Drug Discovery News and Research

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The drug discovery process begins with recognizing a disease or clinical condition in which there is a lack of adequate medical treatment. Once a potential drug has been identified, pre-clinical research can begin. This process includes several stages; the first of which involves identifying and validating the prospective drug’s target through assay development, high throughput screening, hit identification and finally, lead optimization. Once the pre-clinical process is complete, the newly synthesized drug candidate is selected for future clinical development.

Aethlon Hemopurifier can capture Nef protein exosomes linked with HIV

Aethlon Medical, Inc., the pioneer in developing therapeutic filtration devices to address infectious disease and cancer, announced today that researchers have discovered that the Aethlon Hemopurifier is able to capture particles known as Nef protein exosomes, which contribute to the progression of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

14 Dec 2011

Researchers identify interactive pathway that regulates cancer metastasis

Finding ways to counteract or disrupt the invasive nature of cancer cells, called "metastasis," has been a long-term goal of cancer researchers. Now, researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., have identified an interactive pathway that regulates metastases in some cancers that may be vulnerable to chemical targeting in order to prevent cancer cell proliferation and tumor growth.

14 Dec 2011

Future of drug discovery and development to be highlighted at 2011 BPS Winter Meeting

The future of drug discovery and development at the bench and in the boardroom will be highlighted at a major international pharmacology conference in London, Tuesday 13 to Thursday 15 December.

7 Dec 2011

MSD establishes Asia Research & Development headquarters in Beijing

Merck & Co., Inc., known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced the establishment of an Asia Research & Development (R&D) headquarters for innovative drug discovery and development located in Beijing, China.

6 Dec 2011

Researchers uncover binding pocket of 'functional significance' in Ras oncoprotein

A drug discovery team at Genentech, Inc., has uncovered a chink in the molecular armor of Ras, the most commonly occurring oncogene, which is a gene that when mutated has the potential of causing cancer in humans.

5 Dec 2011

Dye derived from Canary Island lichens may help treat Alzheimer's disease

A red dye derived from lichens that has been used for centuries to color fabrics and food appears to reduce the abundance of small toxic protein aggregates in Alzheimer's disease. The dye, a compound called orcein, and a related substance, called O4, bind preferentially to small amyloid aggregates that are considered to be toxic and cause neuronal dysfunction and memory impairment in Alzheimer's disease.

3 Dec 2011

GE Healthcare invests in C8 MediSensors to focus on disease management solutions

GE Capital and GE Healthcare, the financial services and healthcare divisions of General Electric Company, announced today an investment in C8 MediSensors, Inc., a privately held developer of non-invasive continuous glucose monitors for diabetic patients.

2 Dec 2011

Agilent expands life sciences business with two strategic acquisitions

Agilent Technologies Inc. today announced it is expanding its life sciences business with two strategic acquisitions.

2 Dec 2011

arGEN-X closes EUR 27.5 million Series B fundraising round

arGEN-X, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of human monoclonal antibodies from its proprietary SIMPLE Antibody platform, announced today the closing of a EUR 27.5 million (USD 37 million) Series B fundraising round, which was oversubscribed.

1 Dec 2011

AmberGen, SomaLogic enter licensing agreement for photocleavable biotin reagent

SomaLogic, Inc. and AmberGen, Inc. announced today that they have entered into a licensing agreement whereby AmberGen will provide its proprietary photocleavable biotin reagent for the commercial use of SomaLogic's SOMAscan technology platform.

30 Nov 2011

New research institute at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Academic and government leaders announced today the establishment of a major new research institute at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center that will blend the best attributes of academic and industrial research to identify and validate new cancer targets, convert such scientific knowledge into new cancer drugs, and advance these novel agents into innovative clinical trials.

29 Nov 2011

GVK Biosciences and Moulder Center at Temple University enter drug discovery alliance

GVK Biosciences, Asia's leading drug discovery research & development organization, announced today that it has entered into a drug discovery alliance with the Moulder Center for Drug Discovery Research at Temple University.

28 Nov 2011

Decanoic acid can modulate glucose control

A Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) study published recently in the Journal of Biological Chemistry reveals that a natural fatty acid can serve as a regulator of blood sugar levels, which may have important applications in designing better and safer drugs for diabetes treatment.

22 Nov 2011

MIT, Pfizer announce new location for CVMED and Neuroscience research units

Pfizer Inc. and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) today held the official groundbreaking of the new location of Pfizer's Cardiovascular, Metabolic and Endocrine Diseases (CVMED) and Neuroscience research units at 610 Main Street, Cambridge, MA.

22 Nov 2011

Scientists discover family of chemical compounds that could prevent malaria

A international team led by scientists from the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation (GNF) and The Scripps Research Institute has discovered a family of chemical compounds that could lead to a new generation of antimalarial drugs capable of not only alleviating symptoms but also preventing the deadly disease.

17 Nov 2011

Eli Lilly provides $4M in additional funding to IDRI for new TB therapies

Eli Lilly and Company today announced that it is providing more than $4 million in additional funding to the Infectious Disease Research Institute. The funding will allow IDRI to continue its early phase drug discovery efforts focused on identifying new and better therapies in the fight against tuberculosis, including multidrug-resistant strains known as MDR-TB.

17 Nov 2011

VHIO, MGHCC sign tumor biomarker agreement

The President of the BBVA Foundation, Francisco Gonz-lez, Jose Baselga, Chief of Hematology/Oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center (MGHCC), and Andr-s de Kelety, Managing Director at the Vall d'Hebr-n Institute of Oncology (VHIO) in Barcelona, yesterday signed the agreement creating the BBVA Foundation Tumor Biomarkers Research Program.

17 Nov 2011

Viewpoints: The Supreme Court and the health law; Romney's plan for care for vets

The new mandate to buy health insurance has now reached the Supreme Court, which agreed on Monday to judge its constitutionality. The crux of the constitutional complaint against the mandate is that Congress's ability to regulate commerce has never been understood to give it the power to force Americans to buy insurance, or anything else. But not only is there a precedent for this, there is also clear support for it in the Constitution.

17 Nov 2011

CF Foundation, Genzyme announce new drug research agreement

Genzyme, a Sanofi company, and Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics Inc., the nonprofit affiliate of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, today announced a research agreement to support the discovery of new drugs to treat people with the most common mutation found in patients with CF, Delta F508.

17 Nov 2011

Boehringer Ingelheim bolsters drug discovery, development with $350M in capital investments

Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals announced today that it has made more than $350 million worth of capital investments throughout its U.S. operations this year, in order to further bolster its drug discovery, development and manufacturing capabilities.

16 Nov 2011