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.

Roche launches GS Junior System benchtop DNA sequencing platform for life science research

Roche, announced today the global launch of the GS Junior System, the company's new benchtop next-generation DNA sequencing platform for life science research. The GS Junior System, developed by 454 Life Sciences, a Roche company, provides an integrated sequencing and bioinformatics solution, all in a size that is no bigger than a typical desktop laser printer.

From Roche Sequencing and Life Science 28 May 2010

Progenics presents preclinical data on novel monoclonal antibodies against toxins produced by C. difficile

Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the presentation of preclinical data on novel monoclonal antibodies against toxins produced by the bacterium Clostridium difficile (C. difficile). The monoclonal antibodies effectively neutralized the cell-killing activities of the toxins in vitro and significantly improved survival in a stringent animal model of C. difficile infection. C. difficile is the leading cause of hospital-acquired diarrhea in the United States and represents a growing global public health challenge.

28 May 2010

Pressure BioSciences signs CRADA with AFIP, ARP and VA

Pressure BioSciences, Inc. today announced that it has signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement ("CRADA") with the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology ("AFIP"), the American Registry of Pathology ("ARP"), and the Department of Veterans Affairs ("VA").

27 May 2010

Blocking the activity of PAT proteins stops cancer cell growth: Scientists

Cancer Research UK-funded scientists have revealed that a set of proteins act as the cell's 'nose' to 'sniff out' molecules which trigger cell growth, according to research published in Oncogene today.

27 May 2010

Space Shuttle Atlantis returns from International Space Station with tenth scientific payload for Astrogenetix

Space Shuttle Atlantis returned from the International Space Station (ISS) landing at the Kennedy Space Center this morning with the tenth scientific payload for Astrogenetix, a commercial biotech company based out of Austin, Texas. Astrogenetix is conducting research on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) as part of the ISS National Laboratory Pathfinder Vaccine (NLP-V) missions.

27 May 2010

Jubilant Organosys announces repayment of FCCBs amounting to $50M and YTM of $19M

Jubilant Organosys Limited, an integrated pharmaceutical industry player and the largest Custom Research and Manufacturing Services Company out of India, today announced the repayment of FCCBs amounting to US$ 50 million along with the YTM of US$ 19 million. The FCCBs were due for redemption on May 24, 2010.

26 May 2010

Research findings on pediatric ILD published online in PED

An insightful and in-depth presentation of the most up-to-date clinical and research findings and historical perspectives on pediatric interstitial lung disease is presented in a special issue published online ahead of print in Pediatric Allergy, Immunology, and Pulmonology, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

26 May 2010

BIO praises Obama Administration’s dissemination of Therapeutic Discovery Project Program

The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) praised the Obama Administration for its new guidance, released today, that will lead to many small biotechnology companies receiving needed funding to support critical on-going research and development programs. The guidance document initiates the Therapeutic Discovery Project Program (TDPP), which was created by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act signed into law by President Obama on March 23.

25 May 2010

Yissum introduces Dralgo platform to accelerate discovery of promising drug candidates

Drug discovery and development is a highly risky process, with only one in 10,000 initial candidate compounds reaching the market. When taking into account the aborted candidates, the cost of developing one successful drug may even reach $1 billion, and the development process may take as long as 15-20 years.

25 May 2010

ADDF provides $248,000 grant to ALSP to allow its lead drug candidate towards clinical trials

The Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation announced today that it is providing a grant of $248,000 to American Life Science Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to allow for manufacture of its lead drug candidate to be used in preclinical toxicology testing in preparation for entering Phase I clinical trials early in 2011.

25 May 2010

Expression Analysis agrees to purchase PacBio RS DNA sequencing system from Pacific Biosciences

Expression Analysis, a leading provider of genomic services for clinical trials and research, announced today that it has agreed to purchase a PacBio RS DNA sequencing system from northern-California based Pacific Biosciences, whose third-generation DNA sequencing technology is expected to revolutionize the field of genetic analysis through the use of single molecule real time detection of biological events.

24 May 2010

Patent applications for Shrink's stem cell research and drug discovery tool StemDisc filed

Shrink Nanotechnologies, Inc., an innovative nanotechnology company developing products and licensing opportunities in the solar energy production, medical diagnostics and sensors, and biotechnology research and development tools businesses, announced today that patent applications for its stem cell research and drug discovery tool StemDisc have been filed.

