Latest article
BCL-2 double take FREE
30.10.2008
Researchers at the Burnham Institute and Dana-Farber have independently identified peptides that modulate BCL-2-mediated apoptosis in strikingly opposite ways. One company, Aileron, has already been formed around the Dana-Farber findings, whereas the Burnham group is considering developing D-enantiomers or mimetics to optimize its peptide’s performance.
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Previous articles
23.10.2008
Suppressing the suppressors FREE
Researchers have identified a signaling pathway that is activated in immunosuppressive myeloid cells within the cancer microenvironment, raising the possibility that this pathway could be targeted to overcome immunosuppression and boost cancer vaccine efficacy.
16.10.2008
GPR91 goes local FREE
GPR91 is a key player in autoimmune disease, transplant rejection and diabetic retinopathy, according to new findings emerging from both pharmaceutical and academic laboratories. Taken together, the research suggests targeting the G protein–coupled receptor may help prevent local inflammatory and angiogenic effects caused by succinate released by damaged tissue.
09.10.2008
In the mood for regeneration FREE
UT Southwestern researchers have suggested that the mood stabilizer lithium may be useful for treating spinal cord injury. Corporate researchers working on this indication, which lacks a single approved drug, say additional preclinical work is needed to elucidate lithium's mechanism.
02.10.2008
Moving upstream in Huntington's FREE
Researchers at Harvard and Scripps each have published new strategies to treat Huntington's disease—both of which enlist drug classes proven for other indications. If safety issues can be resolved, researchers suggest the approaches could be used together.
25.09.2008
Synthetic dual-action vaccines FREE
U.S. and Canadian researchers have produced fully synthetic vaccines that can prevent candidiasis in mice. Wellstat Therapeutics has in-licensed relevant facets of the IP and has candidate vaccines in preclinical development for other pathogens.
18.09.2008
Knocking out malaria FREE
Albert Einstein and NYU researchers have developed a strategy for producing an attenuated P. falciparum vaccine that offers advantages over single-antigen malaria vaccines now in clinical testing. A key challenge is to prove that the strategy generates strains sufficiently attenuated to be safe in humans.
11.09.2008
Making a hard cell FREE
A trio of papers suggests that transforming one differentiated cell type into another can be accomplished without the need for pluripotent stem cell-like intermediates. But stem cell companies don’t think the research will obviate their technologies due to delivery, dosing and safety issues inherent to the transdifferentiation approach.
04.09.2008
CB1's peripheral vision FREE
U.S. and European researchers have found that restricting CB1 receptor activity outside the CNS could preempt neurological side effects seen with compounds that antagonize the receptor globally, such as sanofi-aventis Group's Acomplia. Such an approach could open the target for use in metabolic indications such as fatty liver, even if application outside the brain-blood barrier would limit its utility in obesity.
28.08.2008
Curbing mitochondrial appetite FREE
Drug developers have tried and failed to treat obesity with compounds that agonize uncoupling protein 2, a mitochondrial protein that was thought to make cells burn more energy in adipose tissue. Now Yale researchers suggest that UCP2 works through a different mechanism in the brain—and that the target should actually be antagonized.
21.08.2008
Stressing out over miRNA FREE
Research partners UT Southwestern and miRagen have illustrated how microRNAs play a role in cellular stress related to myocardial infarction, while Hebrew University scientists have identified a group of miRNAs that play analogous roles in virus- and cancer-induced stress. Although both studies provide potential new targets, hurdles such as therapeutic design and delivery remain to be cleared.
21.08.2008
Alnylam's RNAa play FREE
A study in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology proposes a mechanism for small RNA-induced gene activation, a process that results in upregulation of poorly expressed genes.
14.08.2008
Tolerating enzyme delivery FREE
UCLA and BioMarin researchers have developed a strategy for inducing immune tolerance to potentially boost the efficacy of enzyme replacement therapies in lysosomal storage disorders. Timing of the tolerance regime will be a key determining its success.
07.08.2008
A TRAIL in liver disease FREE
Japanese and Australian researchers suggest that targeting a proapoptotic pathway in the liver could address cholestatic liver disease—one receptor in the pathway is already the target of agonizing antibodies being developed for cancer. However, using an antiapoptotic approach in the liver will provide its own challenges.