Drug Discovery News and Research

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The drug discovery process begins with recognizing a disease or clinical condition in which there is a lack of adequate medical treatment. Once a potential drug has been identified, pre-clinical research can begin. This process includes several stages; the first of which involves identifying and validating the prospective drug’s target through assay development, high throughput screening, hit identification and finally, lead optimization. Once the pre-clinical process is complete, the newly synthesized drug candidate is selected for future clinical development.

GSK, Fred Hutch to develop therapeutics against facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK) today announced a partnership to develop therapeutics to treat an inherited form of muscular dystrophy.

11 Dec 2012

Acetylon announces results from selective HDAC 1/2 inhibitor preclinical study on SCD and bT

Acetylon Pharmaceuticals Inc., a leader in targeted epigenetic drug discovery and development for enhanced therapeutic outcomes, today announced results from a preclinical study of a selective histone deacetylase (HDAC) 1/2 inhibitor for the treatment of sickle cell disease (SCD) and beta-thalassemia (bT) at the 54th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), taking place in Atlanta, Georgia.

11 Dec 2012

Isis, Biogen Idec partner to discover and develop antisense drugs against neuromuscular disorders

Biogen Idec and Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that they have entered into a global collaboration agreement under which the companies will discover and develop antisense drugs against three undisclosed targets to treat neurological or neuromuscular disorders.

11 Dec 2012

New study could help develop anti-inflammatory drugs with fewer side effects

10 Dec 2012

Bicycle Therapeutics secures £3.75 million equity financing for drug discovery

Bicycle Therapeutics, a next generation biotherapeutics company co-founded by Sir Gregory Winter and Professor Christian Heinis, today announced that it had secured a tranched equity financing of £3.75 million to invest in selection of drug candidates using its bicyclic peptide technology platform.

10 Dec 2012

Scientists identify key molecular pathway that leads to depression

Scientists have identified the key molecular pathway leading to depression, revealing potential new targets for drug discovery, according to research led by King's College London's Institute of Psychiatry. The study, published today in Neuropsychopharmacology, reveals for the first time that the 'Hedgehog pathway' regulates how stress hormones, usually elevated during depression, reduce the number of brain cells.

6 Dec 2012

USPTO approves patent for Axiogenesis’ in vitro drug discovery assay to treat HCM

The USPTO approved a patent for Axiogenesis AG for the invention of its in vitro assay to screen pharmaceutical drug candidates for effectiveness and safety in treating Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM).

5 Dec 2012

Primitive human stem cells resistant to human cytomegalovirus

A new study published online in PLOS ONE reveals that primitive human stem cells are resistant to human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), one of the leading prenatal causes of congenital intellectual disability, deafness and deformities worldwide.

30 Nov 2012

Two Sanford-Burnham projects win International Space Station Research Competition

Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham) today announced that two of the Institute's research teams have won Space Florida's International Space Station (ISS) Research Competition. Eight teams were selected from a pool of international applicants to send experiments to space in late 2013.

30 Nov 2012

Researchers discover alternative mechanism for Ras protein activation

The protein Ras plays an important role in cellular growth control. Researchers have focused on the protein because mutations in its gene are found in more than 30 percent of all cancers, making it the most prevalent human oncogene.

28 Nov 2012

California researchers develop new strategy to find novel antibiotics for bacterial infections

Researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, have developed a new strategy for finding novel antibiotic compounds, using a diagnostic panel of bacterial strains for screening chemical extracts from natural sources.

27 Nov 2012

CLCA1 molecule plays a special role in the mucus pathway

Respiratory conditions that restrict breathing such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are common killers worldwide. But no effective treatments exist to address the major cause of death in these conditions - excess mucus production.

26 Nov 2012

Apitope announces completion of recruitment in ATX-MS-1467 Phase I trial for MS

Apitope, the European drug discovery and development company focused on treating the underlying cause of autoimmune diseases, today announced completion of recruitment into its second Phase I clinical trial of ATX-MS-1467 in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).

26 Nov 2012

Discovery of DKK1-WNT pathway reveals new drug targets for Alzheimer's

The discovery of the molecular pathway that drives the changes seen in the brains of Alzheimer's patients is reported today, revealing new targets for drug discovery that could be exploited to combat the disease. The study gives the most detailed understanding yet of the complex processes leading to Alzheimer's.

21 Nov 2012

Acetylon's ective histone deacetylase inhibitors to be showcased at 54th ASH annual meeting

Acetylon Pharmaceuticals Inc., a leader in targeted epigenetic drug discovery and development for enhanced therapeutic outcomes, today announced that its selective histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors will be featured in five posters and one oral presentation at the 54th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), taking place December 8-11, 2012, in Atlanta, Georgia.

21 Nov 2012

Study: 2-PMPA improves cognition in mice with MS

Johns Hopkins researchers report the successful use of a form of MRI to identify what appears to be a key biochemical marker for cognitive impairment in the brains of people with multiple sclerosis (MS). In follow-up experiments on mice with a rodent form of MS, researchers were able to use an experimental compound to manipulate that same marker and dramatically improve learning and memory.

21 Nov 2012

CFFT announces major expansion of research collaboration with Pfizer

Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics Inc. (CFFT), the nonprofit drug discovery and development affiliate of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, today announced a major expansion of its research collaboration with Pfizer Inc. designed to discover new drugs to treat people with the most common mutation of CF, Delta F508.

20 Nov 2012

GVK Biosciences receives AERB approvals to carry out 3H and 14C synthesis activities

GVK Biosciences, Asia's leading Drug Discovery Research & Development organization, has received approvals from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), Government of India, to carry out 3H and 14C synthesis activities.

19 Nov 2012

New nanoparticle halts relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis in mouse model

In a breakthrough for nanotechnology and multiple sclerosis, a biodegradable nanoparticle turns out to be the perfect vehicle to stealthily deliver an antigen that tricks the immune system into stopping its attack on myelin and halt a model of relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) in mice, according to new Northwestern Medicine research.

19 Nov 2012

Scientists identify cell growth pathway that is unusually active in gliomas

Insights from a genetic condition that causes brain cancer are helping scientists better understand the most common type of brain tumor in children.

17 Nov 2012

Drug Discovery News and Research

Further Reading

GSK, Fred Hutch to develop therapeutics against facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy

Acetylon announces results from selective HDAC 1/2 inhibitor preclinical study on SCD and bT

Isis, Biogen Idec partner to discover and develop antisense drugs against neuromuscular disorders

New study could help develop anti-inflammatory drugs with fewer side effects

Bicycle Therapeutics secures £3.75 million equity financing for drug discovery

Scientists identify key molecular pathway that leads to depression

USPTO approves patent for Axiogenesis’ in vitro drug discovery assay to treat HCM

Primitive human stem cells resistant to human cytomegalovirus

Two Sanford-Burnham projects win International Space Station Research Competition

Researchers discover alternative mechanism for Ras protein activation

California researchers develop new strategy to find novel antibiotics for bacterial infections

CLCA1 molecule plays a special role in the mucus pathway

Apitope announces completion of recruitment in ATX-MS-1467 Phase I trial for MS

Discovery of DKK1-WNT pathway reveals new drug targets for Alzheimer's

Acetylon's ective histone deacetylase inhibitors to be showcased at 54th ASH annual meeting

Study: 2-PMPA improves cognition in mice with MS

CFFT announces major expansion of research collaboration with Pfizer

GVK Biosciences receives AERB approvals to carry out 3H and 14C synthesis activities

New nanoparticle halts relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis in mouse model

Scientists identify cell growth pathway that is unusually active in gliomas

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Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

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