R&D Insight

Chemicals vs. drugs (Part 3): XKCD has the final word

This newsletter is part of a series — here are the links to Part 1, Part 2, (this one is Part 3), Part 4, and Part 5. You might also enjoy the discussion of AI-supported discovery in this May 2026 video from Nature.  Dear All, As a coda to the two newsletters on Chemicals, Drugs, and Halicin (link and

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NIAID RFA: Centers for Accelerating Phage Therapy (CAPT-CEP)

Dear All, 3 June 2026 update: NIAID has funded a 3-center coordinated network under this RFA! See the parallel announcements from the Gladstone Institutes (Center for PhAIge Therapy),  Stanford University (Center for Phage Pharmaceuticals), and the University of Pittsburgh (Center for Accelerating Phage Therapy). I was delighted to learn today that NIAID https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2026/06/bollyky-niaid-grant.htmlhas released RFA-AI-24-069, a

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AI-based drug discovery: Chemical vs. drugs (Part 4)

This newsletter is part of a series — here are the links to Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, (this one is Part 4), and Part 5. You might also enjoy the discussion of AI-supported discovery in this May 2026 video from Nature.  Dear All, We had fun in Feb 2020 discussing whether an antibacterial compound discovered using machine learning

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Chemical vs. drugs (Part 2): How do you discriminate? / More on halicin

This newsletter is part of a series — here are the links to Part 1, (this one is Part 2), Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5. Also relevant is the 5 April 2024 newsletter entitled “48,015 → 0: Antibacterial Discovery Is Hard. Really, Really Hard.“ You might also enjoy the discussion of AI-supported discovery in this May 2026 video from

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CDC: Funding opportunities (1 each) in US, Africa, and Asia

Dear All: CDC have recently posted this eclectic mixture of funding opportunities that circle the globe!  Funding opportunity: CDC-RFA-CK-26-0107 Title: “Building National Partnerships for the Prevention of Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases“ Brief description: Seeks to build capacity in the United States to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease threats by building and sustaining

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PACCARB returns! 16 June 2026 virtual meeting

Dear All: Without much fanfare, we have an announcement that PACCARB (the US Presidential Advisory Council on Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria) is being revived at a 16 June 2026 virtual meeting! Here are the links you need: 19 May 2026 Federal Register notice DHHS webpage about the meeting Date and time: 16 June 2026, 12.30-3.30p ET

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EUR 20m funding for next-gen diagnostics for LRTIs (Novo Nordisk Foundation)

Dear All: I have just learned of a recently opened grant program from NNF (Novo Nordisk Foundation) that seeks to fund early-stage proof-of-concept on rapid, minimally invasive and affordable testing for LRTIs ((Lower Respiratory Tract Infections) at the point-of-care in global settings. The grant program actually opened just after ESCMID and I missed the announcement

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Great AMR-focused podcast series on BBC Discovery!

Dear All, The BBC’s Roland Pease has put together a 3-part podcast series on AMR! Each episode is about 30 minutes, perfect for bite-sized listening. Here is my quick sketch of the topics and voices for each episode: Episode 1: From the discovery of penicillin to the rise of resistance Christoph Tang (Oxford) Kevin Outterson

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