Maria Alexandra Brito, Associate Professor with Habilitation at the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Lisbon (FFUL), and coordinator of the Neurovascular Laboratory at the Research Institute for Medicines (iMed.ULisboa) at the same Faculty, was distinguished with a “Pfizer Medical Grant” within the competitive call under the topic “Data generation on the treatment of Metastatic Breast Cancer with CDK 4/6 inhibitors”.
The winner project, entitled “Pipeline for discovery of CDK4/6 inhibitors for metastatic breast cancer treatment” aims to discover a new drug for the treatment of breast cancer metastases acting on multiple targets in order to prevent the development of resistance to treatment, also considering the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier for the treatment of brain metastases. For this purpose, computational tools will be used for the discovery of candidate molecules and their activity and safety will be ascertained in relevant pre-clinical models.
Overall, this project will have a major impact on a global health problem, improving the quality and life expectancy of patients with metastatic breast cancer, and bringing enormous economic and social benefits. The team led by the FFUL Professor counts with a specialist in Computational Sciences, André Falcão, and two PhD students in Pharmacy at FFUL (Joana Godinho-Pereira and Ana Rita Garcia).
