Ed Griffen
@griffen-ed.bsky.social
husband, father, son, brother, computational medicinal chemist, anti-infective drug discovery, perpetually curious, apprentice akidoka, school governor @MedChemica, @covid_moonshot, @asap_discovery
Dengue is no longer just a tropical disease. As the climate warms, the dengue-carrying mosquito is expanding its reach to new regions. Despite this growing global threat, there is still no specific treatment for dengue. Together with our partners, we're working to change this!
Motivated by a joint goal to make machine learning work for drug development, pharmaceutical companies are collaborating with one another and with public consortia to close the data gap. cen.acs.org/pharmaceutic... #chemsky 🧪
Welcome to the most important job you'll ever have @andyburnham.bsky.social Cartoon brilliance by @bjennings90.bsky.social for @theguardian.com
Nae king! Nae quin! Nae laird! Nae master! We willnae be fooled again! ― Terry Pratchett, Wee Free Men 2003
Working on new antivirals with the whole team in the @asapdiscovery.bsky.social consortium is incredible, great science, superb committed team all focussed on current and potential future viral threats. Front rank science applied to reducing human suffering ✅.
Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi)@dndi.org · 4mo ago'Every two weeks we now generate more lead‑optimization structural data on #dengue than we did in the previous two decades combined. The pace of the ASAP open-source project is astounding,' said @griffen-ed.bsky.social, technical director @medchemica.com. (1/3)
This is why we do medicinal chemistry: www.science.org/content/blog.... @dndi.org
The Best Weapon Yet Against Sleeping Sickness
science.org
Dr Javid Abdelmoneim@intlpresident.msf.org · 5mo agoIn 2014, I visited eastern DRC, where @msf.org teams were treating sleeping sickness - the only available treatment was a drug so toxic it killed 1 in 20 patients. In 2026 I'm so proud that, thanks to @dndi.org, patients can be cured with a single dose of a groundbreaking new oral drug, acoziborole.
Chemistry in current events: the connections between fertilizer, the Haber-Bosch process, and the Persian Gulf. Read this and your knowledge will exceed that of most of our current political leadership after only a few minutes of light work:
Nitrogen, Ammonia, and the Strait of Hormuz
science.org
If you have anything to do with young people(I’m a a High School Trustee, my wife is a Girl Guide Commissioner) the scars are still clear, if you take even a moment to look.
The Conversation UK@uk.theconversation.com · 5mo agoMemorials, campaigns and a national day all exist, yet agreement on what should be remembered remains elusive.
Something incredible I learned (re-learned?) tonight is that the blog post where the first SARS-CoV-2 genome was shared - six years ago on Saturday - included the most iconic footnote of all time
Save the date! Next year's European #RDKit UGM will take place from 16-18 September in Darmstadt, Germany. Pre-registration will open in early 2026.
Great news! 🎉 Following an independent expert review, we have formally nominated the broad-spectrum pan-coronavirus antiviral ASAP-0017445 as a pre-clinical drug candidate. 🔗Read the press release here: dndi.org/press-releas...
I first wrote about some of the early stages of this project in March 2020 (cen.acs.org/pharmaceutic...). I've been privileged to follow along since then (cen.acs.org/pharmaceutic...). Congratulations to everyone who contributed.
Antiviral unveiled that goes after multiple coronaviruses
Open-science consortium discloses its lead candidate to fight SARS-CoV-2 and MERS-CoV
cen.acs.org
Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi)@dndi.org · 11mo agoGreat news! 🎉 Following an independent expert review, we have formally nominated the broad-spectrum pan-coronavirus antiviral ASAP-0017445 as a pre-clinical drug candidate. 🔗Read the press release here: dndi.org/press-releas...
ASAP is incredibly proud to work with superstar antiviral discovery scientists at Mount Sinai: Briana McGovern, Meg Gordon, Dr. Kris White, Dr. Suazo, and Jared Benjamin, among others! Read about their important work here: health.mountsinai.org/blog/stories...
