Peptides News and Research

RSS

Helix BioMedix second-quarter revenue increases 139% to $330,000

Helix BioMedix, Inc., a developer of bioactive peptides, today announced financial results for the company's second quarter 2010 ended June 30, 2010.

7 Aug 2010

TapImmune inks smallpox vaccine Research and Technology License Option Agreement with Mayo Clinic

TapImmune Inc. announced that it has signed a Research and Technology License Option Agreement with Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, for the development of a smallpox vaccine technology. Research will be conducted by Gregory Poland M.D., at Mayo Clinic, to evaluate novel peptide antigens together with TapImmune's proprietary TAP technology. TapImmune also has an exclusive Option to the smallpox vaccine technology after research studies have been completed under the terms of the agreement.

5 Aug 2010

Discovery Laboratories reports net loss of $6.3 million for second-quarter 2010

Discovery Laboratories, Inc., a biotechnology company developing its novel, synthetic, peptide-containing surfactant and related aerosolization technologies as first in class therapies for severe respiratory diseases, today provides an update on key pipeline and business initiatives and reports financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2010.

4 Aug 2010

GenSpera acquires patent application for medical imaging technology

GenSpera, Inc. announced that it has acquired a patent application from the Johns Hopkins University and the University of Copenhagen for technology relating to medical imaging. The technology incorporates derivatives of thapsigargin, the active ingredient in GenSpera's therapeutics program, coupled with its patented tumor-targeted peptides, to create cancer-specific imaging compounds.

4 Aug 2010

Toxic protein in bee venom improves liposome encapsulated drug effectiveness

The next time you are stung by a bee, here's some consolation: a toxic protein in bee venom, when altered, significantly improves the effectiveness liposome-encapsulated drugs or dyes, such as those already used to treat or diagnose cancer. This research, described in the August 2010 print issue of the FASEB Journal, shows how modified melittin may revolutionize treatments for cancer and perhaps other conditions, such as arthritis, cardiovascular disease, and serious infections.

3 Aug 2010

BGU Professor awarded grant to develop target-specific, anti-cancer drugs

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Professor Varda Shoshan-Barmatz has been awarded a three-year, $600,000 grant from the U.S. Leukemia & Lymphoma Society to develop target-specific, anti-cancer drugs.

2 Aug 2010

Study: hGH linked to PROLOR's CTP technology increases half-life, bioactivity

PROLOR Biotech, Inc., a company developing next generation biobetter therapeutic proteins, today reported publication of a preclinical study in the current on-line edition of the journal Endocrinology showing that human growth hormone (hGH) linked to PROLOR's carboxyl terminal peptide (CTP) technology has significantly increased half-life and bioactivity compared to commercially available hGH. The publication, which is authored by PROLOR researchers, will also be included in the September print edition of Endocrinology.

2 Aug 2010

Chemical compound provides new angle for developing drugs to treat seizures: Study

A chemical compound that boosts the action of a molecule normally produced in the brain may provide the starting point for a new line of therapies for the treatment of epileptic seizures, according to a new study by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute.

30 Jul 2010

Researchers find how angiotensin influences immune system

Researchers in Heidelberg and Stanford have discovered a new signalling pathway of brain cells that explains how widely used antihypertensive drugs could keep inflammation in multiple sclerosis in check. The peptide angiotensin not only raises blood pressure but also activates the immunological messenger substance TGF beta on a previously unknown communication pathway in the brain.

29 Jul 2010

Alcohol consumption reduces risk of rheumatoid arthritis: Study

Drinking alcohol may reduce the severity of rheumatoid arthritis according to new research published today. It is the first time that this effect has been shown in humans. The study also finds that alcohol consumption reduces the risk of developing the disease, confirming the results of previous studies.

28 Jul 2010

Mediomics receives additional $460,000 in STTR Phase II grant for PINCER protein assay development

Mediomics, LLC has received an additional $460,000 in a renewal of its 2nd year STTR Phase II grant (R42GM079891) from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. Since 2007, Mediomics has received over one million dollars of STTR funding to develop its quick and sensitive homogenous PINCER™ protein assay. The major goal of the second year project is to further increase the sensitivity of the biosensor.

