Chemistry International
Vol. 21, No. 3
May 1999
News
from IUPAC
Research and Trainng
in Medicial Chemistry in South and Central America and Sub-Saharan Africa
Introduction
Work Rationale
General Considerations
Survey Recipients
Results and Analysis of the Answers Received
Cooperation in Practical Training, Teaching
and Research in Medicinal Chemistry
Comments
A Crucial Time for Collaboration in Medicinal
Chemistry
Survey
Recipients
Addressees of the survey included South and Central American
countries and sub-Saharan Africa. Ten surveys were distributed by mail
to recipients in Chile (B. K. Cassels and S. Sepúlveda-Boza),
Perú (E. Montoya), Nigeria (M. O. Fatope and S. A. Adesanya),
Cameroon (N. Barthelemy and B. L. Sondengam), Zimbabwe (L. F. S. Chagonda),
Ethiopia (D. Abate), and Madagascar (P. Rasoanaivo).
Surveys were carried out directly by way of interviews
in 15 countries of South and Central America. Interviewees included
Argentina (G. D. Ferraro), Bolivia (A. G. Turba), Brazil (A. Braga de
Oliveira, A. J. Lapa, and E. Barreiro), Colombia (R. Pinz�n), Costa
Rica (G. A. Mora), Cuba (R. Pell�n), Chile (B. Cassels, E. González,
and P. Huenchunir), Ecuador (X. Chiriboga), Guatemala (A. Cáceres),
Panamá (M. P. Gupta), Paraguay (E. A. Ferro), Peru (E. Montoya
and O. Lock), Dominican Republic (M. Vásquez), Uruguay (E. Manta
and G. Seoane), and Venezuela (J. N. Domínguez).
Results and Analysis of the Answers
Received
Results and analysis are grouped according to the four areas
described under "General Considerations" above.
Teaching of Medicinal Chemistry
In this section of the questionnaire, a request was made
for information concerning the type of institution where medicinal chemistry
is taught, the strong points and deficiencies observed in the system,
and the perceived needs and actual situation concerning collaboration
with other countries.
The fundamental situation is that teaching of medicinal
chemistry, as currently defined, is not present at all in the developing
countries; however, complementary disciplines such as organic chemistry,
pharmacognosy, and pharmacology are considered. In some cases, studies
in medicinal chemistry are related to the identification and preparation
of biologically active chemical entities, not new chemical entities.
Results of the surveys indicate that studies related
to medicinal chemistry are dispersed throughout different institutions
and reflect interest in considering medicinal chemistry as a new discipline
to be included in the curriculum.
Interesting initiatives have been found in the promotion
of medicinal chemistry education. One noteworthy example is that of
a group of professors from Brazil (56 Schools of Pharmacy) who are working
on new study programs, both academic and training, incorporating internationally
recognized tools. This type of initiative is not unique in South America,
and a Peruvian group can be cited as one more example. Argentina is
yet another interesting case where studies in medicinal chemistry are
adapted to current parameters used by those countries with a long tradition
in this specialty.
From a teaching standpoint, the needs are, in general,
substantial and important. Three areas require scrutiny: (1) teaching
staff, (2) reference literature, and (3) reagents and equipment. Teaching
staff, in general, are well trained and quite interested in the subject.
Very often, many of these professors have had long stays in prestigious
universities and research centers as part of their training. Making
adjustments within the field of education to allow professors from related
disciplines to contribute to the task of teaching medicinal chemistry
does not appear to present special difficulties. From a reference literature
standpoint, important needs have been found. Lack of a research tradition,
vital for consolidating libraries of reference materials, and economic
problems in coping with the cost of these essential tools have contributed
to important deficiencies in the bibliographic area. Lack of adequate
reagents is equally important. Once again, the economic aspects conflict
with the teaching practice.
Aid is needed in all three areas of teaching. Experts
are needed to give courses in the various institutions surveyed. These
experts need to be able to collaborate in drafting training programs
and to be able to receive professors for training in their universities.
Material aid for acquisition of reference literature and of supplies
for practical training in laboratories is a foremost necessity. In addition,
inadequate maintenance of laboratory equipment by supplier companies
is a frequent problem.
Research in Medicinal Chemistry
This section of the questionnaire investigated the offerings
and needs of research centers and personnel dedicated to the study of
medicinal chemistry.
Research in medicinal chemistry in the countries surveyed
is and has historically been centered almost exclusively on the field
of natural products. This situation can be traced to considerable historical
knowledge of plants with medicinal activity in cultures whose origins
are very remote, and to the circumstance that little effort has been
put into technology and scientific investigation in the search for and
improvement of active compounds by molecular manipulation.
All those who answered the questionnaire showed great
interest in not being mere suppliers of plants. In order to upgrade
medicinal chemistry research in developing countries by taking natural
products as a starting point, it is necessary to consider the following:
- Strengths: correct identification of plants (in general, good botanists
exist in these countries), gathering of plant material, and preparation
of extracts.
- Weaknesses: difficulties in determination of biological activities,
validation of extracts, determination of structures responsible for
specific biological activity, and industrialization and commercialization.
Independent of the degree of scientific development, there
is considerable interest in entering the field of medicinal chemistry
research. Scientific authorities in the countries surveyed are particularly
interested in collaborating on research relevant to natural products
with biological activity. Most importantly, authorities of the countries
studied consider the active plants to be part of their heritage and
a possible source of wealth. They are aware of the fact that they are
obliged to attempt, by all means, to retain the greater part of the
resulting capital gains. In some cases, bureaucratic requirements necessary
for obtaining plants or extracts from their place of origin are overwhelming,
and failure to satisfy these requirements can result in judicial action.
Opportunities for Development of Research, Teaching,
and Training in Medicinal Chemistry
Although natural products are of greatest interest to
the countries surveyed, possibilities for collaboration with countries
that are leading the way in research and education in medicinal chemistry
are so diverse that they could cover practically any area of interest
in the therapeutic field.
In a true sense of collaboration, it is important to
work on questions that are characteristic of the countries surveyed.
A representative example is Chagas' disease, or malaria. There are also
diseases, such as AIDS, that were once restricted to certain countries
but are now a universal problem. An illness such as diarrhea, no longer
considered to be a significant problem in developed countries, is of
great concern in the countries surveyed. Ophthalmologic diseases are
another example of interest to developing societies, where there is
a different focus from that in developed countries. The approach to
treating these diseases can be considered, at least partially, from
a medicinal chemistry standpoint.
All of the aforementioned examples are of interest to
countries that are developing medicinal chemistry programs. The point
here is that working collaboratively on these issues is not only resulting
in a great contribution to development of and interaction with other
societies, but it is also leading to the discovery of new opportunities
for those societies that have found their way into the field of medicinal
chemistry.
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