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ELF testimonial: Maria Paola Costi
Maria Paola Costi is a Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Modena in Italy. In addition to her teaching responsibilities, Maria also runs a research group working on the development of antiparasitic and anticancer agents. Having had a proposal in the antiparasitic research area successfully approved by the European Lead Factory (ELF), we asked Maria about her experience to date in collaborating with the partnership.
How did you hear about the ELF?
I’ve known about the ELF for many years, since its start in 2013. Our group initially submitted a proposal related to antibiotics, which did not move forward. We kept looking out for new calls and eventually submitted another proposal to do with antiparasitics. We had a strong assay that met all of the ELF requirements and felt confident that we could explore new compounds for the purposes of our research.
What has been your experience of working with the ELF?
Overall, our experience has been very positive. The programme management was very thorough and all processes ran smoothly. We were properly informed and had regular meetings with the management team who provided us with all discussion points in a timely manner. In terms of project development, this greatly helped us in the efficient progression of our programme.
What is it that makes the ELF an attractive initiative to collaborate with?
The ELF can help researchers in any area find high-quality hits or leads. The results provided by the ELF are also very selective in terms of intellectual property, something that requires careful research. All of this provides a strong basis for future medicinal chemistry programmes.
Would you recommend others to work with the ELF?
Absolutely! The ELF has been of great value to our work, both in terms of the quality of the results and the efficient progression and cost savings for our research. The ELF team is very skilled in terms of compound profiling and overall project management. Without the ELF it would have been very difficult for us to achieve the same results.