Applied Biosystems has launched two new mass spectrometers, which
extend the firm's existing product line providing improved
performance for proteomics and small molecule applications.
Serono and Syntonix Pharmaceuticals announced today that they have
entered into an agreement that allows Serono the exclusive rights
to use Syntonix' Transceptor and Synfusion technologies for the
development and commercialisation...
Researchers have identified a serine protease inhibitor as a novel
candidate susceptibility gene for chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease (COPD). The discovery has major implications, especially in
smokers, where the role of the...
German pharmaceutical company, Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) and Ark
Therapeutics have signed an agreement granting BI exclusive rights
to Ark's intellectual property in relation to BI therapies
affecting the renin-angiotensin system.
A new generation of cholesterol lowering drugs could be in the
offering after a team of scientists identified a key protein that
is involved in cholesterol regulation. The discovery could provide
alternatives for the 25 million people...
US researchers have found a compound, TAK-187, is significantly
more effective than the current treatment for Chagas disease, a
parasitic infection in Central and South America and Mexico, that
can infect almost 650,000 people annually,...
REPLICor is developing a broad spectrum antiviral drug, which has
the broadest spectrum of activity in vitro ever reported for a
single chemical entity and has proved to have a devastating action
on the herpes viruses, influenza and...
Jasco unveils its latest series of spectrophotometers, which offers
improved spectral resolution, resolving peaks of less than 0.5 nm.
The advance in clarity makes this technology suitable for
applications from 175-3300nm.
Swiss pharmaceutical firm, Hoffman-La Roche has announced its core
PCR patents have expired in an event that is expected to save
laboratories, which rely on this technology, millions of dollars a
year in royalties. It is also expected...
Europe is set to fall further behind in the development of novel
anti-cancer agents unless it doubles the amount spent on academic
clinical trials. New and more effective non-drug interventions and
prognostic markers depend on these...
Morphotek has announced the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has
accepted its New Drug Application for a humanised monoclonal
antibody, intended for the treatment of advanced ovarian cancer.
US researchers have found that three types of leukaemias are all
caused by acquired mutations that alter a specific enzyme
controlling blood cell proliferation. Identifying the genetic
malfunction may give rise to a targeted therapy,...
The wealth of new targets identified from genomics and the
discoveries made in the molecular pathology of cancer will give
rise to a new generation of cancer treatment, moving one step
closer to individualised, target therapy.
Researchers have, for the first time, identified two separate
populations of immune cells in the liver, which will help doctors
understand the mechanisms by which the liver is damaged and
repaired and may lead to future drug therapies.
The decreasing number of truly original drugs approved by the Food
and Drug Administration is becoming such a serious issue that the
pharmaceutical market's tag as the 'innovator industry' is being
called into question,...
Canadian biopharmaceutical company, Theratechnologies, has
announced positive results for its latest drug candidate for the
treatment of type II diabetes. The GLP-1 analogue takes its
position in the market for this rapidly evolving...
Researchers at the Serono Genetics Institute have announced the
identification of 80 genes involved in the inflammatory and
neuro-degenerative pathways of multiple sclerosis (MS) forming a
library of potential targets for future treatments...
A study suggesting combination therapy could stop the spread and
halt the growth of skin melanomas could pave the way for a better
understanding of the disease, and thus, the development of more
effective long-term treatment options...
Theravance has announced that GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has exercised
its option to license Theravance's inhaled bifunctional, muscarinic
antagonist/beta2 agonist (MABA) program under the terms of their
2004 agreement. The compounds...
As part of an initiative to speed development of new medical
products through the science of pharmacogenomics, the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) has issued a final guidance that aims to
clarify how pharmacogenomic data will be...
In the second of a two-part interview, DrugResearcher.com
spoke to Dr. Tim Jaeger, director of business development at iAS
interactive Systems, Germany. Here, Jaeger spoke about the future
of knowledge management and commented on...
With the absence of any truly effective drug treatment for brain
tumours, news of researchers working on innovative treatments for
one of the deadliest tumour types raises the possibility of
readdressing the current situation and...
Drug giants Novartis and Schering have announced a central review
of study data failed to prove the results of its experimental
cancer drug was "statistically significant" and was unable to
exclude the possibility that the...
The prospect of using genomic analysis as a tool for studying
trauma patients is a realistic prospect according to a new study,
which says the tool can be used to predict whether or not a given
patient will respond to a specific course...
Drug research and development is facing a major problem with the
sheer influx of data generated, which threatens to further slow
down productivity, if its management and interpretation is not
efficiently dealt with.