Heading overland to the #RDKit UGM, trying out the sleeper Brussels ->Prague from a London-> Brussels Eurostar. But first:
Disease prevalence in US states before & after vaccine introduction 🧪 From Edward Tufte & graphics.wsj.com/infectious-d...
AI advances are all about getting enough good data. For the first time this is data at the scale we need it for faster drug discovery. This could make a difference to so many diseases.
MedChemica@medchemica.com · last yr.New OpenBind consortium to make the UK a leader in AI-driven drug discovery-slashing the cost of drug discovery & development.. & MedChemica are at the heart of it! Click for the full gov.uk article and direct quote from our Technical Director @griffen-ed.bsky.social www.gov.uk/government/n...
If you weren’t able to attend our Symposium on Open Drug Discovery in Montreal in April, you’re in luck - the recordings are now on YouTube and the slides are on Zenodo! 🎥 Watch the recordings: www.youtube.com/playlist?lis... 📄 Access the slides: zenodo.org/communities/...
Conscience Symposium on Open Drug Discovery 2025 - YouTube
Recordings of the talks that took place at the Conscience Symposium on Open Drug Discovery on April 7-8, 2025 in Montreal.
youtube.com
Learning about European approaches to Pandemic Preparedness “We’re not safe till we’re all safe”: @asapdiscovery.bsky.social at: health.ec.europa.eu/events/hera-... #HealthUnion
health.ec.europa.eu
Brilliant explainer from Pascale how to use patents as enablers in preparing for the next pandemic.
Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi)@dndi.org · last yr.Did you know that we can manage patents in a way that serves the public good? Our Intellectual Property & Access Leader shares why, together with our partners from the @asapdiscovery.bsky.social, we are filing a #patent for a promising new #molecule that we developed together. shorturl.at/IgL80
Today, @griffen-ed.bsky.social explains at the Open Drug Discovery Symposium how @asapdiscovery.bsky.social has developed a hybrid intellectual property model that counterintuitively uses patents to support open science innovation and ensure affordability & global access. 🔗 shorturl.at/gMY0t
shorturl.at
If this sparks your interest there's more of our background thinking published on open access in Wellcome Open Science: wellcomeopenresearch.org/articles/9-374
wellcomeopenresearch.org
Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi)@dndi.org · last yr.'We want wide, fast, and affordable access for our new antiviral. It might sound counterintuitive, but a patent will help us do that.' Read our full opinion piece co-authored by Ed Griffen (@griffen-ed.bsky.social) and Pascale Boulet ⤵️ cen.acs.org/pharmaceutic...
Here’s a post on this molecule, and good luck to all involved!
A New Pan-Coronovirus Protease Inhibitor Possibility
science.org
Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi)@dndi.org · last yr.📢Important announcement! Today, the @asapdiscovery.bsky.social consortium disclosed the structure of our preclinical candidate, ASAP-0017445, a promising broad-spectrum antiviral with potent activity against SARS-CoV2 and other viruses belonging to the same family. (1/10)
Massive credit to all members of @asapdiscovery.bsky.social :- drug discovery is a massive team sport. Especially the chemists at Enamine working through the war.
C&EN (Chemical & Engineering News)@cenmag.bsky.social · last yr.At #ACSSpring2025, Ed Griffen of MedChemica disclosed the structure of a pancoronavirus antiviral that targets the main protease of the two different coronaviruses that cause Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and COVID-19. cen.acs.org/acs-news/acs... 🧪
If you, like me, do not particularly want to die by bleeding out of your eye sockets from diseases like Ebola, and think it's dumb to cut funding for viral countermeasures for future pandemics "because the COVID pandemic is over", here's something you can do about it: resist.bot/petitions/PX...
Reinstate funding for pandemic prevention research and preparedness
Text SIGN PXNIDH to 50409 to send this to your officials.
resist.bot