24 May 2010

Infinity to present data from Hsp90 chaperone and Hedgehog pathway inhibitor programs at 2010 ASCO

Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Inc., an innovative drug discovery and development company, today announced that data from its Hsp90 chaperone and Hedgehog pathway inhibitor programs will be presented during the 2010 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting being held in Chicago, Ill. from June 4 through June 8, 2010.

21 May 2010

Studies identify new chemical compounds that could lead to development of new malaria drugs

Researchers have identified thousands of chemical compounds that could be used to develop new malaria drugs, two studies published in the journal Nature on Wednesday show, the Wall Street Journal reports.

21 May 2010

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

GSK, EMBL-EBI, NLM and CDD collaborate to apply principles of open source to drug discovery for malaria

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) had teamed up with leading public-domain data providers European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM) and the U.S.-based informatics service provider Collaborative Drug Discovery (CDD) to make freely available key scientific information on more than 13,500 compounds that could ultimately lead to new treatments for malaria.

20 May 2010

BIOCIUS and Agilent launch RF360 High Resolution System for high-throughput screening of in vitro ADME assays

BIOCIUS Life Sciences, Inc. and Agilent Technologies Inc. today announced the launch of the RF360 High Resolution System for high-throughput screening of in vitro ADME assays. Combining the accurate mass capabilities of Agilent's time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometers and the unprecedented sample processing speed of RapidFire® technology, the instrument revolutionizes in vitro ADME analysis by eliminating the method development bottleneck in drug discovery.

From Evident Corporation - Life Sciences 20 May 2010

Vanderbilt University orders Bruker's AVANCE III 900 US2 NMR spectrometer

Bruker, the leader in analytical magnetic resonance instrumentation, announces a major multi-systems NMR order from Vanderbilt University, including an ultra-high field AVANCE™ III 900 US2 NMR spectrometer. This purchase was made possible in large part by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Vanderbilt will use these NMR instruments for a broad range of biophysical and structural analyses in biomedical research, as well as for cancer drug discovery using fragment-based approaches and structure-based drug design.

20 May 2010

New study uses NMR in drug design

A new study by a team of researchers led by Jeffrey Peng, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Notre Dame, is using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, to move drug design into groundbreaking consideration of the dynamic flexibility of drugs and their targets.

20 May 2010

Targacept commences Phase 2 clinical proof of concept trial of TC-5619 in adults with ADHD

Targacept, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel NNR Therapeutics (TM), today announced that it has initiated a Phase 2 clinical proof of concept trial of TC-5619 in adults with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). TC-5619 is a novel small molecule that is highly selective for the alpha7 neuronal nicotinic receptor, which Targacept refers to as NNR, and was discovered by Targacept scientists using Targacept's proprietary drug discovery platform known as Pentad (TM).

19 May 2010

Drug Discovery News and Research

Further Reading

Roche launches GS Junior System benchtop DNA sequencing platform for life science research

Progenics presents preclinical data on novel monoclonal antibodies against toxins produced by C. difficile

Pressure BioSciences signs CRADA with AFIP, ARP and VA

Blocking the activity of PAT proteins stops cancer cell growth: Scientists

Space Shuttle Atlantis returns from International Space Station with tenth scientific payload for Astrogenetix

Jubilant Organosys announces repayment of FCCBs amounting to $50M and YTM of $19M

Research findings on pediatric ILD published online in PED

BIO praises Obama Administration’s dissemination of Therapeutic Discovery Project Program

Yissum introduces Dralgo platform to accelerate discovery of promising drug candidates

ADDF provides $248,000 grant to ALSP to allow its lead drug candidate towards clinical trials

Expression Analysis agrees to purchase PacBio RS DNA sequencing system from Pacific Biosciences

Patent applications for Shrink's stem cell research and drug discovery tool StemDisc filed

Infinity to present data from Hsp90 chaperone and Hedgehog pathway inhibitor programs at 2010 ASCO

Studies identify new chemical compounds that could lead to development of new malaria drugs

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

GSK, EMBL-EBI, NLM and CDD collaborate to apply principles of open source to drug discovery for malaria

BIOCIUS and Agilent launch RF360 High Resolution System for high-throughput screening of in vitro ADME assays

Vanderbilt University orders Bruker's AVANCE III 900 US2 NMR spectrometer

New study uses NMR in drug design

Targacept commences Phase 2 clinical proof of concept trial of TC-5619 in adults with ADHD

Drug Discovery - Second Edition eBook

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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