Small Molecules News and Research

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Novel drug shows promise for MLL leukemia

According to British scientists a potential new drug from GlaxoSmithKline could treat mixed-lineage leukemia (MLL). MLL is the most common form of leukemia in babies. The study appeared in the journal Nature where scientists from the British drugmaker collaborating with the charity Cancer Research UK (CRUK) and Cellzome AG found that the experimental drug, called I-BET151.

3 Oct 2011

New targeting approach to develop an active site-directed, drug-like PTP1B inhibitor

The work of a team of scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) led by Professor Nicholas Tonks FRS, suggests a way to overcome one of the major technical obstacles preventing a leading therapeutic target for diabetes and obesity from being addressed successfully by novel drugs.

30 Sep 2011

NIH to honor two Scripps Research scientists with innovator awards

Two Scripps Research Institute scientists have won prestigious National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director's New Innovator Awards. The recipients are Assistant Professor Michael Petrascheck of the institute's La Jolla, California campus, and Assistant Professor Brian Paegel of the Jupiter, Florida campus.

21 Sep 2011

Nuevolution announces collaboration in drug discovery with Boehringer Ingelheim

Nuevolution A/S today announced that it has entered into collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim, using Nuevolution’s proprietary Chemetics® drug discovery technology. Within the framework of the collaboration, hundreds of millions of diverse small molecules will be screened to discover and advance drug candidates against drug targets of interest to Boehringer Ingelheim.

20 Sep 2011

University of Colorado, SuviCa complete license agreement for CU cancer drug screening technology

SuviCa Inc. of Boulder and the University of Colorado recently completed an exclusive license agreement for a CU drug screening technology to identify novel therapies for cancer.

20 Sep 2011

Silence receives U.S. patent entitled, 'Use of Protein Kinase N beta'

Silence Therapeutics plc, a leading RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics company, announces the issuance of patent 4810095 entitled "Use of Protein Kinase N beta" by the Japanese Patent Office.

16 Sep 2011

DiscoveryBioMed receives NIDDK grant for Cystic Fibrosis Corrector Ligand Drug Discovery program

DiscoveryBioMed, Inc. (DBM), a human cell-based drug discovery company, learned recently that its Cystic Fibrosis Corrector Ligand (CFCL) Drug Discovery program will be funded by the NIH. The two-year award will focus on validation and prioritization of several lead CFCL chemical classes, drugs that correct the most common cystic fibrosis (CF) disease-causing mutation.

14 Sep 2011

Researchers create powerful anti-diabetic prototype drugs with lesser side effects

Researchers from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston and the Scripps Research Institute in Jupiter, Fla., report they have created prototype drugs having powerful anti-diabetic effects, yet apparently free - at least in mice - of dangerous side effects plaguing some current diabetes medications.

9 Sep 2011

First-ever comprehensive study of species origins of nature-derived drugs

In a first-ever comprehensive study of the species origins of nature-derived drugs, it is shown that drug-producing species are concentrated and clustered in a limited number of families, refuting the conventional view that as every nature species produces biologically active molecules, one can find drugs from almost any major block of species groups if one looks for them hard enough.

8 Sep 2011

Special journal edition chronicles 3-D structures of important antibacterial, bioterrorist targets

The September issue of the online scientific journal Acta Crystallographica: Structural Biology and Crystallization Communications (Acta Cryst F) will consist entirely of work done at the Seattle Structural Genomics Center for Infectious Disease (SSGCID), a consortium of researchers from Seattle BioMed, Emerald BioStructures, the University of Washington and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

2 Sep 2011

Low-cost, portable technique can detect specific proteins in human blood

Blood tests are important diagnostic tools. They accurately tease-out vanishingly small concentrations of proteins and other molecules that help give a picture of overall health or signal the presence of specific diseases. Current testing procedures, however, are expensive and time-consuming, while sophisticated test equipment is bulky and difficult to transport.

2 Sep 2011

Eleven UvA researchers named as recipients of ERC Starting Grants

Eleven researchers from the University of Amsterdam (UvA) have been named as recipients of Starting Independent Researcher Grants from the European Research Council.

31 Aug 2011

Study finds novel small molecule that inhibits EboV entry into host cells

Ebola virus (EboV) is the cause of sporadic outbreaks of highly fatal infections in Africa that are unpredictable in onset and rapid in progression. There is no effective vaccine or therapy for EboV infection.

25 Aug 2011

Scientists identify cellular protein that plays a critical role in Ebola virus infection

Research published by two teams of Army scientists and collaborators has identified a cellular protein that plays a critical role in Ebola virus infection.

25 Aug 2011

Scientists identify critical protein responsible for Ebola virus infection

In separate papers published online in Nature, two research teams report identifying a critical protein that Ebola virus exploits to cause deadly infections. The protein target is an essential element through which the virus enters living cells to cause disease.

25 Aug 2011

KalVista raises £8 million in series A round of funding

KalVista Pharmaceuticals, a new ophthalmology company with a focus on diabetic macular edema (DME), has raised £8 million in a series A round from leading life sciences investors Novo A/S and SV Life Sciences.

23 Aug 2011

Scientists reveal how thiostrepton blocks FOXM1 protein, prevents breast cancer development

Scientists have discovered how a molecule that was first discovered in bacteria blocks a protein which causes breast cancer to develop and spread, reveals research published in Nature Chemistry today.

22 Aug 2011

FDA, USP co-sponsors OTC drug products workshop

Updated public standards incorporating new tests for impurities as well as more modern technologies to help ensure the quality of over-the-counter (OTC) ingredients and products will be key areas of focus for a September 8-9, 2011, workshop co-sponsored by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention.

17 Aug 2011

New model for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

By isolating cells from patients' spinal tissue within a few days after death, researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have developed a new model of the paralyzing disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

12 Aug 2011

Scientists identify small molecule inhibitors of cellular uptake

Scientists from Freie Universität Berlin and the NeuroCure Cluster of Excellence led by biochemist Volker Haucke in collaboration with colleagues from Australia and the Leibniz Institute for Molecular Pharmacology in Berlin have developed small molecules that inhibit the internalization of important signaling molecules but also of pathogenic organisms such as the immunodeficiency virus and bacteria into cells.

5 Aug 2011