In the first of a two-part interview, DrugResearcher.com
took time out to talk to Dr. Tim Jaeger, director of business
development at iAS interactive Systems, Germany. Speaking at the
recent Drug Discovery Technology Europe conference...
While the Drug Discovery Technology Europe show placed an emphasis
on issues surrounding drug research, companies serving the pharma
and biotech industries took the opportunity to showcase the latest
technologies that are set to prove...
Swiss drugmaker Novartis says that its renin inhibitor drug
aliskiren (SPP100), which potentially represents the first in a new
class of orally-active drugs for high blood pressure, has shown
promising data in a clinical trial.
Measuring RNA levels in tissues and cells using polymerase chain
reaction (PCR) forms the basis of pharmacogenomic and toxicogenomic
studies, but US firm Genpathway claims to have come up with a
better alternative.
A technique for neutralising the action of the leptin - providing a
means for controlling and better understanding of the function of
this protein, including its role in unwanted cell growth - has been
developed by researchers at...
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is gearing up to publish
its final guidance on the submission of pharmacogenomic data
alongside drug marketing applications, first disseminated in draft
form in 2003, reports Phil Taylor.
US company Biotrove says its mass spectrometry-based
high-throughput screening (HTS) system, RapidFire Lead Discovery,
has been used to screen more than a million individual samples over
the last 12 months.
R&D productivity is currently in a period of decline, with the
number of new medicines being introduced to the market declining in
the face of increasing R&D budgets. However, the emergence of
genomics-derived drugs is expected...
Roche has started the roll-out its colorectal cancer treatment
Avastin (bevacizumab) - the first drug to reach the market that
works by inhibiting blood vessel formation in tumours - in Europe.
German cancer drug company GPC Biotech has agreed to buy the
material assets of Munich-based kinase specialist Axxima
Pharmaceuticals in a cash-neutral transaction for €13.7m.
A new £6 million (€9m) biocentre is set to revolutionise the way
future medicines are produced making them safer and more effective.
The centre, based in the UK, will not only help pharmaceutical
companies to develop better drugs,...
A study has suggested the hypoxia inducible gene RTP801 may serve
an important mechanistic role in the development of experimental
chordial neovascularisation (CNV), the principal cause of
Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD).
Genaissance Pharmaceuticals has been granted a patent for a unique
method of testing individuals for genetic predisposition to reduced
metabolism of drugs. The ability to metabolise certain drugs linked
to genetic variant is present...
A mathematical algorithm that predicts the effects a compound will
have on a cell's molecular components, will prove significant to
drug developers, who can design compounds that will act on desired
targets, eliciting therapeutic...
Biologists have shown for the first time how histatin, the
naturally occurring antifungal agent in saliva, kills the oral
pathogen Candida albicans, a yeast responsible for most
HIV-related oral infections.
Boehringer Ingelheim's latest clinical study investigating
pramipexole on Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) reveals a marked
improvement over dopamine, which is the current preferred treatment
for the millions that suffer from this...
The first genetic disease that affects the central nervous system
has been successfully treated in an animal model, which if
successfully applied to humans, could treat an entire class of
diseases called lysosomal storage disorders....
Biopharmaceutical company deCODE genetics, announced the initiation
of trials for a first-in-class compound used to treat
atherosclerosis for which there is currently no effective drug
treatment. The disease strikes almost 20 per...
A recent report into salaries within the pharmaceutical industry
reveals that the Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) is paid amongst the
lowest for all executives when compared to salaries paid to chief
executive officers (CEOs).
BioAlliance Pharma, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the
field of drug resistance may have discovered a novel way to
overcome growing HIV resistance. They have developed a new family
of integrase binding inhibitors, which...
Drug therapies for sufferers of diabetes may become a thing of the
past as UK doctors performed a groundbreaking cell transplant
technique on a patient making him the first person to be "cured" of
the illness.
Biomedical engineers and chemists have collaborated on a novel
method that predicts how drugs work in cells. The tool will allow
drug developers to design compounds that will act on a desired gene
and protein targets, eliciting therapeutic...
Xceleron has announced the long-awaited results of the CREAM trial
into human microdosing in drug development, which demonstrates that
microdosing provides a valuable insight into the human
pharmacokinetics (PK) of new drug candidates.
Singapore's pharmaceutical output is likely to be flat this year, a
casualty of increasing pressure from generic drug firms. The
prediction, made by a Singapore official comes after the country
experienced a 40 per cent growth...
US researchers have discovered that cholesterol plays a key role in
anchoring a signalling pathway, which has been linked to cell
division and cancer. The findings could identify cholesterol as an
unlikely drug target.