Small Molecules News and Research

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QPS acquires Xendo Drug Development

QPS Holdings, LLC, a leading full-service GLP/GCP-compliant contract research organization providing testing services to support preclinical and clinical research and development, announced the completion of its acquisition of Xendo Drug Development BV (XDD), headquartered in Groningen, The Netherlands. XDD, a European contract research organization (CRO), will be known as QPS Netherlands BV and become a wholly-owned subsidiary of QPS Holdings, LLC.

26 Jul 2010

Researchers discover fundamental entry mechanism of fungal microbes into plant and human host cells

A research team led by scientists at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) at Virginia Tech has discovered a fundamental entry mechanism that allows dangerous fungal microbes to infect plants and cause disease. The discovery paves the way for the development of new intervention strategies to protect plant, and even some animal cells, from deadly fungal infections. The findings are published in the July 23 edition of the journal Cell.

23 Jul 2010

Valproic acid halts vision loss in patients with retinitis pigmentosa

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School believe they may have found a new treatment for retinitis pigmentosa, a severe neurodegenerative disease of the retina that ultimately results in blindness. One of the more common retinal degenerative diseases, RP is caused by the death of photoreceptor cells and affects 1 in 4,000 people in the United States. RP typically manifests in young adulthood as night blindness or a loss of peripheral vision and in many cases progresses to legal blindness by age 40.

22 Jul 2010

ArmaGen uses BBB molecular Trojan horse platform technology to create brain penetrating form of human EPO

Human erythropoietin (EPO) is a potent neuroprotective agent for multiple brain disorders, including stroke, brain and spinal cord injury, and Parkinson's disease. However, EPO drug development for the brain is limited, because EPO does not cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB). In acute stroke or brain injury, the BBB is intact in the early hours after the insult when neuroprotection is still possible. Therefore, large molecule biopharmaceuticals such as EPO must be re-engineered to enable BBB transport.

17 Jul 2010

ALLOZYNE signs worldwide licensing agreement with The Scripps Research Institute

ALLOZYNE Inc. announced today the signing of a worldwide licensing agreement with The Scripps Research Institute. The agreement gives ALLOZYNE rights to a unique and powerful chemical reaction, developed by Nobel Laureate K. Barry Sharpless of Scripps Research, known as "Click chemistry." The novelty of this reaction comes from its ability to introduce two different molecular components and have them "click" together stably and irreversibly.

15 Jul 2010

Evotec to acquire DeveloGen

Evotec AG today announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire DeveloGen, a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery of novel therapeutic approaches for the treatment of metabolic and endocrine disorders, for up to €14m in shares plus performance-related deferred payments (earn-out).

15 Jul 2010

Promising study may lead to potential new therapeutics for women facing triple-negative breast cancer

Using a small molecule decoy, investigators funded by the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation have managed to block protein interactions and induce epigenetic reprogramming in human and mouse breast cancer cells, essentially changing the gene expression of breast cancer cells to behave in a more normal manner.

9 Jul 2010

Calithera Biosciences completes Series A financing totaling $40M

Calithera Biosciences, a company developing novel oncology therapeutics, today announced the completion of a Series A financing totaling $40 million. Morgenthaler Ventures led the financing with U.S. Venture Partners, Advanced Technology Ventures, Delphi Ventures and Mission Bay Capital also participating in the round. The capital will be used to support the company's pioneering efforts to develop activators of caspases, the proteases that promote apoptotic cell death, for the treatment of cancer and other proliferative diseases.

8 Jul 2010

Selvita, Orion collaborate to develop and commercialize SEL103 Alzheimer’s disease program

Selvita sp. z o.o., from Krakow, Poland and Orion Corporation from Espoo, Finland (ORNBV) today announced that they have entered into a global collaboration to jointly develop and commercialize SEL103, Selvita's proprietary program for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and other cognitive disorders. Selvita will be responsible for early research on the program and Orion will take over the pre-clinical and clinical development as well as further commercialization.

8 Jul 2010

Florida Biomedical Research Program awards $2M in grants to Scripps Research Institute scientists

The Florida Biomedical Research Program has awarded $2 million in biomedical research grants to three scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute.

1 Jul 2010

Metabolex, Sanofi-Aventis sign global license deal to develop GPR119 for type 2 diabetes treatment

Metabolex and Sanofi-Aventis announced today that they have entered into a global license and development agreement for the research, development, manufacture and commercialization of small molecules that modulate the G-protein coupled receptor 119 (GPR119), a receptor in the gut and pancreas that interacts with bioactive lipids to stimulate glucose-dependent incretin and insulin secretion.

30 Jun 2010

Overview of scientific research on medical technology to combat anthrax threat

The 2001 anthrax attacks in the United States are fostering development of a new generation of vaccines, antibiotics, and other medications to protect people against the potentially deadly bacteria in any future bioterrorist incident. That's the conclusion of a sweeping overview of scientific research on medical technology to combat the anthrax threat. It appears in ACS' bi-weekly Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.

25 Jun 2010

MonoSol Rx, Midatech collaborate to develop peptides for therapeutic delivery utilizing pharmaceutical films

MonoSol Rx, the developer of PharmFilm® drug delivery technology, today announced the expansion of its agreement with Midatech Group (Oxford, UK) to develop nanoparticle-based proteins and peptides for therapeutic delivery utilizing pharmaceutical films. Under the terms of the expanded agreement, MonoSol Rx has made an equity investment in Midatech and Keith Kendall, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of MonoSol Rx, will join the Midatech Board of Directors.

24 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

UC Irvine researchers create "plastic antibodies"

UC Irvine researchers have developed the first "plastic antibodies" successfully employed in live organisms - stopping the spread of bee venom through the bloodstream of mice.

22 Jun 2010

PAS technique to predict how blood platelets respond to complex conditions found during heart attack

A team of bioengineers from the University of Pennsylvania Institute for Medicine and Engineering have trained a computer neural network model to accurately predict how blood platelets would respond to complex conditions found during a heart attack or stroke.

21 Jun 2010

Bayer, OncoMed collaborate to develop anti-cancer stem cell therapeutics to target Wnt signaling pathway

Bayer Schering Pharma AG and OncoMed Pharmaceuticals, Inc., today announced a global strategic alliance to discover, develop and commercialize novel anti-cancer stem cell therapeutics targeting the Wnt signaling pathway.

17 Jun 2010

OncoMed, Bayer Schering Pharma to develop and commercialize novel anti-cancer stem cell therapeutics

OncoMed Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Bayer Schering Pharma AG, Germany, today announced a global strategic alliance to discover, develop and commercialize novel anti-cancer stem cell therapeutics targeting the Wnt signaling pathway. Cancer stem cells are a subset of tumor cells believed to play a significant role in the establishment, metastasis and recurrence of cancer.

17 Jun 2010

Chiasma successfully completes Phase I clinical study of Octreolin

Chiasma, Inc., a privately held biopharma company, announced that it has successfully completed a Phase I clinical study evaluating the safety and pharmacokinetics (PK) of its proprietary product Octreolin, which contains the active ingredient octreotide actetate and is administered orally

14 Jun 2010

Pfizer to join SGC-led collaboration to generate chemical probes for proteins involved in epigenetic signalling

The Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC) and Pfizer today announced that Pfizer will join the SGC-led public-private collaboration to generate small molecule inhibitors - "chemical probes" - for proteins involved in epigenetic signalling.

11 Jun 2010