28 Jul 2010

New study reveals potential role of TGF-β1 in kidney disease

Fibrosis in the kidney is one of the key causes of progressive renal failure. High levels of the inflammatory molecule TGF-β1 in the kidney tubules due to tissue damage can cause fibrosis as well as nephron degeneration, resulting in loss of kidney function. To clarify the mechanisms regulating TGF-β1-mediated renal fibrosis, Koesters et al expressed high levels of TGF-β1 in renal tubules of mice. Nephron degeneration in this system was mediated by decomposition of the tubular cells. These data suggest that TGF-β1 may play a novel role in cell death of renal cells, thus contributing to renal fibrosis.

28 Jul 2010

Antigenics announces positive results of AG-707 genital herpes vaccine

Antigenics announced positive results with AG-707, an investigational therapeutic vaccine being developed to treat herpes simplex virus-2,the virus that causes genital herpes, in infected patients. Developed by Antigenics, the vaccine triggers a cellular immune response, stimulating both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells.

28 Jul 2010

Research on method to open blood-brain barrier for safe cancer drug delivery

One of the human body's most powerful defensive tools, the blood-brain barrier is a chemical labyrinth that prevents toxins and viruses in the bloodstream from reaching the brain. This foolproof security system, however, limits the ability of physicians to deliver drugs directly to the brain, making it difficult to treat brain tumors. Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute are endeavoring to solve this problem by investigating new methods for bypassing the blood-brain barrier and combating the spread of brain cancer.

28 Jul 2010

Scientists develop novel chemotherapeutic method for anticancer drug delivery

Combining nature and Greek mythology, researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology have developed a tiny "Trojan Horse" system for delivering cancer-fighting drugs. With this system, the drugs are delivered only once they are inside the cancerous cells, so there is no damage to the healthy cells in the surrounding area.

28 Jul 2010

Advanced Life Sciences enters agreement with UBC to develop antimicrobial peptides

Advanced Life Sciences Holdings, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development and commercialization of novel drugs in the therapeutic areas of infection, oncology and respiratory diseases, today announced that the Company has entered into a sponsored research and option agreement with The University of British Columbia (UBC) to develop several antimicrobial peptides.

27 Jul 2010

Scientists develop nanoprobe to detect blood vessel growth in tumors

Formation of new blood vessels, also known as angiogenesis, is crucial for sustained tumor growth and cancer metastasis. Recently, clinically available therapies to suppress the growth of these vessels have been available to improve patient survival in some cancer types. Accurate detection and quantification of blood vessel growth using nonsurgical methods would greatly complement current therapies and allow physicians to quickly assess treatment regimens and adjust them as necessary. In the work published in the August issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine, Kessinger and coworkers have incorporated nanotechnology, material science, and the clinical imaging modality MRI, to create a nanosized probe capable of noninvasively visualizing and quantifying the blood vessel growth in tumors in a preclinical model.

26 Jul 2010

Novartis, Nordic Bioscience to continue oral calcitonin Phase III study in osteoarthritis patients

Unigene Laboratories, Inc. announced today that Novartis and its license partner Nordic Bioscience have decided to continue the companies' two-year, Phase III Study 2302 assessing safety and efficacy of oral calcitonin in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee. Novartis has a worldwide license to produce recombinant calcitonin under Unigene's patented SecraPep® E. coli manufacturing technology.

23 Jul 2010

Major breakthrough in Alzheimer's disease research

Researchers from the University of Sydney's Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease Laboratory have achieved a major breakthrough by finding the causes of Alzheimer's disease at a cellular level and thereby identifying a potential therapy as a result.

23 Jul 2010

hBD-3 biomarker helps early stage detection of oral cancer

Detecting oral cancer in its earliest stages can save the lives of the nearly 40,500 people diagnosed annually. But early detection has been difficult. Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine researchers discovered a biomarker, called human beta defensin-3 (hBD-3), which may serve as an early warning. The defensin is present in all oral cancers and associated with the early stages of oral cancer.

23 Jul 2010