Drug Development
Cancer delivery technique may solve combined drug therapy puzzle
July 15, 2012 2:52 pm | News | CommentsCancers are notorious for secreting chemicals that confuse the immune system and thwart biological defenses. Some treatments try to neutralize the cancer's chemical arsenal and boost immune response but are rarely successful. Researchers at Yale University have recently developed a system to simultaneously deliver both an immune-system booster and a chemical to counter the cancer's secretions.
Nutrient mixture improves memory in patients with early Alzheimer's
July 10, 2012 3:45 am | by Anne Trafton, MIT News Office | News | CommentsA clinical trial of an Alzheimer's disease treatment developed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology has found that the nutrient cocktail can improve memory in patients with early Alzheimer's. The results confirm and expand the findings of an earlier trial of the nutritional supplement, which is designed to promote new connections between brain cells.
Nanotherapeutic delivers clot-busters straight to blood vessels
July 6, 2012 8:42 am | News | CommentsResearchers at Harvard University have developed a novel biomimetic strategy that delivers life-saving nanotherapeutics directly to obstructed blood vessels, dissolving blood clots before they cause serious damage or even death. This new approach enables thrombus dissolution while using only a fraction of the drug dose normally required, minimizing bleeding side effects that currently limit the use of clot-busting drugs.
Partnership to advance biomanufacturing industry in U.S., Europe
June 21, 2012 9:43 am | News | CommentsTo foster the continued success of the biomanufacturing industry, North Carolina State University has joined forces with a French university to provide biomanufacturing training, education, and process services in the United States and Europe.
Spinach to the rescue
June 21, 2012 6:37 am | News | CommentsResearchers at Oregon State University have, for the first time, traced the actions of a known carcinogen in cooked meat to its complex biological effects on microRNA and cancer stem cells. The scientists also found that consumption of spinach can partially offset the damaging effects of the carcinogen.
Cancer's next magic bullet may be magic shotgun
June 18, 2012 4:32 am | News | CommentsA new approach to drug design, pioneered by a group of researchers at the University of California, San Francisco and Mt. Sinai, New York, promises to help identify future drugs to fight cancer and other diseases that will be more effective and have fewer side effects.
Don't feel like exercise? New compound may help you work out harder
June 12, 2012 6:56 pm | News | CommentsAs science rushes to develop safe weight loss drugs, a new research report suggests a different angle: What if there were a pill that would make you want to exercise harder? It may sound strange, but recent work with hormones and mice suggests that it might be possible.
Computer model predicts drug side effects
June 11, 2012 10:19 am | News | CommentsA new set of computer models has successfully predicted negative side effects in hundreds of current drugs, based on the similarity between their chemical structures and those molecules known to cause side effects, according to a paper.
More advanced therapies are being aimed at cancer
June 6, 2012 6:55 am | by Marilynn Marchionne, AP Chief Medical Writer | News | CommentsAt a recent weekend conference of more than 30,000 specialists, experts reported seeing a major escalation in the arms race against cancer. Several new advances, including “smart” drugs, immune system aids, and treatments based on genetic pathways, offer new hope for battling previously intractable diseases.
Building molecular 'cages' to fight disease
June 4, 2012 6:35 am | News | CommentsUniversity of California, Los Angeles biochemists have designed specialized proteins that assemble themselves to form tiny molecular cages hundreds of times smaller than a single cell. The creation of these miniature structures may be the first step toward developing new methods of drug delivery or even designing artificial vaccines.
Study shows why swine flu virus develops drug resistance
May 29, 2012 9:38 am | News | CommentsComputer chips of a type more commonly found in games consoles have been used by scientists at the University of Bristol to reveal how the flu virus resists antiflu drugs such as Relenza and Tamiflu.
50-year cholera mystery solved
May 29, 2012 9:05 am | News | CommentsFor 50 years scientists have been unsure how the bacteria that gives humans cholera manages to resist one of our basic innate immune responses. That mystery has now been solved, thanks to research from biologists at The University of Texas at Austin. The answers may help clear the way for a new class of antibiotics that don't directly shut down pathogenic bacteria, but instead disable their defenses so that our own immune systems can do the killing.
Nuisance seaweed found to produce compounds with biomedical potential
May 25, 2012 6:31 am | News | CommentsA seaweed considered a threat to the healthy growth of coral reefs in Hawaii may possess the ability to produce substances that could one day treat human diseases, a new study led by scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at University of California, San Diego has revealed.
