Past Event: Oden Institute Seminar

Modeling in Drug Discovery: Role in the Newly Evolving Pharma Industry

Charles H. Reynolds, Gfree, LLC

Abstract

Computer modeling has grown to be an important tool in modern drug discovery. I will present some of my work on ligand binding thermodynamics and give a brief overview of the use of structure-based design, using recent examples. I will also outline current trends in the pharmaceutical industry and how these trends are impacting the industry. I would be happy to discuss how these changes might provide new opportunities and problems for research universities, such as the University of Texas. Bio: Charles H. Reynolds, Ph.D. Dr. Reynolds is currently President of GFree, LLC, a structure-based drug design company based in the Pennsylvania Biotech Center of Bucks County. He is an expert in the areas of computational chemistry, structure-based design, and drug discovery with more than 25 years of experience. Dr. Reynolds is also a Director on the Advisory Board of Quantum Bio, Inc. and an adjunct professor at the Pennsylvania Drug Discovery Institute. Previously he was Senior Director and Head of Discovery Technologies at Ansaris, where he was responsible for the company’s proprietary fragment-based design technology platform. He was also a member of the executive leadership team and oversaw research collaborations with Novartis. Prior to joining Ansaris, he led modeling groups at the Springhouse, PA and La Jolla, CA research sites of Johnson & Johnson, where he and his team made significant contributions to discovery programs in neuroscience, oncology, pain, and cardiovascular disease. Dr. Reynolds began his career at Rohm and Haas (now Dow) where his scientific contributions were recognized with the company’s highest science award, the Otto Haas Award. Dr. Reynolds has held a variety of leadership positions in the American Chemical Society (ACS), and was recently named a Fellow of the ACS. Some of his other awards include The Standards of Leadership Award (J&J) and Excellence in Science Award (J&J). Dr. Reynolds received his BA, with honors, from Austin College and PhD from the University of Texas at Austin. He was an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania and has supervised joint graduate and postdoctoral students at the Pennsylvania State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has published approximately 90 papers, patents, and book chapters, and is a co-editor of two books. His comments on drug discovery have been sought by news organizations ranging from C&E News to the Wall Street Journal.