Medicinal Chemistry News and Research

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Medicinal applications of fullerenes, filled with radioactive material

Fullerenes have attracted considerable attention in different fields of science since their discovery in 1985. Investigations of physical, chemical and biological properties of fullerenes have yielded promising information. It is inferred that size, hydrophobicity, three-dimensionality and electronic configurations make them an appealing subject in medicinal chemistry. Their unique carbon cage structure coupled with immense scope for derivatization make them a potential therapeutic agent.

13 Apr 2011

Nano Terra announces acquisition of Surface Logix

Nano Terra, Inc., a leading surface engineering and nanotechnology co-development company, today announced it is acquiring Surface Logix, Inc., a drug development company founded by renowned Harvard scientist Professor George Whitesides. Surface Logix has made significant breakthroughs in enhancing the molecular functionality of pharmaceuticals and advancing several drug candidates.

12 Apr 2011

Scientists discover new compounds that may help fight against parasitic diseases

Trypanosomatid parasites cause diseases like African sleeping sickness, Chagas' disease and leishmaniasis. Leishmaniasis affects about 12 million people worldwide, mostly in developing countries. Current drug treatments are inadequate due to drug toxicity and resistance.

5 Apr 2011

Broad opportunities for covalent drugs

Avila Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company developing novel targeted covalent drugs, today announced the publication of a scientific review article in Nature Reviews Drug Discovery titled "The Resurgence of Covalent Drugs".

1 Apr 2011

Researchers develop new drug for multiple cancer treatment

Researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center have developed a new drug called AT-406 with potential to treat multiple types of cancer.

30 Mar 2011

AACP to honor UW professor with Volwiler Research Achievement Award

The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy will honor Sidney D. Nelson, Ph.D., from the University of Washington for his outstanding research and contributions to the field of pharmaceutical sciences.

22 Mar 2011

Pharmaron signs agreement to provide Isis with nucleoside phosphoramidites up to 100 kg

Pharmaron has signed an agreement to provide Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. with nucleoside phosphoramidites at quantities up to 100 kg. Nucleoside phosphoramidites are fundamental building blocks in the production of antisense therapeutics.

17 Mar 2011

InhibOx and COSMIC discoveries align to deliver full service drug discovery offering

InhibOx Ltd (spin-out of Oxford, UK) and the COSMIC Discoveries (the independent service arm of the Institute of Life Sciences, Hyderabad, India) today announce that they have formed a close strategic partnership to deliver a full service drug discovery service offering, incorporating expert computational, medicinal and synthetic chemistry design capabilities. Both commercial organizations, linked to world-leading academic institutes, have built their services on advanced proprietary science and technology. Together, they offer unique capabilities that are able to address the most demanding drug discovery challenges on behalf of biotech and pharmaceutical companies worldwide.

15 Mar 2011

ITCs in vegetables appear to target and block p53 gene linked with cancer

Scientists are reporting discovery of a potential biochemical basis for the apparent cancer-fighting ability of broccoli and its veggie cousins. They found for the first time that certain substances in the vegetables appear to target and block a defective gene associated with cancer.

10 Mar 2011

Discovery of potent class of anti-cancer compounds by Scripps Research and MIT scientists

Working as part of a public program to screen compounds to find potential medicines and other biologically useful molecules, scientists from The Scripps Research Institute and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have discovered an extremely potent class of potential anti-cancer and anti-neurodegenerative disorder compounds.

8 Mar 2011

IAVI, THSTI collaborate to establish HIV Vaccine Design Program in India

The Translational Health Sciences and Technology Institute, an autonomous institute of the Indian government's Department of Biotechnology, and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative announced today an agreement to jointly establish, operate and fund an HIV Vaccine Design Program in India.

2 Mar 2011

Rexahn's novel anti-cancer quinoxalinyl-piperazine compounds granted European patent

Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical stage pharmaceutical company commercializing potential best in class oncology and CNS therapeutics, today announced that the European Patent Office has granted European patent No. 1819698 to Rexahn for its novel anti-cancer quinoxalinyl-piperazine compounds.

28 Feb 2011

Selcia completes drug discovery project with ExonHit Therapeutics using fragment screening technology

Selcia Ltd today announced the successful completion of a drug discovery project with ExonHit Therapeutics SA, using Selcia's fragment screening technology. Novel and weak affinity hits were identified from Selcia's Fragment Library, using their proprietary CEfrag technique.

28 Feb 2011

Less-toxic combination of immune-based drug and chemotherapy drug produce long-term remissions in CLL

New research shows that a less-toxic combination of a targeted immune-based drug and a chemotherapy drug can produce long-term remissions in some chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients. And it does so without increasing the risk of later therapy-related myelodysplastic syndrome and acute myeloid leukemia, which can often occur with a three-drug combination used to treat these patients.

25 Feb 2011

Aminothiazoles as therapeutic leads for prion diseases

Scientists who examined more than 10,000 chemical compounds during the last year in search of potential new drugs for a group of untreatable brain diseases, are reporting that one substance shows unusual promise.

24 Feb 2011

BioTime to merge Glycosan with OrthoCyte

BioTime, Inc., a biotechnology company that develops and markets products in the field of stem cells and regenerative medicine, today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to merge Utah-based Glycosan BioSystems, Inc. (Glycosan) with BioTime's wholly-owned subsidiary, OrthoCyte Corporation. The acquisition is expected to close by March 18, 2011.

14 Feb 2011

Novel technique could speed up the development of peptide-based drugs against cancer

Researchers at the University at Buffalo have devised two new ways of "stapling" peptide helices to prevent these medically important molecules from losing their shape and degrading in the presence of enzymes.

9 Feb 2011

AMRI fourth quarter total revenue increases 12% to $48.6 million

AMRI today reported financial and operating results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2010.

7 Feb 2011

Largazole appears to be an ideal blueprint for developing new drugs against bone diseases

One of Mother Nature's latest gifts to medical science is stirring excitement with the discovery that the substance - obtained from a coral-reef inhabiting cyanobacterium - appears to be an ideal blueprint for developing new drugs for serious fractures, osteoporosis, and other bone diseases.

3 Feb 2011

ALS Biopharma receives ADDF grant to develop therapeutics against Alzheimer's disease

The Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation announced today that it has awarded a grant of $195,000 to ALS Biopharma, LLC to develop therapeutics targeted at clearing toxic proteins implicated in Alzheimer's disease.

28 Jan 2011