Drug Discovery News and Research

RSS

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.

Publication validates company's structure-based approach for addressing undruggable targets

Emerald BioStructures (formerly deCODE biostructures) announced today a publication in the December 27, 2009 advance online issue of Nature Biotechnology, detailing the application of structure-based drug design (SBDD) to engineer new allosteric small molecule modulators of the enzyme phosphodiesterase-4 (PDE4), with reduced side effects.

28 Dec 2009

MDRNA closes $1M bridge loan

MDRNA, Inc., a leading RNAi-based drug discovery and development company, today announced the closing of a bridge loan pursuant to a Note and Warrant Purchase Agreement. Under the terms of the loan, the Company sold promissory notes in the aggregate principal amount of $1.0 million and issued warrants to purchase an aggregate of approximately 1.1 million shares of the Company's common stock at $1.02 per share to certain accredited investors.

24 Dec 2009

New compound may halt drug-resistant lung cancer

The ability to make, test, and map the atomic structure of new anti-cancer agents has enabled a team of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists to discover a compound capable of halting a common type of drug-resistant lung cancer.

24 Dec 2009

Ligand Pharmaceuticals acquires Neurogen

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated announced today that it has completed the acquisition of Neurogen Corporation, following approval of the transaction by Neurogen stockholders earlier today. As a result, Ligand gains a fully funded partnership with Merck & Co., additional pipeline assets, drug discovery resources and additional cash balances.

23 Dec 2009

Viron Therapeutics' three drug candidates granted U.S. patents

Viron Therapeutics Inc., a biotechnology company pioneering the development of virally-derived protein therapeutics, today announced that it has been granted U.S. patents related to three of its drug candidates, VT-111, VT-346 and VT-384.

23 Dec 2009

WuXi PharmaTech announces winners of third Life Science and Chemistry Awards

WuXi PharmaTech, a leading pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical-device research and development outsourcing company with operations in China and the United States, today announced the winners of its third Life Science and Chemistry Awards, held on December 20, 2009, at the China World Hotel in Beijing.

23 Dec 2009

CombinatoRx and Neuromed Pharmaceuticals complete merger agreement

CombinatoRx, Incorporated and Neuromed Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced today that they have merged. This merger brings together the product assets and financial resources of both organizations, including potential Exalgo™ milestone and royalty revenue, CombinatoRx’s portfolio of product candidates and unique drug discovery capabilities.

21 Dec 2009

CSC completes a Series B financing round

California Stem Cell, Inc. (CSC), a leading stem cell company, announced that it has completed a Series B financing round with private investors. The financing will enable the company to support the advancement of its therapeutic products to human clinical trials, as well as the generation and distribution of its tools to aid in stem cell research and drug discovery.

21 Dec 2009

OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals to pay Isis Pharmaceuticals $10M for license of OGX-011 to Teva Pharmaceutical Industries

Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that it will receive a $10 million payment from OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. as a result of OncoGenex' license of OGX-011 to Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. ( TEVA). OGX-011 is a second-generation antisense drug co-discovered by Isis and OncoGenex that has completed a successful Phase 2 program in patients with advanced prostate cancer and advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

21 Dec 2009

Ambit Biosciences and Astellas Pharma to jointly develop and commercialize FLT3 kinase inhibitors

Ambit Biosciences Corporation and Astellas Pharma Inc. today announced that they have entered into a worldwide agreement to jointly develop and commercialize FLT3 kinase inhibitors in oncology and non-oncology indications.

18 Dec 2009

Academics and drug companies must work together to win funds for scientific research, says research director

Academics and drug companies must forge more productive relationships in the face of pressure from politicians and funders for more applied biomedical research, a research director has warned.

16 Dec 2009

StemCells receives U.S. patent for propagation and/or derivation of embryonic stem cells

StemCells, Inc. announced today that it has received a Notice of Allowance and a Notice of Issuance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for two patents claiming technologies for the establishment and maintenance of cell pluripotency (the ability to become any cell in the body, which is the defining attribute of embryonic stem cells), including the reprogramming of cells to create pluripotent stem cells.

16 Dec 2009

Modulating PN aggregase pathway may offer hope for Alzheimer’s disease

Proteostasis Therapeutics announced today that modulating a key Proteostasis Network (PN) pathway may offer a novel approach to Alzheimer’s disease, a finding that was published in the journal Cell by its scientific founders Andrew Dillin, Ph.D., and Jeffery Kelly, Ph.D. The publication describes how regulation of an aggregase pathway reduced the neurodegenerative effects of beta amyloid aggregates that are a hallmark of the disease.

16 Dec 2009

Cellular Dynamics International launches iCell Cardiomyocytes

Cellular Dynamics International (CDI) today announced the commercial launch of iCell(TM) Cardiomyocytes for use in testing of new drug candidates by the pharmaceutical industry.

16 Dec 2009

IDBS included in recent research report from Gartner

IDBS, the leading worldwide provider of research data management and analytics solutions to R&D organizations, today announced that it has been included in a recent research report from Gartner, "Who's Who in Interactive Visualization for BI," by James Richardson, published November 13, 2009.

15 Dec 2009

Bio-Quant becomes wholly-owned subsidiary of NexMed

NexMed, Inc., a developer of products based on the NexACT® technology, today announced the closing of its acquisition of Bio-Quant, Inc., a privately-held leading research organization for in vitro and in vivo contract drug discovery and pre-clinical development services, headquartered in San Diego, CA. Upon closing, Bio-Quant became a wholly-owned subsidiary of NexMed.

15 Dec 2009

Winners of the 2010 ASBMB-Merck Award

James A. Wells, professor and chairman of the department pharmaceutical chemistry at the University of California, San Francisco, and director of UCSF's small molecule discovery center, has been named the winner of the 2010 American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology-Merck Award for his pioneering studies in the field of protein engineering.

11 Dec 2009

Targacept commences TC-5619 Phase 2 study of cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia

Targacept, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing a new class of drugs known as NNR TherapeuticsTM, today announced that it has initiated a Phase 2 clinical proof of concept trial of TC-5619 in cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia.

10 Dec 2009

YM BioSciences announces results of collaborative antibody development program

YM BioSciences Inc., today announced the first results of a collaborative program between YM and the National Research Council of Canada's Biotechnology Research Institute (NRC-BRI). Utilizing YM's IntelliMab(TM) technology, the program is designed to generate novel antibodies that target cell surface receptors associated with cancer, uniquely optimized to produce efficacy with reduced toxicities.

10 Dec 2009

Eli Lilly provides financial guidance for 2010

At its annual meeting today with the investment community, Eli Lilly and Company highlighted how its innovation-based strategy will enable it to better serve patients and compete effectively in a challenging health care environment. The company also detailed the progress being made in its labs and across its five new business units on an expanding pipeline of innovative molecules and marketed medicines, and provided investors with the company's financial guidance for 2010.

10 Dec 2009