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Loss of SKIP sensitizes cancer cells to apoptotic effects of DNA damage-inducing anticancer drugs

When cells find themselves in a tight spot, the cell cycle regulator p21 halts the cell cycle, buying cells time to repair the damage, or if all else fails, to initiate programmed cell death. In contrast to other stress-induced genes, which dispense with the regular transcriptional entourage, p21Cip1 still requires SKIP, a transcription elongation factor that also helps with the editing of transcripts, to be expressed, found researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.

2 Apr 2011

Results of Boehringer Ingelheim's BI 201335 study presented at Annual Meeting of EASL

New data presented today at the 46th Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver demonstrate the antiviral activity of Boehringer Ingelheim's once-daily oral protease inhibitor, BI 201335, in both treatment-naive and -experienced patients with chronic genotype-1 hepatitis C virus, the most challenging genotype of HCV to treat.

1 Apr 2011

Vertex announces interim results from VX-222 ongoing Phase 2 study against hepatitis C

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated today announced interim results from an ongoing Phase 2 study designed to assess the safety and tolerability of 12-week response-guided treatment regimens with its polymerase inhibitor, VX-222, and its protease inhibitor, telaprevir, in combination with pegylated-interferon and ribavirin in people with genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C who were new to treatment.

31 Mar 2011

Positive top-line data from Inhibitex INX-189 Phase 1b trial against HCV

Inhibitex, Inc. today reported positive top-line safety and antiviral data from its multiple ascending dose Phase 1b clinical trial of INX-189, an oral nucleotide polymerase inhibitor being developed to treat chronic infections caused by hepatitis C virus.

31 Mar 2011

Pharmasset commences PSI-7977 Phase 2b study against HCV

Pharmasset, Inc. announced today that screening has begun in a Phase 2b study of PSI-7977, a nucleotide analog polymerase inhibitor for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C.

30 Mar 2011

HIV uses base excision repair pathway to insert DNA into host-cell genome

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the cause of AIDS, makes use of the base excision repair pathway when inserting its DNA into the host-cell genome, according to a new study led by researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute. Crippling the repair pathway prevents the virus from completing this critical step in the retrovirus's life cycle.

25 Mar 2011

Inhibitex fourth quarter net loss increases to $7.0 million

Inhibitex, Inc. today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2010, and provided an update on recent clinical and corporate developments.

11 Mar 2011

Vertex to present telaprevir and VX-222 study results against hepatitis C at EASL annual meeting

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated announced today that 15 abstracts on the company's medicines in development for hepatitis C, including its protease inhibitor, telaprevir, and polymerase inhibitor, VX-222, were accepted for presentation at the 46th Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver in Berlin, Germany, March 30 to April 3, 2011.

9 Mar 2011

Autoimmune response mediated by T lymphocytes may play vital role in pathogenesis of biliary atresia

Biliary atresia (BA) is an inflammatory obliterative cholangiopathy with unknown etiology, leading to progressive fibrosis and cirrhosis. Microarray technology, emerged as an indispensable research tool for gene expression profiling, has been used to study the mechanism underlying BA, and allows the simultaneous analysis of thousands of transcripts within a single experiment.

9 Mar 2011

Study analyzes role of PARP enzyme in eukaryotes

An Ohio State University molecular biologist leveraged a supercomputer to help better define the family tree of a group of enzymes that have been implicated in a wide range of human diseases and are important targets for anti-cancer therapies.

8 Mar 2011

Scientist discovers new mechanism for regulation of gene expression

Dr. David Levin, Professor of Molecular & Cell Biology at Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine and Professor of Microbiology at Boston University School of Medicine discovered recently a novel, evolutionarily conserved mechanism for the regulation of gene expression.

4 Mar 2011

Viruses that are natural part of human genome may retrovirus culprit

A retrovirus that inserted itself into the human genome thousands of years ago may be responsible for some cases of the neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gherig’s disease. The finding, made by Johns Hopkins scientists, may eventually give researchers a new way to attack this universally fatal condition.

2 Mar 2011

Collision of fast and slow protein-trains cause major DNA derailment

Scientists have published results that will forever change the way researchers view the interplay between gene expression, DNA replication and the prevention of DNA damage.

25 Feb 2011

Genomic Health to present prostate cancer studies at ASCO Genitourinary Cancer Symposium

Genomic Health, Inc. today announced the presentation of two studies at the American Society of Clinical Oncology® (ASCO®) Genitourinary (GU) Cancer Symposium, including complete results from its prostate cancer gene identification study, which identified 295 genes strongly associated with clinical recurrence following radical prostatectomy with great consistency across multiple tumor samples examined in each patient.

17 Feb 2011

New England Biolabs adds OneTaq and OneTaq Hot Start DNA Polymerases to line of PCR reagents

New England Biolabs has expanded its line of PCR reagents to include OneTaq™ and OneTaq Hot Start DNA Polymerases. Optimized blends of Taq and Deep Vent® DNA Polymerases, these new products offer robust amplification across a wide range of templates, including routine, AT-rich and GC-rich amplicons.

From New England Biolabs 15 Feb 2011

Janssen, Medivir collaborate to discover and develop drugs against dengue virus

Medivir AB, the emerging research-based specialty pharmaceutical company focused on infectious diseases, announces today that it has signed a collaboration agreement with Janssen Pharmaceutica N.V. for the discovery and development of drugs for the prophylaxis and treatment of dengue virus infection.

14 Feb 2011

FDA grants Inhibitex Fast Track Designation for INX-189 in treatment of chronic hepatitis C viral infection

Inhibitex, Inc. today reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") has designated the investigation of INX-08189, a potent guanosine nucleotide polymerase inhibitor for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C viral infection, as a Fast Track development program.

11 Feb 2011

Medivir initiates phase 1a clinical trial of TMC649128 for chronic HCV infection

Medivir AB, the emerging research-based specialty pharmaceutical company focused on infectious diseases, today announces the start of a phase 1a clinical trial with TMC649128 intended for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus infection.

10 Feb 2011

Abbott's Ibis, PLEX-ID technologies identify causative organism of plague in Afghanistan

Today, at the American Society for Microbiology Conference on Biodefense and Emerging Diseases, scientists from Abbott Molecular presented data showing the unique power of the company's Ibis technology to identify and further characterize unknown disease-causing pathogens to help aid in the bioforensic analysis of pandemic outbreaks.

8 Feb 2011

Breakthrough in Thermal Gradient's fast PCR technology for molecular diagnostics

Thermal Gradient, a Rochester, NY biotech company, announces a breakthrough in its fast PCR technology for molecular diagnostics. PCR is the preferred critical step in virtually all forms of DNA testing.