Study: DNA vaccine and duck eggs protect against hantavirus disease
May 24, 2012 4:21 am | News | CommentsThe highly pathogenic hantavirus causes a condition known as hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), which has a case fatality rate of 35-40%. To help the fight against a disease that has no vaccine, U.S. Army scientists and industry collaborators have successfully protected laboratory animals from lethal hantavirus disease using a novel approach that combines DNA vaccines and duck eggs.
Scientists decipher bacterial injection needles at atomic resolution
May 21, 2012 8:05 am | News | CommentsHundreds of tiny hollow needles stick out of the membrane of a bacteria that causes cholera. These are treacherous tools that makes bacterial pathogens so dangerous. Researchers in the U.S. and Germany have now seen this structure in 3D detail at atomic resolution. The images may help drug researchers.
U.S. leads drug-approval race
May 17, 2012 6:35 am | News | CommentsThe U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) generally approves drug therapies faster and earlier than its counterparts in Canada and Europe, according to a new study by Yale University School of Medicine researchers. The study counters perceptions that the drug approval process in the U.S. is especially slow.
FDA advisers recommend approving weight loss drug
May 11, 2012 9:35 am | by Linda A. Johnson, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsAdvisers to government health regulators late Thursday recommended that they approve sales of what would be the first new prescription weight-loss drug in the U.S. in more than a decade, despite concerns over cardiac risks.
One-two punch knocks out aggressive breast cancer cells
May 11, 2012 3:50 am | by Anne Trafton, MIT News Office | News | CommentsDoctors have long known that treating patients with multiple cancer drugs often produces better results than treatment with just a single drug. Now, a study from Massachusetts Institute of Technology shows that the order and timing of drug administration can have a dramatic effect.
Scientists invent superbug killers
May 10, 2012 9:10 am | News | CommentsThe superbugs have met their match. Conceived at Nanyang Technological University, it comes in the form of a coating which has a magnetic-like feature that attracts bacteria and kills them without the need for antibiotics.
Researchers identify potential target for anthrax drug
May 9, 2012 6:10 am | News | CommentsResearchers at the University of Michigan have identified new targets for drugs that could potentially treat anthrax, the deadly infection caused by Bacillus anthracis . The team found a new way to block the bacteria's ability to capture iron, which is vital to its survival and its disease-causing properties.
FDA review favors first drug for HIV prevention
May 9, 2012 5:32 am | by Matthew Perrone, AP Health Writer | News | CommentsA pill that has long been used to treat HIV has moved one step closer to becoming the first drug approved to prevent healthy people from becoming infected with the virus that causes AIDS. The Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday that Gilead Sciences' Truvada appears to be safe and effective for HIV prevention.
Team gives drug dropouts a second chance
May 7, 2012 5:12 am | News | CommentsA cross-disciplinary team of researchers at the University of Maryland has designed a molecular container that can hold drug molecules and increase their solubility, in one case up to nearly 3000 times. Their discovery opens the possibility of rehabilitating drug candidates that were insufficiently soluble.
Bacteria discovery could lead to antibiotics alternatives
May 3, 2012 7:44 am | News | CommentsUniversity of Manchester scientists have discovered an Achilles heel within cells that bacteria are able to exploit to cause and spread infection. The researchers say their findings could lead to the development of new anti-infective drugs as alternatives to antibiotics whose overuse has led to resistance.
Pinpointing how antibiotics work
April 20, 2012 4:36 am | by Anne Trafton, MIT News Office | News | CommentsPenicillin and other antibiotics have revolutionized medicine, turning once-deadly diseases into easily treatable ailments. However, while antibiotics have been in use for more than 70 years, the exact mechanism by which they kill bacteria has remained a mystery. Now a new study reveals the killing mechanism behind all three major classes of antibiotics.
FDA wants limits on antibiotics given to animals
April 11, 2012 11:23 am | by Matthew Perrone, AP Health Writer | News | CommentsAntibiotics are mixed with animal feed to help livestock, pigs and chickens put on weight and stay healthy in crowded barns. Scientists have warned that this routine use leads to the growth of antibiotic-resistant germs that can be passed to humans. Now the Food and Drug Administration is weighing in on the matter, calling on drug companies to help limit the use antibiotics.
