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.

Spice turmeric corrects the cystic fibrosis defect

Scientists at The Hospital for Sick Children (Sick Kids) and Yale University School of Medicine have found that a compound in the spice turmeric corrects the cystic fibrosis defect in mice. This research is reported in the April 23, 2004 issue of the journal Science.

24 Apr 2004

Research into link between oceans and human health

The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), one of the National Institutes of Health, have announced funding for four joint Centers for Oceans and Human Health (COHH). The centers will be located at the University of Washington, the University of Hawaii, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, and the University of Miami.

22 Apr 2004

Clinical trial of curcumin in people with cystic fibrosis

Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics, Inc. (CFFT), the nonprofit drug discovery and development affiliate of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, today announced that it is funding a clinical trial of curcumin in people with cystic fibrosis (CF).

22 Apr 2004

Scientists have discovered an exciting new target in the fight to stop the spread of cancer cells

Scientists at The Institute of Cancer Research have discovered an exciting new target in the fight to stop the spread of cancer cells which could significantly improve treatment by replacing traditional chemotherapy.

20 Apr 2004

Researchers use IBM Linux supercomputing cluster to research DNA

Researchers at Mount Allison University are working to better understand how human DNA is damaged and what drugs can be used to repair it, using a powerful IBM Linux supercomputing cluster.

20 Apr 2004

Functional genomics provide improved drug discovery

Functional genomics and proteomics have been quite successful in identifying functions of potential therapeutic targets such as encoded proteins.

20 Apr 2004

Australian company set to spearhead drug discovery

An Australian company is set to challenge the boundaries of drug discovery in Australia with the unveiling of the nation's top drug discovery facility by Western Australian Minister for State Development, Clive Brown.

19 Apr 2004

World's largest drug-like library comprising 100 million diverse compounds synthesised in a single test tube

Nuevolution A/S, a privately held drug discovery company today announced that it has generated what it believes to be the world's largest drug-like library comprising 100 million diverse compounds synthesised in a single test tube.

19 Apr 2004

Researchers find drug that may suppress genetic mutation using a novel screening approach

Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital have developed a way of identifying promising new drugs that may get around a major challenge in drug discovery.

18 Apr 2004

New process to extract proteins from membranes by using chemicals

Proteins are complex compounds that are essential for the growth and repair of tissue. While scientists understand much about the structure and stability of water-soluble proteins that ‘float’ around in humans, they know very little about the shape and stability of proteins that are embedded, or folded, into the lipid membrane of cells. Such membrane proteins make up about 30 percent of all proteins in the body.

8 Apr 2004

The Cambridge-MIT Institute has launched a project to tackle the bottlenecks that slow development of new drugs

The Next-Generation Drug Discovery Community will unite researchers at Cambridge University and MIT with partners from the information technology, pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries to find ways to speed up development of the next generation of drugs--particularly those that treat diseases with complex causes such as cancers, arthritis, multiple sclerosis and diabetes.

7 Apr 2004

Pharmacopeia announces that proposed spin-off of Pharmacopeia Drug Discovery, Inc. unit is expected to occur by the end of April 2004

Pharmacopeia, Inc. today announced that the proposed spin-off of its Pharmacopeia Drug Discovery, Inc. (PDD) unit is expected to occur by the end of April 2004. The Pharmacopeia Board of Directors intends to meet next week to consider final approval of the pro rata distribution to stockholders of 100% of the common stock of PDD.

7 Apr 2004

Phase 3 study of drug teduglutide in patients with short bowel syndrome

Teduglutide is an analog of glucagon-like peptide 2 (GLP-2), a naturally occurring hormone that regulates the growth, proliferation and maintenance of cells lining the gastrointestinal tract. Teduglutide has been shown in animal studies and previous human clinical trials to increase the size and number of these cells, thereby increasing the absorptive surface area of the intestines.

6 Apr 2004

Collaboration to create a series of small molecule drugs leads against a Takeda target

Array BioPharma Inc. today announced the commencement of a drug discovery collaboration with Takeda Chemical Industries, Ltd. to create a series of small molecule drug leads against a Takeda target. This collaboration is in addition to Array's existing research agreement with Takeda that began in 2001.

5 Apr 2004

A simple urine sample could soon be used to predict the complex toxic effects of new drugs

BlueGnome has pioneered the use of statistical signal modelling in the analysis of high throughput experimental data. Its first product BlueFuse for Microarrays uses statistical modelling techniques to eliminate Œnoise‚ generated in microarray experiments, enabling researchers to automatically identify the presence or absence of genes and proteins with a higher level of confidence than is currently possible.

5 Apr 2004

New software promises to speed drug development

Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute today announced the release of a software program capable of quickly identifying molecules that show promise for future medicines. The software program enables drug makers to comb through enormous databases of potential molecules and identify the ones that have sound medicinal properties.

3 Apr 2004

GlaxoSmithKline and Theravance to form strategic alliance

GlaxoSmithKline plc (GSK) and Theravance, Inc., a privately-held pharmaceutical company, announced today that they have entered into an innovative broad-based strategic alliance to develop and commercialise novel medicines across a variety of important therapeutic areas, including bacterial infection, respiratory, urinary incontinence and gastrointestinal.

31 Mar 2004

World’s largest biotechnology company acquires Tularik

Amgen Inc., the world’s largest biotechnology company, and Tularik Inc., a pioneer in drug discovery related to cell signaling and the control of gene expression, today jointly announced that they have signed a definitive merger agreement whereby Tularik will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Amgen in a stock for stock transaction.

30 Mar 2004

New Australian collaboration to discover new drugs targeting epilepsy and anxiety

Bionomics Limited and Southern Cross University announced today that they had established a collaboration to discover new drugs targeting epilepsy and anxiety. Under the arrangement, Southern Cross University will provide Bionomics with extracts from its collection of Australian-based natural products, together with expertise in natural products chemistry.

30 Mar 2004

Air pollution effects Cystic Fibrosis Sufferers

University of Washington (UW) researchers have shown for the first time that air pollution has adverse effects on people with cystic fibrosis (CF). The research results are published in the April 1 edition of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

29 Mar 2004

Drug Discovery News and Research

Further Reading

Spice turmeric corrects the cystic fibrosis defect

Research into link between oceans and human health

Clinical trial of curcumin in people with cystic fibrosis

Scientists have discovered an exciting new target in the fight to stop the spread of cancer cells

Researchers use IBM Linux supercomputing cluster to research DNA

Functional genomics provide improved drug discovery

Australian company set to spearhead drug discovery

World's largest drug-like library comprising 100 million diverse compounds synthesised in a single test tube

Researchers find drug that may suppress genetic mutation using a novel screening approach

New process to extract proteins from membranes by using chemicals

The Cambridge-MIT Institute has launched a project to tackle the bottlenecks that slow development of new drugs

Pharmacopeia announces that proposed spin-off of Pharmacopeia Drug Discovery, Inc. unit is expected to occur by the end of April 2004

Phase 3 study of drug teduglutide in patients with short bowel syndrome

Collaboration to create a series of small molecule drugs leads against a Takeda target

A simple urine sample could soon be used to predict the complex toxic effects of new drugs

New software promises to speed drug development

GlaxoSmithKline and Theravance to form strategic alliance

World’s largest biotechnology company acquires Tularik

New Australian collaboration to discover new drugs targeting epilepsy and anxiety

Air pollution effects Cystic Fibrosis Sufferers

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