Centre for Chemistry and Drug Discovery

Designing and discovering new treatments

We aim to discover new medicines to treat the world’s deadliest diseases, including cardiovascular disease, stroke, cancer, inflammatory and respiratory diseases, neurological disorders, and to relieve chronic pain and suffering.  We also discover new medicines for animal health and eco-friendly insecticides to protect agriculture. 

We develop new clues for drug design by: 

• discovering biologically active natural products from Australian plants, animals, and microbes in soil. 

• studying structures and actions of disease-causing proteins as potential drug targets.

• creating new technologies for discovery and development of drugs, for growing medicines in plants and algae, and for monitoring drug candidates and their targets in disease.

We study Chemistry, Biochemistry, Pharmacology and Immunology to understand processes that control life, ageing, disease and death and to devise new treatments. 

The Centre has translated its research into drugs in clinical trials, insecticides for agricultural applications, and animal baits for pest control.