ICBG Project: Funded by the National Institutes of Health in cooperation with the Fogary International Center and NSF

International Cooperative Biodiversity Groups: Drug Discovery & Biodiversity Conservation in Madagascar - Planning Grant October 2003-September 2005

Overview: The purpose of this planning project is to create a drug discovery program in Madagascar that will provide economic benefits and contribute to biodiversity conservation in the bio-rich moist forests surrounding Ranomafana National Park in southeastern Madagascar. The ICTE, based at Stony Brook University, will build on its years of experience in Madagascar (since 1986) to negotiate agreements with Malagasy officials and local traditional healers, obtain permits and assist with the logistics of working in Madagascar. The Centre ValBio will be used as the local base of operations. The University of Antananarivo and the University of Fianarantsoa (ISTE) will continue in the pursuit of ethno botanical drug discovery leads while the California Academy of Sciences will expand it bio-survey activities to include bioprospection and supply novel materials for extraction. The Institute for Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery (ICB&DD) at Stony Brook University, in collaboration with the Universita del Piemonte Orientale in Italy, will provide expertise in structure determination, structure-activity relationship studies, and selection of drug candidates. INDENA SpA., a private company dedicated to the commercial development of pharmaceutical, health-food, and cosmetic products, which has a base of operations near Ranomafana, will be responsible for bulk purification and the commercial development of pure compounds and/or extracts. Initial activities during the planning phase will focus on a traditional cough remedy and plants that appear to contain anit-malarial ingredients. The ICBG will work with experts in small business development to plan sustainable economic incentives related to these drug discovery activities. The Group is dedicated to training Malagasy people in all aspects of drug discovery and to using the best practices toward developing both sustainable and fair commercial use of the biodiversity-rich resources of the Ranomafana region.

Project Structure

Research Plan and Objectives: The purpose of this ICBG is to promote the conservation of biodiversity in Madagascar, a unique tropical environment, by demonstrating that this rich natural heritage is a source of useful, health-related products, drug leads and a basis for economic growth. The planning grant will be used to establish relationships and procedures that will underpin a comprehensive project.

Thus the specific aims of this proposal are:

1. to hold a workshop in Madagascar that will introduce the ICBG to local residents and officials and allow the exchange information about goals and expectations for the project.
2. to pursue a small number of ethnobotanical and zoological leads, thereby setting up the arrangements and procedures that will serve as the foundation of the drug discovery project. Arrangements include those pertaining to intellectual property and benefit sharing. Procedures include data collection and organization, specimen distribution, and training.
3. to expand the scope of systematic surveys of plants, insects, and spiders by the California Academy of Sciences in southeast Madagascar and to establish a bioprospecting protocol for this region that will complement the established traditional ethnobotanical approach to drug discovery.
4. to discover opportunities for micro-enterprises related to the improvement of health or environmental preservation and to enhance the local scientific infrastructure so that it can serve responsible business development.
5. to develop georeferences biosurvey and systematic databases for the Centre ValBio, and plan biodiversity conservation activities related to biosurvey and database development.

Progress Report, March 2004

Progress Report, February 2005

Harungana madagascariensis (Clusiaceae) above the Namorona River, Ranomafana National Park. Please see Progress Report, February 2005.