Pharmaceuticals & Biopharmaceuticals
QB3, Pfizer expand support for translational research
March 18, 2012 7:14 pm | News | CommentsThe California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3) has renewed and expanded a three-year agreement with Pfizer Inc. to collaborate on research projects at the University of California (UC) with the potential to transform world-class science into better medicine. Renewal spans 4 UC campuses.
Stem cells hint at potential treatment for Huntington's disease
March 15, 2012 10:11 am | News | CommentsHuntington's disease, the debilitating congenital neurological disorder that progressively robs patients of muscle coordination and cognitive ability, is a condition without effective treatment, a slow death sentence. But if researchers can build on new research, a special type of brain cell forged from stem cells could help restore the muscle coordination deficits that cause the uncontrollable spasms characteristic of the disease.
New target for drug addiction treatment
March 15, 2012 9:42 am | News | CommentsIn preclinical studies, researchers at SRI International and Astraea Therapeutics have recently evaluated the role of a new drug receptor target that shows promise for the treatment of drug addiction. This potential new drug target belongs to a class of receptors called the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors.
Continuous drug manufacturing offers speed, lower costs
March 14, 2012 9:57 am | by Anne Trafton, MIT News Office | News | CommentsTraditional drug manufacturing is a time-consuming process. Active pharmaceutical ingredients are synthesized in a chemical manufacturing plant and then shipped to another site, where they are converted into giant batches of pills. Including transport time between manufacturing plants, each batch can take weeks or months to produce. However, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Novartis launched a research effort to transform those procedures.
Biologists find potential drug that speeds cellular recycling
March 13, 2012 9:53 am | News | CommentsA University of Michigan cell biologist and his colleagues have identified a potential drug that speeds up trash removal from the cell's recycling center, the lysosome. The finding suggests a new way to treat rare inherited metabolic disorders and common neurodegenerative diseases.
Could a NOSH-aspirin-a-day keep cancer away?
March 8, 2012 8:46 am | News | CommentsThe humble aspirin may soon have a new role. Scientists from The City College of New York have developed a new aspirin compound that has great promise to be not only an extremely potent cancer fighter, but even safer than the classic medicine cabinet staple.
Study: Old flu drug speeds brain injury recovery
March 1, 2012 6:09 am | by Stephanie Nano, Associated Press | News | CommentsResearchers are reporting the first treatment to speed recovery from severe brain injuries caused by falls and car crashes: a cheap flu medicine whose side benefits were discovered by accident decades ago. Severely injured patients who were given amantadine got better faster than those who received a dummy medicine.
Modified bone drug kills malaria parasite in mice
February 28, 2012 5:31 am | News | CommentsA chemically altered osteoporosis drug may be useful in fighting malaria, researchers report in a new study. Unlike similar compounds tested against many other parasitic protozoa, the drug readily crosses into the red blood cells of malaria-infected mice and kills the malaria parasite. The drug works at very low concentrations with no observed toxicity to the mouse.
New molecule discovered in fight against allergy
February 15, 2012 7:40 am | News | CommentsScientists at The University of Nottingham have discovered a new molecule that could offer the hope of new treatments for people allergic to the house dust mite. The molecule, DC-SIGN, can be found on the surface of the immune cells which play a key role in the recognition of a major allergen from house dust mites called Der p 1, a leading cause of asthma.
Startup to develop antidote to cyanide poisoning
February 9, 2012 8:58 am | News | CommentsCyanide poisoning is often fatal and typically affects victims of industrial accidents, terrorist attacks, or structural fires. Based on research conducted at the Center for Drug Design at the University of Minnesota, startup Vytacera Pharma Inc. will develop and market Sulfanegen, a treatment for cyanide poisoning.
Engineers develop biomask to aid soldiers recovering from burns
January 25, 2012 9:47 am | News | CommentsUniversity of Texas, Arlington engineers working with Army surgeons are developing a pliable, polymer mask embedded with electrical, mechanical, and biological components that can speed healing from disfiguring facial burns and help rebuild the faces of injured soldiers.
Chemists unlock potential target for drug development
January 19, 2012 10:29 am | News | CommentsA receptor found on blood platelets whose importance as a potential pharmaceutical target has long been questioned may in fact be fruitful in drug testing, according to new research from Michigan State University chemists.
Pill may prevent Listeria infection
January 12, 2012 8:42 am | News | CommentsModified probiotics, the beneficial bacteria touted for their role in digestive health, could one day decrease the risk of Listeria infection in people with susceptible immune systems, according to Purdue University research.
