Compound News and Research

RSS

OICR funds four Ontario teams to develop next-generation cancer therapies

Better cancer care depends on better treatment options. That's why the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) is supporting four Ontario-based research teams working to develop the next generation of cancer therapies that are designed to be more effective at destroying tumors, have reduced side effects, and make cancer less likely to return.

9 Apr 2026

Fat-producing enzyme identified as key driver of damage in Parkinson’s disease

A fat-producing enzyme in brain cells may play a key role in driving damage in Parkinson's disease and could offer a new target for treatment, scientists at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have found.

9 Apr 2026

Sponge and sea slug partnership yields a new anticancer molecule with drug design promise

Researchers identified jorumycidine, a new hexacyclic marine alkaloid from the nudibranch Jorunna funebris and its dietary sponge, Haliclona sp., and demonstrated that it exhibits potent nanomolar cytotoxicity against multiple myeloma cells. They also proposed a new biosynthetic route involving cross-species metabolic interplay and an unusual oxazolidine ring that may help stabilize a pharmacologically important scaffold.

8 Apr 2026

Gut microbiota regulates intestinal epithelial cell function and plasticity

A research team led by scientists from the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in São Paulo, Brazil, has made significant progress in understanding the relationship between gut microbiota and intestinal cells.

7 Apr 2026

AI models may amplify bias in psychiatric aggression predictions

A first-of-its-kind study led by researchers at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) has found that artificial intelligence (AI) models used to predict aggressive incidents in acute psychiatric care can reinforce and amplify existing social and structural inequities by overestimating the likelihood of aggression among already marginalized groups.

7 Apr 2026

Metformin boosts an exercise-linked metabolite and may help control weight in prostate cancer patients

Metformin raised the exercise-linked metabolite Lac-Phe in prostate cancer patients across disease stages and treatment settings, while Lac-Phe itself did not predict anticancer response. Patients in the BIMET-1 metformin arm also showed better weight management during anti-androgen therapy, highlighting a possible metabolic benefit relevant to prostate cancer care.

7 Apr 2026

Blocking nitric oxide suppresses tumor growth in aggressive pediatric neuroblastoma

The tumor begins before birth. Somewhere in the developing fetus, neural crest cells that should have matured into adrenal tissue or sympathetic ganglia take a wrong turn, and a child is born harboring a malignancy that may not declare itself for months.

7 Apr 2026

Smoking shrinks key brain regions while cannabis shows weaker effects

The study highlights brain changes from tobacco use and calls for more research on cannabis, as its effects on brain structure remain inadequately understood.

7 Apr 2026

New compounds reduce inflammation without weakening immune defense

Scripps Research scientists have developed a new class of drug compounds that reduce harmful inflammation while leaving the body's ability to fight infections intact-a long-sought goal in treating autoimmune diseases.

6 Apr 2026

Expanded Medicaid improved access to buprenorphine for opioid use disorder

Medicaid insurance expansions between 2017 and 2023 sharply increased access to medication treatment for opioid use disorder in a period when fatal overdoses continued to climb, according to Rutgers Health researchers.

6 Apr 2026

Prickly pear may pack a surprising punch against metabolic syndrome

This narrative review examines how Opuntia ficus-indica fruit, or prickly pear, may help target multiple features of metabolic syndrome through its fiber, betalains, polyphenols, carotenoids, and other bioactive compounds. The authors conclude that the fruit shows promising mechanistic and preclinical potential, but stronger human trials are still needed before firm clinical claims can be made.

6 Apr 2026

Oral molecule prevents kidney stones and restores survival in mice

Scientists at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging have shown that an orally administered small molecule, N-propargylglycine (N-PPG), can completely prevent the formation of calcium oxalate kidney stones, protect against kidney failure, and fully restore normal survival in a mouse model of Primary Hyperoxaluria Type 2 (PH2), a rare and currently untreatable genetic disorder that causes progressive kidney failure in infants and young adults.

2 Apr 2026

Highly potent opioid shows potential as therapy for pain and opioid use disorder

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have identified a novel, highly potent opioid that shows potential as a therapy for both pain and opioid use disorder.

1 Apr 2026

Purdue University accelerates rare disease drug discovery with the WELLJET dispenser stacker

Scientists at Purdue University are using the WELLJET dispenser stacker from INTEGRA Biosciences to increase the speed, consistency and scale of drug screening for rare and neglected parasitic diseases.

1 Apr 2026

New therapy reprograms immune cells to reduce asthma inflammation

A collaborative effort between researchers at the Henan Academy of Innovations in Medical Science, Zhengzhou University, and Shenzhen University School of Medicine has provided the first proof-of-principle study demonstrating that targeting a receptor on the surface of anti-inflammatory regulatory T cells (Tregs) can restore their function and alleviate asthma in mice.

31 Mar 2026

Novel compound clears harmful protein, protects neurons in frontotemporal dementia models

New research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis adds to growing evidence that helping brain cells break down and eliminate their own cellular waste is a promising treatment strategy for a variety of neurodegenerative diseases.

31 Mar 2026

Retinal organoid study identifies pathways and compounds to protect cone cells

Scientists led by Botond Roska at the Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel (IOB) and collaborators have identified genetic pathways and compounds capable of protecting cone photoreceptors from the degeneration that underlies conditions like age-related macular degeneration.

30 Mar 2026