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.

USPTO grants MultiCell Technologies patent for its Fa2N-4 and Ea1C-35 immortalized human hepatocyte cell lines

MultiCell Technologies, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: MCET) announced today it has been granted U.S. patent 7,566,567 by the United States of America Patent and Trademark Office covering its Fa2N-4 and Ea1C-35 immortalized human hepatocyte cell lines.

20 Aug 2009

Vanderbilt enters Chemical Biology Consortium as a Chemical Diversity Center to develop cancer treatment drugs

Vanderbilt University has been selected as one of 10 centers in the nation to participate in the Chemical Biology Consortium (CBC), a major new initiative to facilitate the discovery and development of new agents to treat cancer.

20 Aug 2009

Young innovators Andrea Armani and Ellis Meng to feature in Technology Review magazine's 2009 TR35 list

The University of Southern California today announced that two faculty members from the USC Viterbi School of Engineering have been recognized by Technology Review magazine as some of the world's top innovators under the age of 35. Andrea Armani, Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, and Ellis Meng, Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering, will both appear on the prestigious 2009 TR35 list.

19 Aug 2009

Xceleron to acquire an Accelerator Mass Spectrometry instrument under agreement with GlaxoSmithKline

XCELERON, a leader in the field of ultra-sensitive bioanalytical studies supporting clinical research, today announced that it has signed a second Master Service Agreement with GlaxoSmithKline. Under the terms of this agreement, Xceleron will provide analytical support to GlaxoSmithKline and its affiliated research organizations. As part of the deal, Xceleron will increase capacity through the acquisition of an Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) instrument.

19 Aug 2009

Algos Therapeutics changes name to Algos Preclinical Services

Following a shift in its business model from developing proprietary pain therapy products to pure contract research, Algos Therapeutics has changed its name to Algos Preclinical Services. The company's new tagline, "Expertise in pain. Legendary service. Definitive results. For better quality of life." reinforces its repositioning as the go-to-CRO (Contract Research Organization) for drug discovery and product development.

19 Aug 2009

Labcyte awarded 2nd Japanese patent for acoustic-based cell sorting system

Labcyte, the company that developed and commercialized the acoustic transfer of liquids today announced that the Japanese patent office has granted patent 4309131 that covers the design of an acoustic-based system that can sort cells based upon acoustic or other properties and then eject them specifically from a mixed population.

18 Aug 2009

4SC starts phase 2 trial in hepatocellular carcinoma with 4SC-201 (resminostat)

4SC AG, the German drug discovery and development company, today announced the dosing of the first patient in its Phase II trial with 4SC-201 (resminostat), a pan-histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, as a new potential treatment option for patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most frequent form of liver cancer.

18 Aug 2009

Acacia subsidiary acquires rights to biosensor patent

Acacia Research Corporation (Nasdaq:ACTG) announced today that its subsidiary, Acacia Patent Acquisition LLC, has acquired rights to a patent for biosensor technology.

13 Aug 2009

Discovery of compounds that selectively kills cancer stem cells

The cancer stem cells that drive tumor growth and resist chemotherapies and radiation treatments that kill other cancer cells aren't invincible after all. Researchers reporting online on August 13th in the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication, have discovered the first compound that targets those cancer stem cells directly.

13 Aug 2009

Ranbaxy receives approval to market Sumatriptan Succinate tablets

Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals Inc. (RPI), a wholly owned subsidiary of Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited (RLL), announced today that RLL has received final approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to manufacture and market Sumatriptan Succinate Tablets, 25 mg (base), and 50 mg (base).

12 Aug 2009

PTC Therapeutics achieves milestone in Schering-Plough hepatitis C collaboration

PTC Therapeutics, Inc. (PTC) today announced that it has reached a major research milestone in its collaboration with Schering-Plough Corporation (NYSE: SGP) receiving a $2 million payment in connection with the designation of a development candidate for the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.

11 Aug 2009

Upstream Biosciences actively seeking licensors or acquirers for anti-parasitic drug discovery portfolio and cancer diagnostic platform

Upstream Biosciences Inc. (OTCBB: UPBS) has announced that the company is actively seeking licensors or acquirers for its novel anti-parasitic drug discovery portfolio and cancer diagnostic platform.

