Ligand News and Research

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Scientists find way to make copper-catalyzed click chemistry biocompatible

Biomolecular imaging can reveal a great deal of information about the inner workings of cells and one of the most attractive targets for imaging are glycans - sugars that are ubiquitous to living organisms and abundant on cell surfaces. Imaging a glycan requires that it be tagged or labeled. One of the best techniques for doing this is a technique called click chemistry.

19 Jul 2011

EC grants marketing authorization for Amgen's XGEVA to prevent skeletal-related events

Amgen today announced that the European Commission (EC) has granted marketing authorization for XGEVA (denosumab) for the prevention of skeletal-related events (SREs) in adults with bone metastases from solid tumors.

15 Jul 2011

Fused indolines made by asymmetrical carbon–carbon coupling

Many drugs are based on natural substances. Because it is usually difficult, if not impossible, to isolate these in sufficient quantities from plants or microorganisms, they must be synthesized in the laboratory. This requires linking carbon atoms – with the right spatial orientation (stereochemistry) relative to each other. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, E. Peter Kündig and a team from the University of Geneva (Switzerland) have now introduced a palladium-catalyzed synthesis that allows them to produce indoline derivatives with the correct spatial arrangement.

7 Jul 2011

Genetically engineered pigs may help overcome donor organ shortage

A sizzling genetic discovery by Chinese scientists may one day allow pig tissue to be transplanted successfully into humans. Their research presented in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology (http://www.jleukbio.org) represents a major step forward toward filling the shortage of vital organs for human transplantation.

1 Jul 2011

Amgen files sBLA for XGEVA with FDA to treat castrate-resistant prostate cancer

Amgen today announced the submission of a supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to expand the indication for XGEVA (denosumab) to treat men with castrate-resistant prostate cancer to reduce the risk of developing bone metastases.

28 Jun 2011

FDA accepts ZIOPHARM's IND for ZIN ATI-001 to treat melanoma

ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc., a drug development company employing small molecule and synthetic biology approaches to cancer therapy, announced today that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration has accepted the Company's investigational new drug application to begin clinical study of ZIN ATI-001, a novel DNA-based therapeutic candidate also known as Ad-RTS-IL-12 + AL, in oncology.

10 Jun 2011

Hepatitis C virus (HCV)-associated liver disease after liver transplantation

Hepatitis C virus (HCV)-associated liver disease continues to be the most common indication for liver transplantation (LT) in the United States accounting for nearly 50% of all liver transplants. Recurrence is universal in patients viremic at the time of transplantation with histological hepatitis developing in the majority of patients. Although the natural history of recurrent HCV is difficult to predict, it is widely accepted that cirrhosis from recurrent HCV occurs in up to 30% of patients within five years of transplantation.

8 Jun 2011

Vaccine candidate produces immune response to antigen in all strains of influenza A

A universal influenza vaccine targeting a protein common to all strains of influenza A has safely produced an immune response in humans. If proven effective, the vaccine could eliminate the practice of creating a new flu vaccine annually to match predicted strains, with major implications for global health.

8 Jun 2011

Ligand's LGD-4033 Phase I clinical trial data presented at the Endocrine Society annual meeting

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated today announced that data from a comprehensive Phase I multi-dose program with its selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) LGD-4033 was featured in a poster presentation today at the Endocrine Society Annual Meeting in Boston, June 4-7, 2011.

7 Jun 2011

Initial positive results from ZIOPHARM's ZIN-CTI-001 Phase Ib study against advanced melanoma

ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc. announced today that Douglas J. Schwartzentruber, MD, FACS, of the Indiana University Health Goshen Center for Cancer Care, presented initial positive clinical results from the first-ever treatment demonstrating control over transgene encoding of a therapeutic anticancer protein in humans using a small molecule activator ligand.

7 Jun 2011

New gene therapy may cure Type 1 diabetes

An experimental cure for Type 1 diabetes has a nearly 80 percent success rate in curing diabetic mice. The results, to be presented Saturday at The Endocrine Society's 93rd Annual Meeting in Boston, offer possible hope of curing a disease that affects 3 million Americans.

6 Jun 2011

Positive results from CEL-SCI's LEAPS H1N1-activated dendritic cells trial in mice

CEL-SCI Corporation today announced the positive results of efficacy studies in mice of L.E.A.P.S.TM H1N1 activated dendritic cells to treat the H1N1 virus.

27 May 2011

Anti-inflammatory drug celecoxib reacts with protein and induces liver cancer cells to commit suicide

The anti-inflammatory drug celecoxib, known by the brand name Celebrex, triggers liver cancer cell death by reacting with a protein in a way that makes those cells commit suicide, according to a new study.

17 May 2011

Pacific Biosciences, Mount Sinai collaborate to advance genomic research

Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. announced a bi-coastal collaboration to advance clinical research through the Mount Sinai Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology to be led by Eric E. Schadt, Ph.D.

16 May 2011

ZIOPHARM submits IND with FDA for Ad-RTS-IL-12 Phase I study in cancer

ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc., a drug development company employing small molecule and synthetic biology approaches to cancer therapy, today announced that it has submitted an Investigational New Drug (IND) application to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to begin clinical study of Ad-RTS-IL-12, a novel DNA-based therapeutic candidate.

13 May 2011

Pepscan, Phylogica collaborate for Phylomer peptide lead optimisation

Phylogica Ltd, a leading Australian peptide drug discovery company, and Pepscan Therapeutics, a Dutch biopharmaceutical firm focusing on protein mimicry technology, today announce that they have entered a Research Collaboration and Option Agreement to evaluate the combination of their complementary peptide technologies for drug discovery.

10 May 2011

AGA's cutting-edge research on GI disorders to be presented at DDW 2011

Clinicians, researchers and scientists from around the world will gather for Digestive Disease Week- 2011, the largest and most prestigious gastroenterology meeting, from May 7-10, 2011, at McCormick Place, Chicago, IL.

7 May 2011

KemPharm to formulate and develop KP106 as oral film dosage for ADHD treatment

KemPharm, Inc. today announced that KP106, its clinical candidate for Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, will be formulated and developed in an oral film dosage form pursuant to an exclusive collaboration agreement with MonoSol Rx relating to the development, commercialization and manufacture of KP106.

26 Apr 2011

RTCA HT instrument from Roche employs high-throughput real-time cell analysis

The new xCELLigence RTCA HT Instrument from Roche (SWX:RO) (SWX:ROG) (Pink Sheets:RHHBY) rounds out the Diagnostics Applied Science's portfolio in real-time cell analysis with a high-throughput product.

21 Apr 2011

Prism Pharmaceuticals to be acquired by Baxter

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated announced that its partner Prism Pharmaceuticals has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Baxter International Inc.. Prism Pharmaceuticals recently received FDA approval for Nexterone®, an antiarrhythmic agent which Ligand (through its CyDex Pharmaceuticals subsidiary) originally developed with its patented Captisol® formulation technology and licensed to Prism in 2006.

From Baxter International Inc. 20 Apr 2011