Frequently Asked Questions about this project:
Questions regarding the science and methodology are most likely answered in this post
Who is involved?
All of you. Seriously. We are an open group of researchers sharing our data openly and working under no IP constraints on the compounds. Please contribute!
Contributions have come from a wide range of sources: grad students, professors, and medicinal chemists who have formerly helped bring drugs to market. All should feel equally welcomed to contribute and comment.
How can I help?
Keep submitting designs, and keep spreading the word – the more contributions the better! And please keep visiting this forum at https://discuss.postera.ai/c/covid/5 looking for more ways to help.
Who is coordinating and managing the project?:
The project is being coordinated and managed by Alpha Lee and Matt Robinson from PostEra. Input and contributions are being received from Anthony Aimon (@AnthonyA), Diamond Light Source; John Chodera (@JohnChodera), MSKCC; Frank von Delft, Diamond Light Source and Oxford; Alpha Lee, PostEra and Cambridge; Nir London, Weizmann; Matt Robinson (@mc-robinson), PostEra; Tatiana Matviyuk, Enamine; Vladimir Ivanov, Enamine.
What has been contributed to date?
- PostEra: The website, ideas, and networking
- Diamond Light Source: Ideas and networking. Note: Diamond will not receive any funding raised through Alpha Lee’s GoFundMe page.
- London lab (@london_lab), Weizmann Institute: Ideas and networking. Note: The Weizmann will not receive any funding raised through Alpha Lee’s GoFundMe page.
- Enamine: Ideas, planning, and pricing.
- Chodera Lab, MSKCC: Ideas and networking Note: MSKCC will not receive any funding raised through Alpha Lee’s GoFundMe page.
What is PostEra? And why is this all on their website?
PostEra Inc. is a startup that integrates molecular design with chemical synthesis. However, we are working totally pro-bono on this project. We just saw some great data produced by the team at Diamond Light Source, and we wanted to get involved. We realized that we had both the tools and bandwidth to greatly improve the crowdsourcing project. Like many companies around the world, we are seeking opportunities to contribute to combatting COVID-19, and see this pro bono involvement as the best route to doing so.
How does a for-profit company benefit from this project?
We’re not completely sure! But we are a company made up of humans, and we are concerned about COVID hurting humans. This is a way we thought we could be useful, so we offered to help.
Will there be any intellectual property restrictions?
No. All intellectual property involving identities of compounds developed under this project will be made openly available in the public domain without patent or any other form of intellectual property restrictions.
How is the donated money being handled?
All funding raised through our GoFundMe page is being managed by Alpha Lee of PostEra Inc. All funds raised from the crowdfunding will be detailed in an openly accessible document, which will detail the the amount raised to date, the amount spent to date, balance remaining, what the funding has been spent on, and who it has been paid to. This document will be updated at least weekly. All of the funds raised will go toward the synthesis and testing of the most promising compounds that result from the project submissions.
What will the funds will be spent on?
The funding will only be used for the synthesis and testing of compounds. PostEra will get feedback from the key organizations providing input and contributions in advance of spending any funds raised through our GoFundMe page. PostEra is committed to complying with the law and being transparent about all actions and decisions relating to the funds raised for this project.
What will be done with any unspent funding?
While we expect to use all the funds raised on the synthesis and testing of compounds, any unspent funds raised through the GoFundMe page will be donated to fund not-for-profit research into the prevention of pandemics.