11 Aug 2009

New class of molecules capable of blocking formation of tau protein fibrils

A new class of molecules capable of blocking the formation of specific protein clumps that are believed to contribute to Alzheimer’s disease pathology has been discovered by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. By assaying close to 300,000 compounds, they have identified drug-like inhibitors of AD tau protein clumping, as reported in the journal Biochemistry.

11 Aug 2009

Stemcells, Inc. reports Q2 financials

Results for the quarter reflect the Company’s acquisition of the operations of Stem Cell Sciences Plc (SCS), a UK-based company focused on cell-based technologies for drug discovery and screening.

10 Aug 2009

Burnham as a comprehensive center in a new National Cancer Institute (NCI) Chemical Biology Consortium

The consortium will establish a new paradigm in the use of public-private partnerships to translate knowledge from leading academic institutions into new drug treatments for patients with cancer. Both the La Jolla, Calif. campus of Burnham and its new Lake Nona campus in Orlando, Fla. will participate in the consortium.

10 Aug 2009

Decode Genetics announces Q2 2009 financials

deCODE genetics (Nasdaq: DCGN) today announced its consolidated financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2009. A conference call to discuss these results and recent developments in the company's business will be webcast live tomorrow, Tuesday, August 11, at 8:00am Eastern Daylight Time/12 noon GMT/1pm British Summer Time (details below).

10 Aug 2009

Chemists rationally design inhibitors against an RNA molecule that causes myotonic muscular dystrophy

Chemists at the University at Buffalo have used rational drug design to synthesize small, cell-permeable molecules that are effective in vitro against two common types of myotonic muscular dystrophy, a result that has implications for potentially curing muscular dystrophy, as well as other diseases.

9 Aug 2009

Genetic profiling of tumors could have 'immediate impact' on treating cancer

New work by MIT cancer biologists shows that the interplay between two key genes that are often defective in tumors determines how cancer cells respond to chemotherapy.

6 Aug 2009

Alnylam and Tekmira to collaborate on RNAi therapeutics

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corporation announced today that they will jointly participate in a new research collaboration focused on the discovery of novel cationic lipids and lipid nanoparticles for the systemic delivery of RNAi therapeutics.

6 Aug 2009

Innovative diabetes drug discovery partnership

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation said today that it has entered into a novel collaborative research agreement with the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation (GNF) to create a diabetes drug discovery and development platform.

5 Aug 2009

Drug Discovery News and Research

Further Reading

USPTO grants MultiCell Technologies patent for its Fa2N-4 and Ea1C-35 immortalized human hepatocyte cell lines

Vanderbilt enters Chemical Biology Consortium as a Chemical Diversity Center to develop cancer treatment drugs

Young innovators Andrea Armani and Ellis Meng to feature in Technology Review magazine's 2009 TR35 list

Xceleron to acquire an Accelerator Mass Spectrometry instrument under agreement with GlaxoSmithKline

Algos Therapeutics changes name to Algos Preclinical Services

Labcyte awarded 2nd Japanese patent for acoustic-based cell sorting system

4SC starts phase 2 trial in hepatocellular carcinoma with 4SC-201 (resminostat)

Acacia subsidiary acquires rights to biosensor patent

Discovery of compounds that selectively kills cancer stem cells

Ranbaxy receives approval to market Sumatriptan Succinate tablets

PTC Therapeutics achieves milestone in Schering-Plough hepatitis C collaboration

Upstream Biosciences actively seeking licensors or acquirers for anti-parasitic drug discovery portfolio and cancer diagnostic platform

New class of molecules capable of blocking formation of tau protein fibrils

Stemcells, Inc. reports Q2 financials

Burnham as a comprehensive center in a new National Cancer Institute (NCI) Chemical Biology Consortium

Decode Genetics announces Q2 2009 financials

Chemists rationally design inhibitors against an RNA molecule that causes myotonic muscular dystrophy

Genetic profiling of tumors could have 'immediate impact' on treating cancer

Alnylam and Tekmira to collaborate on RNAi therapeutics

Innovative diabetes drug discovery partnership

Drug Discovery - Second Edition eBook

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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