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Vitae earns $14M milestone payment from Boehringer Ingelheim

Vitae Pharmaceuticals, Inc., an integrated discovery and development company, today announced that it has earned a $14 million clinical milestone payment from Boehringer Ingelheim, one of the world's 20 leading pharmaceutical companies. Vitae's 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (HSD)-1 is targeted for the treatment of diabetes and metabolic syndrome-related diseases in a strategic alliance with Boehringer Ingelheim. The payment recognizes Boehringer Ingelheim's recent advancement of a small molecule inhibitor of 11beta-HSD-1 into Phase I clinical trials.

29 Jun 2010

Study implicates cytokine molecule IL-17 in low back pain associated with herniated discs

An immune cell known to cause chronic inflammation in autoimmune disorders has been identified as a possible culprit in low back pain associated with herniated discs, according to doctors at Duke University Medical Center.

29 Jun 2010

Quark reports results from QPI-1007 siRNA drug study in rat ocular hypertension model of glaucoma

Quark Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a world leader in the discovery and development of RNAi-based therapeutics, today announced results from a second study of QPI-1007, a neuroprotective siRNA drug, in rat ocular hypertension model of glaucoma, conducted by Prof. Adriana Di Polo of the Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Universite de Montreal.

29 Jun 2010

Avila's AVL-292 demonstrates disease-modifying effects in prophylactic, therapeutic models of rheumatoid arthritis

Avila Therapeutics™, Inc., a biotechnology company developing targeted covalent drugs that treat diseases through protein silencing, today announced results of preclinical studies demonstrating that its clinical candidate, AVL-292, potently inhibits B cell receptor signaling, and demonstrates efficacy in a rodent model of rheumatoid arthritis. These new data were presented Saturday, June 26, 2010 at the Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies (FOCIS) 2010 annual meeting in Boston, MA.

29 Jun 2010

New diagnostic tool may help detect HPV and other viruses

A cluster of carbon nanotubes coated with a thin layer of protein-recognizing polymer form a biosensor capable of using electrochemical signals to detect minute amounts of proteins, which could provide a crucial new diagnostic tool for the detection of a range of illnesses, a team of Boston College researchers report in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.

29 Jun 2010

Fate Therapeutics recognized with Red Herring's North America 100 award

Fate Therapeutics, Inc. announced today that the Company received Red Herring's North America 100 award, a prestigious list honoring the year's most promising private and innovative companies from the North American business region. The nominees were evaluated by the Red Herring editorial team on both quantitative and qualitative criteria, such as financial performance, technology innovation, quality of management, execution of strategy and integration into their respective industries.

28 Jun 2010

Engineered allosteric regulation provides precise control of kinase activity in living cells

Cancer occurs when human cells move and multiply inappropriately. Within cells, a process called phosphorylation serves as an on/off switch for a number of cellular processes that can be involved in cancer, including metabolism, transcription, configuration, movement, cell death and differentiation. This process is controlled by a group of enzymes called protein kinases that - working together and separately - modify the structure of proteins, changing them and allowing them to control cellular processes.

28 Jun 2010

Helicos BioSciences to develop, market MDx tests that utilize HeliScope Single Molecule Sequencer

Helicos BioSciences Corporation announced today that it is in the early stages of validating molecular diagnostic (MDx) tests that utilize its HeliScope® Single Molecule Sequencer. The HeliScope Sequencer's ability to sequence single molecules of natural, unamplified DNA or RNA simplifies the diagnostic testing workflow obviating the need for the amplification steps utilized by most genetic analysis methods.

28 Jun 2010

Gilead Sciences signs definitive agreement to acquire CGI Pharmaceuticals

Gilead Sciences, Inc. and CGI Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately-held, development-stage pharmaceutical company focused on small molecule chemistry and kinase biology, today announced the signing of a definitive agreement pursuant to which Gilead will acquire CGI. Under the terms of the agreement, Gilead will acquire CGI for up to $120 million, the majority as an upfront payment and the remaining based on clinical development progress, all of which will be financed through available cash on hand.

25 Jun 2010

New method to synthesize drug candidates for testing

Some drugs may be more effective the longer they last inside the body. To prevent such drugs from being broken down too rapidly, pharmaceutical manufacturers often attach a fluorine-containing structure called a trifluoromethyl group. However, the processes now used require harsh reaction conditions or only work in a small number of cases, limiting their usefulness for synthesizing new drug candidates for testing.

25 Jun 2010

Gene therapy holds promise in treating cancer, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases

EUREKA project E! 3371 Gene Transfer Agents has made great advances in the development of novel non-viral carriers able to introduce genetic material into the target cells.

25 Jun 2010

AGTC, Icagen complete agreement for purchase and sale of patent rights

AGTC, a privately held company, and Icagen, Inc. today announced the completion of an agreement for the purchase and sale of certain patent rights between the companies. Icagen is transferring its rights to patents relating to the ion channel gene CNGB3, which has been linked to certain disorders of the eye. Under the terms of the agreement, Icagen has assigned ownership of the patents to AGTC, which intends to use the patented technology for gene therapy as a potential treatment for Achromatopsia, a severe form of daytime blindness.

