Small Molecules News and Research

RSS

COTI reports positive results from first phase of HIV integrase inhibitor discovery program

Critical Outcome Technologies Inc. today announced positive results from the first phase of its HIV integrase inhibitor discovery program. These results provide novel intellectual property to the Company and further validation of the CHEMSAS® drug discovery technology.

21 May 2010

Scientists look for new ways to fight TB

Scientists looking for new ways to fight tuberculosis have their sights set on a structure essential to the bacterium's survival. Disabling this structure could kill the microbes in the infected host and thwart TB infections. In a study appearing online May 11, 2010, in EMBO J, the journal of the European Molecular Biology Organization, scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory, Stony Brook University, and Weill Cornell Medical College describe new features of how this structure, known as a proteasome, is put together and how it works.

14 May 2010

ADDF awards $210,300 to Amicus Therapeutics to evaluate PCs for treating Alzheimer's disease

The Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation announced today that it has awarded a grant of $210,300 to Amicus Therapeutics (Cranbury, NJ) to evaluate small-molecule, orally delivered pharmacological chaperone compounds as a novel approach for treating Alzheimer's disease.

7 May 2010

Genzyme to initiate $2 billion stock buyback

Genzyme Corp. today announced that its Board of Directors has voted to pursue several actions to increase shareholder value. The company will initiate a $2 billion stock buyback, under which $1 billion of stock will be repurchased in the near term and financed with debt. The additional $1 billion of stock will be repurchased during the next 12 months.

7 May 2010

Cryo-EM images shed light on virus structure, function

UCLA researchers report in the April 30 edition of the journal Cell that they have imaged a virus structure at a resolution high enough to effectively "see" atoms, the first published instance of imaging biological complexes at such a resolution.

5 May 2010

Palatin Technologies granted patent relating to small molecule compounds that bind to melanocortin receptors

Palatin Technologies, Inc. announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued U.S. Patent No. 7,709,484, titled "Substituted Melanocortin Receptor-Specific Piperazine Compounds," today. The claims in the issued patent relate to small molecule compounds which bind to melanocortin receptors.

5 May 2010

Researchers convert established human iPS cells, ES cells to base state of greater pluripotency

Whitehead Institute researchers have converted established human induced pluripotent stem cells and human embryonic stem cells to a base state of greater pluripotency.

4 May 2010

Curis completes enrollment in Phase I clinical trial of CUDC-101 HDAC, EGFR and HER2 inhibitor

Curis, Inc., a drug development company seeking to develop next generation targeted small molecule drug candidates for cancer treatment, today announced that it has successfully completed enrollment and treatment of the last patient in its Phase I clinical trial of CUDC-101, Curis' first-in-class HDAC, EGFR and HER2 inhibitor.

3 May 2010

Scripps Research Institute awarded grant to design assays for exploring potential target for obesity, Type 2 diabetes

The Scripps Research Institute has been awarded a $1.3 million grant by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop a series of tests at its Florida campus to help explore the potential of a protein that has emerged as a highly attractive target for the treatment of obesity and Type 2 diabetes.

3 May 2010

iPierian receives $1.5M Basic Biology Award from CIRM to study cellular reprogramming

iPierian, Inc., the leading company focused on creating new therapeutics discovered using cellular reprogramming and directed differentiation of patient cells, today announced that it has been awarded a three-year $1.5 million "Basic Biology Award" from the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine.

30 Apr 2010

Johns Hopkins scientist receives AACR Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cancer Research

Joshua T. Mendell, M.D., Ph.D., an associate professor in the McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Early Career Scientist, is the recipient of the 30th annual American Association for Cancer Research Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cancer Research.

24 Apr 2010

Study uses new BL-DMAC method to measure PAC levels in cranberry products

Natural compounds in cranberries are linked to the prevention of urinary tract infections (UTIs) but inconsistencies in methods currently used commercially to measure levels can result in the over- or under-estimation of potency levels, leaving product manufacturers and consumers without good data. A study published today in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture outlines a new, commercially viable method of measuring these compounds.

22 Apr 2010

Catabasis Pharmaceuticals to advance program targeting type 2 diabetes with $39.6 million Series A financing

Catabasis Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics for the treatment of inflammatory and metabolic diseases, today announced it has completed a $39.6 million Series A financing led by SV Life Sciences, Clarus Ventures, and MedImmune Ventures. Also participating in the round is Advanced Technology Ventures.

21 Apr 2010

MicroRNAs control levels of Myc protein in Drosophila: Researchers

In all cancers, whether in kidney, breast, lung, colon, skin or any other tissue, cells show high Myc protein levels. Excess Myc causes cells to multiply in an exaggerated manner, giving rise to the development of tumours. One of the most pressing questions about Myc is how healthy cells keep the expression of this protein in check.

21 Apr 2010

TGen, Asuragen sign microRNA technology agreement for pancreatic cancer research

The Translational Genomics Research Institute and Asuragen Inc. today announced a research agreement that could lead to ways of detecting cancer before it spreads.

17 Apr 2010

Study on primary cilia formation may lead to new therapies for ciliopathies

A team of scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified a network of genes that initiate and manage cilia formation. Although scientists have known about cilia for decades, only recently have they discovered their role in disease. This new discovery, which may lead to new therapies for ciliopathies, will appear in the April 15 edition of Nature.

16 Apr 2010

New experimental compound offers hope for patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

Researchers from the Sackler Center at Weill Cornell Medical College have designed a new class of drugs that targets BCL6, a master regulatory protein responsible for causing the most common type of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

15 Apr 2010

Researchers discover two synthetic small molecule drugs to prevent death of human stem cell

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have solved the decade-old mystery of why human embryonic stem cells are so difficult to culture in the laboratory, providing scientists with useful new techniques and moving the field closer to the day when stem cells can be used for therapeutic purposes.

13 Apr 2010

Resverlogix highlights features of RVX-208 drug at ATVB conference

Resverlogix Corp. announced today that key scientific data was communicated in an oral presentation highlighting the novel features of RVX-208, the Company's lead drug, during the Atherosclerosis, Thrombosis, Vascular Biology conference being held in San Francisco, California.

12 Apr 2010

A*STAR announces fifth major collaboration with Italian research centres and universities

Two research units under Singapore's Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), the Experimental Therapeutics Centre (ETC) and Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN), are collaborating with Italy's Siena Biotech S.p.A. to develop new drugs and targeted antibodies respectively, which will potentially help millions of cancer and bone loss patients across the world. This is the fifth major collaboration A*STAR has with research centres and universities in Italy .

9 Apr 2010