OpenZika: An IBM World Community Grid Project to Accelerate Zika Virus Drug Discovery

PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2016 Oct 20;10(10):e0005023. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0005023. eCollection 2016 Oct.

Abstract

The Zika virus outbreak in the Americas has caused global concern. To help accelerate this fight against Zika, we launched the OpenZika project. OpenZika is an IBM World Community Grid Project that uses distributed computing on millions of computers and Android devices to run docking experiments, in order to dock tens of millions of drug-like compounds against crystal structures and homology models of Zika proteins (and other related flavivirus targets). This will enable the identification of new candidates that can then be tested in vitro, to advance the discovery and development of new antiviral drugs against the Zika virus. The docking data is being made openly accessible so that all members of the global research community can use it to further advance drug discovery studies against Zika and other related flaviviruses.

MeSH terms

  • Americas / epidemiology
  • Antiviral Agents*
  • Disease Outbreaks / prevention & control
  • Drug Design*
  • Drug Discovery*
  • Drug Industry
  • Humans
  • Molecular Docking Simulation
  • Pharmaceutical Research
  • World Health Organization
  • Zika Virus / chemistry
  • Zika Virus / drug effects*
  • Zika Virus Infection / drug therapy*
  • Zika Virus Infection / epidemiology
  • Zika Virus Infection / prevention & control
  • Zika Virus Infection / virology

Substances

  • Antiviral Agents

Grants and funding

The authors received no specific funding for this work.