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Blocking RhoA enzyme increases survival in SMA mouse model

Scientists from the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI) and the University of Ottawa have identified a promising new approach for developing drugs to treat Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), the leading inherited cause of death in infants and toddlers. Dr. Rashmi Kothary and his doctoral student Melissa Bowerman have found that an enzyme called RhoA is overly active in a mouse model of the disease and blocking this enzyme can greatly increase survival. The study is published in Human Molecular Genetics.

16 Mar 2010

Mortality in CAD patients: Key predictor identified

Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) hospitalizes more than 160,000 Canadians every year, and almost one quarter of those patients die from this common form of heart disease. But now a team of Vancouver-based researchers has identified a key predictor of mortality in CAD patients, which means that specialists can better determine how to treat and improve outcomes for patients with CAD.

16 Mar 2010

Study offers new possibilities for breast and other cancer therapies

Conventional biological wisdom holds that living cells interact with their environment through an elaborate network of chemical signals. As a result many therapies for the treatment of cancer and other diseases in which cell behavior goes awry focus on drugs that block or disrupt harmful chemical signals.

16 Mar 2010

Study reveals molecular mechanism of pancreatic cancer

UCSF scientists have discovered how a mutated gene known as Kras is able to hijack mouse cells damaged by acute pancreatitis, putting them on the path to becoming pancreatic cancer cells.

15 Mar 2010

U.S. prescribing information for PLAVIX revised

Sanofi-aventis U.S. and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company today announced revisions to the U.S. prescribing information for PLAVIX® (clopidogrel bisulfate), which include a boxed warning. The boxed warning concerns the diminished effectiveness of PLAVIX in patients who have a genetic variation leading to reduced formation of the active metabolite.

15 Mar 2010

Discovery may yield new strategies for blocking malaria transmission

Scientists studying the Anopheles gambiae mosquito - the main vector of malaria - have found that when the mosquito takes a blood meal, that act triggers two enzymes to form a network of crisscrossing proteins around the ingested blood.

15 Mar 2010

FDA warns patients and physicians about the efficacy of Plavix treatment

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today added a boxed warning to the anti-blood clotting drug Plavix (clopidogrel), alerting patients and health care professionals that the drug can be less effective in people who cannot metabolize the drug to convert it to its active form.

15 Mar 2010

Ardea Biosciences' revenues total $8.3M for three months ended December 31, 2009

Ardea Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: RDEA) a biotechnology company focused on the development of small-molecule therapeutics for the treatment of gout, cancer and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), reported recent accomplishments, announced fourth quarter and full-year 2009 financial results and provided key upcoming clinical development milestones and financial guidance for 2010.

12 Mar 2010

Halozyme Therapeutics reports net loss of $12.7M for fourth-quarter of 2009

Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing and commercializing products targeting the extracellular matrix for the endocrinology, oncology, dermatology and drug delivery markets, today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2009.

12 Mar 2010

Discovery of novel cellular mechanism may help develop new treatments for cancer

A research team led by the University of Colorado at Boulder has discovered a previously unknown cellular "switch" that may provide researchers with a new means of triggering programmed cell death, findings with implications for treating cancer.

12 Mar 2010

StemCells reports net loss of $5.23M for fourth-quarter fiscal 2009

StemCells, Inc. today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2009. The Company's results include the operations of Stem Cell Sciences Plc (SCS) since April 1, 2009.

11 Mar 2010

Refining treatments to target only key heart-related mechanisms may improve effectiveness

Current drugs used to treat heart failure and arrhythmias (irregular heartbeat) have limited effectiveness and have side effects. New basic science findings from a University of Iowa study suggest a way that treatments could potentially be refined so that they work better and target only key heart-related mechanisms.

11 Mar 2010

Evotec, Active Biotech announce collaboration to identify small molecule modulators of priority biological target

Evotec AG today announced that it has entered into a collaboration with Active Biotech AB to identify small molecule modulators of a priority biological target, selected by Active Biotech, involved in immune disorders and cancer.

11 Mar 2010

Protein competition over MAPK provides mechanism to integrate different signals directing early embryonic development

A Princeton University-led research team has discovered that protein competition over an important enzyme provides a mechanism to integrate different signals that direct early embryonic development. The work suggests that these signals are combined long before they interact with the organism's DNA, as was previously believed, and also may inform new therapeutic strategies to fight cancer.

10 Mar 2010

Papaya's anticancer effect against broad range of lab-grown tumors documented

The humble papaya is gaining credibility in Western medicine for anticancer powers that folk cultures have recognized for generations.

10 Mar 2010

EUCODIS Bioscience introduces phospholipases

EUCODIS Bioscience, a company providing customized enzymes to the pharmaceutical, chemical, and other industries, announced today that it has launched a panel of phospholipases, adding a new enzyme family to its product portfolio.

9 Mar 2010

Bypass surgery: New method of growing arteries could lead to non-invasive option for treatment

A new method of growing arteries could lead to a "biological bypass"-or a non-invasive way to treat coronary artery disease, Yale School of Medicine researchers report with their colleagues in the April issue of Journal of Clinical Investigation.

9 Mar 2010

Engineers built sensor array that can detect single molecules of hydrogen peroxide

MIT chemical engineers have built a sensor array that, for the first time, can detect single molecules of hydrogen peroxide emanating from a single living cell.

7 Mar 2010

McGill, Enobia Pharma collaborate to develop treatments for serious genetic bone diseases

Dr. Marc McKee, of McGill's Faculty of Dentistry and the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, is collaborating closely with Enobia Pharma Inc, a Quebec biotech company, to develop innovative treatments for serious genetic bone diseases. McKee's research looks into the reasons why calcium-phosphate mineral fails to crystallize properly to form strong bones and teeth.

6 Mar 2010

'Anti-gluten pill' needed

In the early 1980s, about one per cent of adults in Finland had gluten intolerance, but the figure has since gone up to two per cent by the 2000s.

5 Mar 2010

Enzyme News and Research

Blocking RhoA enzyme increases survival in SMA mouse model

Mortality in CAD patients: Key predictor identified

Study offers new possibilities for breast and other cancer therapies

Study reveals molecular mechanism of pancreatic cancer

U.S. prescribing information for PLAVIX revised

Discovery may yield new strategies for blocking malaria transmission

FDA warns patients and physicians about the efficacy of Plavix treatment

Ardea Biosciences' revenues total $8.3M for three months ended December 31, 2009

Halozyme Therapeutics reports net loss of $12.7M for fourth-quarter of 2009

Discovery of novel cellular mechanism may help develop new treatments for cancer

StemCells reports net loss of $5.23M for fourth-quarter fiscal 2009

Refining treatments to target only key heart-related mechanisms may improve effectiveness

Evotec, Active Biotech announce collaboration to identify small molecule modulators of priority biological target

Protein competition over MAPK provides mechanism to integrate different signals directing early embryonic development

Papaya's anticancer effect against broad range of lab-grown tumors documented

EUCODIS Bioscience introduces phospholipases

Bypass surgery: New method of growing arteries could lead to non-invasive option for treatment

Engineers built sensor array that can detect single molecules of hydrogen peroxide

McGill, Enobia Pharma collaborate to develop treatments for serious genetic bone diseases

'Anti-gluten pill' needed

Biochemistry eBook

Why use light scattering to analyze proteins and viral vectors?

Changing the landscape of R&D to build clinical success from the ground up

Sensing a Healthier Future

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