24 Jun 2010

Researchers find way to get beneficial effects of estrogen without increasing woman's risk of cancer

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have pinpointed a set of biological mechanisms through which estrogen confers its beneficial effects on the cardiovascular system, independent of the hormone's actions on cancer. Their investigation suggests that drugs targeting a specific subpopulation of estrogen receptors found outside the cell nucleus might activate the cardiovascular benefits of estrogen without increasing cancer risk.

24 Jun 2010

Scientists discover septet of overactive genes that control bodily function

In what is believed to be the largest review of the human genetic code to determine why some people's blood platelets are more likely to clump faster than others, scientists at Johns Hopkins and in Boston have found a septet of overactive genes, which they say likely control that bodily function.

23 Jun 2010

$Phase 1 clinical trial of XMT-1107 initiated in patients with refractory advanced solid tumors$

Phase 1 clinical trial of XMT-1107 initiated in patients with refractory advanced solid tumors

Mersana Therapeutics, a platform-based cancer therapeutics company, today announced that it has initiated a Phase 1 clinical trial to study the safety and pharmacokinetics of XMT-1107 in patients with refractory advanced solid tumors. XMT-1107 is a novel anti-angiogenic fumagillin analog that employs Mersana's Fleximer platform. Mersana's XMT-1001, a conjugate of Fleximer and camptothecin, is currently completing a Phase 1 study.

23 Jun 2010

K-State chemical engineer patents chemical structure to make natural personal care products in lab

A Kansas State University chemical engineer has developed and patented a chemical structure to make all-natural personal care products and purer pharmaceuticals in the laboratory.

23 Jun 2010

Student receives two-year $46,000 fellowship to research on a parasite that causes Chagas' disease

Michelle Oppenheimer of Charlotte, N.C., a Ph.D. student in biochemistry in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech, has received a two-year $46,000 fellowship from the American Heart Association to advance her research on a parasite that causes Chagas' disease, which can lead to swelling and inflammation of the heart.

23 Jun 2010

Resveratrol found in red wine neutralizes toxicity of proteins related to Alzheimer's disease: Research

An organic compound found in red wine - resveratrol - has the ability to neutralize the toxic effects of proteins linked to Alzheimer's disease, according to research led by Rensselaer Professor Peter M. Tessier. The findings, published in the May 28 edition of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, are a step toward understanding the large-scale death of brain cells seen in certain neurodegenerative diseases.

23 Jun 2010

Exposure to chlordecone associated to increased risk of prostate cancer: Researchers

In an article to be published on 21 June 2010 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, researchers from Inserm (Inserm unit 625 - Research Group on Human and Mammalian Reproduction, University of Rennes 1), the CHU (University Hospital Centre) in Pointe - Pitre (urology department, University of the French West Indies and Guiana) and from the Center for Analytical Research and Technology (University of Li-ge, Belgique), show that exposure to chlordecone (also named Kepone), an organochlorine chemical with well defined estrogenic properties used in the French West Indies until 1993, is associated to a significant increased risk of prostate cancer.

23 Jun 2010

Ensemble Discovery announces name change to Ensemble Therapeutics Corporation

Ensemble Discovery today announced that it will begin operating as Ensemble Therapeutics Corporation to reflect the Company's progress and emerging pipeline by applying its macrocycle drug platform to develop novel therapeutics. The new name, Ensemble Therapeutics, conveys the company's leadership and advancement in developing novel macrocycle drug compounds that are small molecules with expanded therapeutic properties of large molecule biological drugs.

22 Jun 2010

Molecule News and Research

Vitae earns $14M milestone payment from Boehringer Ingelheim

Study implicates cytokine molecule IL-17 in low back pain associated with herniated discs

Quark reports results from QPI-1007 siRNA drug study in rat ocular hypertension model of glaucoma

Avila's AVL-292 demonstrates disease-modifying effects in prophylactic, therapeutic models of rheumatoid arthritis

New diagnostic tool may help detect HPV and other viruses

Fate Therapeutics recognized with Red Herring's North America 100 award

Engineered allosteric regulation provides precise control of kinase activity in living cells

Helicos BioSciences to develop, market MDx tests that utilize HeliScope Single Molecule Sequencer

Gilead Sciences signs definitive agreement to acquire CGI Pharmaceuticals

New method to synthesize drug candidates for testing

Gene therapy holds promise in treating cancer, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases

AGTC, Icagen complete agreement for purchase and sale of patent rights

Researchers find way to get beneficial effects of estrogen without increasing woman's risk of cancer

Scientists discover septet of overactive genes that control bodily function

Phase 1 clinical trial of XMT-1107 initiated in patients with refractory advanced solid tumors

K-State chemical engineer patents chemical structure to make natural personal care products in lab

Student receives two-year $46,000 fellowship to research on a parasite that causes Chagas' disease

Resveratrol found in red wine neutralizes toxicity of proteins related to Alzheimer's disease: Research

Exposure to chlordecone associated to increased risk of prostate cancer: Researchers

Ensemble Discovery announces name change to Ensemble Therapeutics Corporation

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

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