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.

Distributed drug discovery for neglected diseases

Researchers from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) have developed Distributed Drug Discovery (D3), a new low-cost strategy to accelerate the discovery of drugs to treat neglected diseases such as tuberculosis, leprosy, leshmaniasis, dengue fever, and Chagas disease.

16 Jun 2009

Discovery of key gene in deadly inflammatory breast cancer

Aggressive, deadly and often misdiagnosed, inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is the most lethal form of primary breast cancer, often striking women in their prime and causing death within 18 to 24 months.

15 Jun 2009

Waste disposal protein key to cancer tumor suppression in autophagy

"Taking out the trash" takes on a whole new meaning, as investigators at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) and Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, have discovered that a waste disposal protein is the key to cancer tumor suppression in a process known as autophagy. CINJ is a Center of Excellence of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

13 Jun 2009

Innovative partnership targets cancer-causing 'chaperones'

Cancer Research Technology (CRT) and The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) today announced a major research collaboration with AstraZeneca. The three partners will combine their expertise to discover and develop potential new anti-cancer drugs to target molecular "chaperones" which support the growth of cancer cells.

10 Jun 2009

Sodium channel-blocking agent shows promise as a potential treatment for cystic fibrosis

Cystic fibrosis patients may benefit from a new therapy that increases airway hydration, preventing the buildup of mucous, which is a key factor in the disease, according to researchers at Parion Sciences in Durham, N.C.

17 May 2009

U.S. Patent Office upholds StemCells’ patents

StemCells, Inc. has announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) has upheld the validity of the remaining two neural stem cell patents which were subjected to reexamination proceedings commenced by Neuralstem, Inc.

17 May 2009

Determining success or failure in cholesterol-controlling drugs

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego have discovered that a complex network of interactions between drugs and the proteins with which they bind can explain adverse drug effects. Their findings suggest that adverse drug effects might be minimized by using single or multiple drug therapies in order to fine-tune multiple off-target interactions.

15 May 2009

University of Greenwich speeds drug research with ThalesNano H-Cube

A collaboration between groups led by Dr. John Spencer at Greenwich University and Professor Simon Mackay and Professor Alan Harvey at Strathclyde University has led to the discovery of a novel class of benzodiazepines with submicromolar activity against trypanosoma brucei spp., a parasitic species that causes African trypanosomiasis or sleeping sickness in humans.

6 May 2009

IBM and University of Texas Medical Branch launch effort to find flu drug treatments

IBM and the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) launched an effort using IBM's World Community Grid "virtual supercomputer" to allow laboratory tests on drug candidates for drug-resistant influenza strains and new strains, such as H1N1, in less than a month.

6 May 2009

Potential new drug blocks pathway of deadliest cancer

Scientists at Cancer Research Technology Ltd (CRT) will present exciting new findings showing that a potent and selective inhibitor of protein kinase D called CRT0066101, inhibits the growth of pancreatic tumours.

20 Apr 2009

Chemists synthesize natural alkaloid that could have anti-cancer properties

The club moss Lycopodium serratum is a creeping, flowerless plant used in homeopathic medicine to treat a wide variety of ailments.

15 Apr 2009

Reovirus kills cancer stem cells

Dalhousie Medical School cancer researcher Dr. Patrick Lee has proven that a common virus can infect and kill breast cancer stem cells.

8 Apr 2009

Niacin findings could open up new avenues for drug discovery

Deft molecular detective work at Duke University Medical Center suggests that scientists may soon be able to resurrect niacin as one of the best and cheapest ways to manage cholesterol.

6 Apr 2009

BioDuro and Roche enter into strategic collaboration to provide drug discovery services

BioDuro has announced that they have entered into a strategic partnership with Roche to support discovery phase research efforts at Roche's global research sites.

6 Apr 2009

Fluorescent anesthetic compound brings new avenues for drug discovery

A collaboration of University of Pennsylvania and University of Wisconsin chemists and anesthesiologists have identified a fluorescent anesthetic compound that will assist researchers in obtaining more precise information about how anesthetics work in the body and will provide a means to more rapidly test new anesthetic compounds in the search for safer and more effective drugs.

6 Apr 2009

Drug Discovery News and Research

Further Reading

Distributed drug discovery for neglected diseases

Discovery of key gene in deadly inflammatory breast cancer

Waste disposal protein key to cancer tumor suppression in autophagy

Innovative partnership targets cancer-causing 'chaperones'

Sodium channel-blocking agent shows promise as a potential treatment for cystic fibrosis

U.S. Patent Office upholds StemCells’ patents

Determining success or failure in cholesterol-controlling drugs

University of Greenwich speeds drug research with ThalesNano H-Cube

IBM and University of Texas Medical Branch launch effort to find flu drug treatments

Potential new drug blocks pathway of deadliest cancer

Chemists synthesize natural alkaloid that could have anti-cancer properties

Reovirus kills cancer stem cells

Niacin findings could open up new avenues for drug discovery

BioDuro and Roche enter into strategic collaboration to provide drug discovery services

Fluorescent anesthetic compound brings new avenues for drug discovery

Locking parasites in host cell could be new way to fight malaria

CeNeRx BioPharma awarded patent for novel compounds that selectively target peripheral cannabinoid receptors

Mice and men should have more in common in clinical trials

New high-throughput screening technique makes probing puzzling proteins possible

ArunA Biomedical to commercialize human embryonic stem cell derived mesenchymal cells

Drug Discovery eBook

Exploring the intersection of biology and proteomics

Unlocking the Secrets of Multiple Sclerosis Progression: Brain-Immune Cell Communication

Passing on Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: Health risks for male offspring of women with PCOS

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