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.

University of Michigan lab takes top honours in worldwide protein prediction competition

The University of Michigan Health System took top honors in the Critical Assessment of Techniques for Protein Structure Prediction, a biennial scientific competition to test protein structure and function prediction methods developed by laboratories all over the world.

5 Jan 2011

ReproCELL to enter collaborative iPS cell-derived hepatocytes R&D agreement with NIBIO

ReproCELL, Inc. (CEO: Chikafumi Yokoyama PhD) announces today that the company will enter a collaborative R&D agreement with the National Institute of Biomedical Innovation (NIBIO; Director General: Koichi Yamanishi; Osaka, Japan), which could offer new hepatocyte derived from human iPS (induced pluripotent stem) cells used for an effective in-vitro drug screening for hepatic toxicity and liver metabolism.

5 Jan 2011

Thomson Reuters and ChemAxon enter strategic partnership

The IP Solutions business of Thomson Reuters®, the leader in intellectual property research and analysis solutions, and ChemAxon, the leader in cheminformatics software for the life sciences industry, today announced a strategic partnership whereby Thomson Reuters is providing its chemical IP Data Feeds – Markush Structures and patent data to users of ChemAxon's JChem chemical software platform.

5 Jan 2011

VENENUM Biodesign relocates to new, state-of-the-art facility in Hamilton

VENENUM Biodesign, a drug discovery company that utilizes ultra-high throughput screening (UHTS) of its compound collection to identify hits against its novel disease-based targets or its partners' targets, announced today its relocation to a brand-new, state-of-the-art facility in Hamilton, NJ in Mercer County.

5 Jan 2011

AMRI, Genentech enter research and licensing collaboration

AMRI announced today a research and licensing agreement with Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, for a family of antibacterial compounds discovered from AMRI's proprietary research of its natural products sample collection.

5 Jan 2011

Isis commences ISIS-EIF4ERx Phase 2 studies in non-small cell lung cancer and prostate cancer

Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced the initiation of two Phase 2 studies of ISIS-EIF4ERx in patients with non-small cell lung cancer and prostate cancer. These studies are part of Isis' broad Phase 2 development program designed to evaluate ISIS-EIF4ERx in multiple types of cancer. ISIS-EIF4ERx targets eukaryotic initiation factor-4E (eIF-4E), a traditionally "undruggable" target that is thought to promote tumor growth and metastasis in many cancers.

4 Jan 2011

ddn conducts interview with lead plaintiff related to embryonic stem cell research case

Drug Discovery News, a news organization covering issues, trends and product news in the pharmaceutical drug development and discovery industry, recently conducted exclusive interviews with the lead plaintiffs in the controversial Sherley v. Sebelius lawsuit challenging President Barack Obama's order granting funding for embryonic stem cell research.

4 Jan 2011

The Scientist examines how nonprofit, for-profit pharma groups are working together to make drugs more affordable for developing countries

"With philanthropists funneling billions of dollars into biomedical research and traditional drug discovery efforts producing fewer and fewer therapies, the line between for-profit and nonprofit life science companies is beginning to blur as both sides of the divide look for new options," The Scientist magazine writes in an article that examines the rise in collaborations between nonprofit pharmaceutical companies and for-profit groups.

4 Jan 2011

First whole genome sequence of Parsi breast cancer woman

Avesthagen Limited has yet again established its position as a leader in the successful application of next gen technologies as it announces the completion of the first Parsi breast cancer whole genome sequence of a 74-year-old Parsi woman with a heritable form of breast cancer. The incidence of breast cancer in most populations is strongly linked to a genetic basis but little is known about the variants at the present time.

4 Jan 2011

Florida Hospital, Sanford-Burnham and Takeda enter obesity research collaboration

Florida Hospital, Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham), and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (Takeda)(TSE: 4502), announced today that they have signed a research agreement to form a collaboration to discover and evaluate new therapeutic approaches to obesity, a growing worldwide health problem. The partnership aligns complementary strengths in biomedical research, clinical research and drug development to identify and validate obesity- related biomarkers and new peripheral molecular targets of mutual interest.

29 Dec 2010

NEI awards Case Western Reserve $10M for study of retinal diseases

The Departments of Pharmacology and Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have been awarded a $10.1 million grant from the National Eye Institute (NEI) to research and develop new treatments for diseases of the retina, a leading cause of blindness.

