Drug Development
Tumor study reveals size limitations for new drugs
April 10, 2012 9:54 am | by Caroline Perry, Harvard University | News | CommentsCombining two strategies that are designed to improve the results of cancer treatment—angiogenesis inhibitors and nanomedicines—may only be successful if the smallest nanomedicines are used. A new study by researchers at Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital has found that normalizing blood vessels within tumors can actually block the delivery of larger nanotherapy molecules.
Inside the licorice root’s pharma factory
April 2, 2012 10:12 am | News | CommentsPlants that contain the ingredients for the popular licorice treat employ a complex assembly line of enzymes to produce the glycyrrhizin molecule, a potent sweetener that is also an effective anti-inflammatory and antiviral agent. A newly discovered enzyme brings scientists one step closer to understanding how plants like licorice root manufacture a molecule with potent medicinal properties.
3D structure opens new avenue for drug discovery
April 2, 2012 5:01 am | News | CommentsAn international consortium has determined the structure of an important new drug target in complex with a synthetic molecule designed by University of Bath researchers, opening up new avenues for drug discovery.
Scientists unlock key to cancer cell death mystery
March 26, 2012 7:07 am | News | CommentsAn international team of scientists has announced a new advance in the ability to target and destroy certain cancer cells. A group led by the University of Leicester has shown that particular cancer cells are especially sensitive to a protein called p21, which usually forces normal and cancer cells to stop dividing, but was recently shown in some cases to kill cancer cells.
Team discovers how bacteria resist a 'Trojan horse' antibiotic
March 19, 2012 8:41 am | News | CommentsA new study describes how bacteria use a previously unknown means to defeat an antibiotic. The researchers found that the bacteria have modified a common "housekeeping" enzyme in a way that enables the enzyme to recognize and disarm the antibiotic.
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.
Fast alternative treatment for radiation exposure is promising
March 7, 2012 3:12 am | by Lynn Yarris | News | CommentsShortly after the destruction of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, Japanese officials considered the evacuation of nearly 36 million residents of the Tokyo area, a decision that reflected the lack of treatments for mass contamination. Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory are developing an alternative that can be taken as a form of pill.
X-rays reveal how soil bacteria carry out surprising chemistry
March 5, 2012 6:42 am | News | CommentsResearchers working at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have used powerful X-rays to help decipher how certain natural antibiotics defy a longstanding set of chemical rules—a mechanism that has baffled organic chemists for decades.
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.
TANDEM improves pharmaceutical process knowledge
February 24, 2012 10:23 am | White PapersTraditionally, content uniformity analysis for tablets has been performed off-line by liquid chromatography. Performed in batches, this approach is time-consuming. A new spectroscopy-based system called TANDEM, as detailed by Bruker Optics in a white paper, combines Bruker’s Matrix Fourier transform near-infrared spectrometer with a Dr. Schleuniger Pharmatron 10X conventional tablet tester to enable rapid, on-line, non-destructive tablet content uniformity characterization along with moisture and excipient analysis.
Near-infrared technology accurately determines tablet content
February 23, 2012 9:45 am | White PapersIn cooperation with Pfizer, Bruker Optics has developed the TANDEM system, a manufacturing process monitoring solution for tablet analysis that combines on-line near-infrared (NIR) content uniformity with conventional tablet testing based on weight, thickness, hardness, and diameter. The methodology, prompted by a recent process technology initiative by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, is described in a recent white paper from Bruker.
Crystallization monitoring adopts science-based quality control
February 23, 2012 9:36 am | White PapersThe U.S. Food & Drug Administration has been introducing manufacturing control practices that encourage pharmaceutical makers to move away from empirical standards. One example of this push for quantified process monitoring is crystallization, a process crucial in drug production. A Bruker Optics white paper describes how this can be done scientifically using a MATRIX-F spectrometer.
New malaria method could boost drug production
February 17, 2012 5:04 am | by David Rising, Associated Press | News | CommentsGerman scientists have developed a new way to make a key malaria drug that they say could easily quadruple production and drop the price significantly, increasing the availability of treatment for a disease that kills hundreds of thousands every year.
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.
Chemists harvest light to create 'green' tool for pharmaceuticals
February 9, 2012 4:08 am | News | CommentsA team of University of Arkansas researchers has created a new, "green" method for developing medicines. The researchers used energy from an ordinary 13-W compact fluorescent light bulb to create an organic molecule that may be useful in the treatment of Alzheimer’s and other brain diseases.
Brooks Automation, Scripps initiate imaging development partnership
February 8, 2012 10:00 am | News | CommentsAn agreement to complete the development of a microplate imaging system invented by Scripps Research Institute engineers has been formed between the institute and Brooks Life Science Systems, a division of Brooks Automation, Inc. The system is intended for biotech and pharmaceutical companies performing high-throughput screening.
Vitamin D receptor visualized for the first time in 3D
January 24, 2012 7:13 am | News | CommentsUntil now, researchers had only been able to study two parts of the vitamin D receptor at close range. The new 3D model obtained by a team in France gives researchers key information on the 3D structure and action mechanism of the receptor, which is crucial in several areas of pharmaceutical research.
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.
New study to look at how drug chemicals impact stem cells
January 17, 2012 5:20 pm | News | CommentsEvery year, more and stronger chemicals are introduced into our bodies to fight disease, but have little knowledge of how they impact some of our most important cells. Bioengineers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the University of California, Berkeley will soon launch an effort to find out whether stem cells react to chemicals in fundamentally different ways than other cells.
Chemists debunk myth about powerful drug amphotericin
January 16, 2012 12:04 pm | News | CommentsAn elegant approach to synthesizing amphotericin B, which has been used extensively as an antifungal for more than 50 years, has allowed researchers to learn its elusive mode of action. The finding may change drug development directions and improve antifungal treatments, but there is still a downside to the drug.
