainable cures or treatments (Herbs or biosynthetic) for existing and emerging diseases or infections.
Our Medicinal Products
The following natural medications are currently under development at our research laboratory.
A traditionally tested cure for early-stage diabetes and treatment into complete remission for late-stage diabetic complications.
Diabetes
Haemorrhoids
A traditionally tested treatment with proof and no side effect for both early-stage and chronic-stage haemorrhoids
Diarrhoea
The Discovery of two African medicinal plants was traditionally tested on over 500 affected individuals, others with severe dysentery and cholera symptoms recovered completely.
Therapeutic Peptide Research and Development
Therapeutic peptides are a novel and promising approach for the development of new pharmaceutical drugs from natural sources such as Microbes, Plants, Animals, and Insects against several infectious and non-infectious diseases. Some of these pharmaceutical drugs include Antibacterial, Anti-viral, Anti-fungi, Anti-cancer, Anti-diabetes, etc. They can be specifically designed as an inhibitor of different oncogenic interactions if the binding site is known or even to penetrate the cell membranes.
HOW WE DO IT
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We are using Bioinformatics and computational biology via machine learning models to discover novel and potential therapeutic peptides from natural sources (In-silico approach)
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Biosynthesis and experimental verifications of discovered peptides (Wet lab approach)
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After a series of experimental verifications, we use the most promising therapeutic peptide for animal testing
Ongoing Therapeutic Projects
Antibiotics Research and Development
There is a need for new antibiotics to combat the rise of AMR threat globally over the years. So, at our research hub, we are making efforts to develop new antibiotics from novel antimicrobial peptides (AMP) discovered from natural sources.
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At the moment, a research team is developing a potential new antibiotic which they designed from a novel antimicrobial peptide (AMP) discovered in a specific probiotic bacteria for the treatment of skin infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus. ​
Anti-cancer Therapeutic Agents
Cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide with over 18 million cases in 2018 and 10 million death in 2020. It's predicted to rise to 29 million by 2040 unless there is a global response.
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Research on novel peptides discovered from the human gut microbiome against breast cancer is ongoing by our cancer research team.​
Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Surveillance Project
Antimicrobial resistance is an emerging and alarming global threat across the human, animal, plant, and environmental sectors with tremendous economic implications. This is due to the spread of drug-resistance pathogens that have acquired new mechanisms of resistance making it difficult to treat common infections. Based on estimations in 2019, about 1.2 million died from antibiotic-resistant bacteria infections and these infections played a role in 4.95 million deaths in the same year. New strategies are needed to combat this threat and provide evidence based insights for policymakers that will help save lives and protect health systems.