29 Dec 2010

Isis commences ISIS-APOCIIIRx Phase 1 trial in hypertriglyceridemia

Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced the initiation of a Phase 1 study of ISIS-APOCIIIRx, an antisense drug designed to lower triglycerides to treat a variety of diseases associated with elevated triglycerides. Hypertriglyceridemia, a condition characterized by elevated levels of triglycerides, is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease and is a component of numerous cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, including metabolic syndrome.

21 Dec 2010

Wellcome Trust awards additional £390,000 for investigation of Allergen Delivery Inhibitors

Scientists at St George's, University of London and the University of Manchester have received an additional Seeding Drug Discovery award of £390,000 from the Wellcome Trust to explore a new class of experimental drugs that block the trigger of allergic reactions before symptoms show.

21 Dec 2010

Leader Ventures announces equipment financing to Carmot

Leader Ventures, an investment firm offering blended debt and equity financing, today announced equipment financing to Carmot Therapeutics Inc., an innovative drug discovery company.

21 Dec 2010

VistaGen reports successful completion of AV-101 Phase 1 safety study for neuropathic pain

VistaGen Therapeutics, Inc., a stem cell technology company focused on drug discovery and development, today announced the successful completion of its initial Phase 1 safety study of AV-101, the Company's novel orally available prodrug candidate for treatment of neuropathic pain. Neuropathic pain, a serious and chronic condition causing pain after an injury or disease of the peripheral or central nervous system, affects approximately 1.8 million people in the U.S.

20 Dec 2010

Proteins that unlock the mystery of over 100 brain diseases

An Anglo-American team of researchers have made a medical breakthrough after identifying a large collection of nerve proteins that are involved in around 130 brain diseases including Alzheimer’s and autism.

20 Dec 2010

SEEK announces new joint venture entity with Pernix Therapeutics for antitussive drug development

SEEK, a leading UK privately-owned drug-discovery group, is pleased to announce the establishment of a new joint venture entity with Pernix Therapeutics Holdings, an integrated specialty pharmaceutical company focused primarily on the United States pediatric market.

20 Dec 2010

FVCG invests $175,000 in Celvive for stem cell research in spinal cord injury

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating neurological condition with limited therapeutic options. In the United States alone, there are more than 250,000 people living with SCI; approximately three million worldwide are affected.

20 Dec 2010

4SC AG's Phase IIb study evaluates efficacy of vidofludimus in RA patients

4SC AG, a drug discovery and development company focused on autoimmune and cancer indications, today reported that it has completed enrolment of its COMPONENT Phase IIb study with vidofludimus, an oral inhibitor of IL-17 release, in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Data from the trial are expected to be announced in Q2 2011.

20 Dec 2010

EpiTherapeutics, Abbott to develop new anti-cancer drugs

EpiTherapeutics and Abbott today announced a collaboration agreement to develop new anti-cancer drugs by making small-molecule inhibitors against selected epigenetic oncology targets.

20 Dec 2010

Drug Discovery News and Research

Further Reading

University of Michigan lab takes top honours in worldwide protein prediction competition

ReproCELL to enter collaborative iPS cell-derived hepatocytes R&D agreement with NIBIO

Thomson Reuters and ChemAxon enter strategic partnership

VENENUM Biodesign relocates to new, state-of-the-art facility in Hamilton

AMRI, Genentech enter research and licensing collaboration

Isis commences ISIS-EIF4ERx Phase 2 studies in non-small cell lung cancer and prostate cancer

ddn conducts interview with lead plaintiff related to embryonic stem cell research case

The Scientist examines how nonprofit, for-profit pharma groups are working together to make drugs more affordable for developing countries

First whole genome sequence of Parsi breast cancer woman

Florida Hospital, Sanford-Burnham and Takeda enter obesity research collaboration

NEI awards Case Western Reserve $10M for study of retinal diseases

Isis commences ISIS-APOCIIIRx Phase 1 trial in hypertriglyceridemia

Wellcome Trust awards additional £390,000 for investigation of Allergen Delivery Inhibitors

Leader Ventures announces equipment financing to Carmot

VistaGen reports successful completion of AV-101 Phase 1 safety study for neuropathic pain

Proteins that unlock the mystery of over 100 brain diseases

SEEK announces new joint venture entity with Pernix Therapeutics for antitussive drug development

FVCG invests $175,000 in Celvive for stem cell research in spinal cord injury

4SC AG's Phase IIb study evaluates efficacy of vidofludimus in RA patients

EpiTherapeutics, Abbott to develop new anti-cancer drugs

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