Lab-made tissue picks up the slack of Petri dishes
January 12, 2012 5:56 am | News | CommentsNew research demonstrates that previous models used to examine cancer may not be complex enough to accurately mimic the true cancer environment. Using oral cancer cells in a 3D model of lab-made tissue that mimics the lining of the oral cavity, the researchers found that the tissue surrounding cancer cells can epigenetically mediate, or temporarily trigger, the expression or suppression of a cell adhesion protein associated with the progression of cancer.
Ariel Pharmaceuticals signs CRADA with U.S. military
January 11, 2012 5:12 am | News | CommentsAriel Pharmaceuticals, a private, development-stage pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of products for indications in acute central nervous system diseases and trauma, announced it has signed a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) with the United States Army Medical Research and Material Command.
Tiny roundworm points to big promise
January 6, 2012 10:16 am | News | CommentsTwo related studies from Northwestern University offer new strategies for tackling the challenges of preventing and treating diseases of protein folding. The research identified new genes and pathways that prevent protein misfolding and toxic aggregation, keeping cells healthy, and also identified small molecules with therapeutic potential that restore health to damaged cells, providing new targets for drug development.
UCF nanotechnology may speed up drug testing
December 20, 2011 4:52 am | News | CommentsTesting the effectiveness of new pharmaceuticals may get faster thanks to a new technique incorporating quantum dots developed at the University of Central Florida (UCF). Some drug testing can take a decade or more, but a UCF team has created an electronic quantum dots (Qdots) probe that "lights up" when a drug it is delivering attaches to cancer cells.
Research helps shed light on medicinal benefits of plants
December 15, 2011 10:36 am | News | CommentsScientists at Purdue University and eight other institutions have developed new resources poised to unlock another door in the hidden garden of medicinally important compounds found in plants.
Volumetric titrator reduces reagent waste
December 13, 2011 7:25 am | Product Releases | CommentsJM ?Science’s AQV-2200S AQUACOUNTER Karl Fischer Volumetric Titrator features small volume titration cells requiring only 20 mL of titration solvent for accurate measurements. The instrument is suitable for a wide measurement range from 100 ppm to 100% water content.
Survey reveals scientists have trouble accessing stem cell lines
December 12, 2011 9:39 am | News | CommentsThe promise of stem cell research for drug discovery and cell-based therapies depends on the ability of scientists to acquire stem cell lines for their research. A survey of more than 200 human embryonic stem cell researchers in the United States found that nearly four in ten researchers have faced excessive delay in acquiring a human embryonic stem cell line and that more than one-quarter were unable to acquire a line they wanted to study.
Biologists deliver neutralizing antibodies that protect against HIV
December 1, 2011 3:07 am | News | CommentsOver the past year, researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), and around the world, have been studying a group of potent antibodies that have the ability to neutralize HIV in the laboratory; their hope is that they may learn how to create a vaccine that makes antibodies with similar properties. Now, biologists at Caltech have taken one step closer to that goal: They have developed a way to deliver these antibodies to mice and, in so doing, have effectively protected them from HIV infection.
New compound defeats drug-resistant bacteria
November 29, 2011 5:30 am | News | CommentsChemists at Brown University have synthesized a new compound that makes drug-resistant bacteria susceptible again to antibiotics. The compound—BU-005—blocks pumps that a bacterium employs to expel an antibacterial agent called chloramphenicol. The team used a new and highly efficient method for the synthesis of BU-005 and other C-capped dipeptides.
Georgia Tech develops software designed to improve drug development
November 16, 2011 8:05 am | News | CommentsA research team headed by the Georgia Institute of Technology has developed a computer program that can study larger molecules (more than 200 atoms) faster than any other program in existence, helping in pursuit of creating new pharmaceuticals.
Stem cell bandage in human clinical trials
November 14, 2011 6:12 am | News | CommentsThe company behind a pioneering stem cell bandage, believed to be the world's first adult and autologous (patient's own) stem cell treatment designed to heal torn meniscal cartilage, can now take the technology to human clinical trials thanks to an investment from one of the U.K.'s most successful entrepreneurs.
Breakthrough opens elusive compounds to drug research
November 7, 2011 7:02 am | News | CommentsThe family of complex compounds known as taxanes are exceedingly difficult to produce in the lab, limiting the use of Taxol, an important cancer drug, and hindering the discovery of related taxadienes. Scripps Research Institute scientists have found a way to simplify this process, potentially opening up new drug leads.
