Question: how successful are you with the new drug molecules

Rebecca Roddan answered on 4 Nov 2018:

I’ve been successful in making lots of new drug molecules, but unfortunately, I don’t have the time to test them for any medicinal activities.

One of my friend who works in the same lab as me tests some of them to see if they have anti-tuberculosis activities. Tuberculosis is a disease which affects your lungs and causes lots of coughing, fevers, weight loss. There are lots of strains emerging now which can’t be treated by current drugs so lots of people are looking to find new drugs. We’re currently waiting to see if our drugs can help but it takes a long time to get results back.

I have managed to make drugs using my enzyme which have been shown to have bronchodilatory activities. This means that they relax muscles in your lungs, making it easier to breathe, so are really useful for people with illnesses such as asthma. Asthma is where your lungs get inflamed (get irritated and swell up) and so spaces in your lungs get smaller and it’s harder to breathe.