Drug Development
Clinical trial uncovers potential cure for HIV
October 6, 2011 10:33 am | News | CommentsData from a clinical trial involving University of California, Los Angeles researchers suggest that a new therapy may potentially serve as a "functional cure" for HIV/AIDS. The therapy, called SB-728-T, involves the modification of both copies of a patient's CCR5 gene, which encodes the major co-receptor used by HIV to infect immune system cells.
Purdue part of institute awarded up to $35 million by FDA
October 6, 2011 6:38 am | News | CommentsPurdue University is part of a national institute that received a grant of up to $35 million over the next five years from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA awarded the grant to the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Technology and Education, or NIPTE, to improve manufacturing standards and ultimately cut health care costs, create jobs, and improve drug safety.
Rutgers, UMDNJ research provides insight into fighting viruses
September 30, 2011 5:16 am | News | CommentsResearchers at Rutgers University and UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School have determined the structure of a protein that is the first line of defense in fighting viral infections including influenza, hepatitis C, West Nile, rabies, and measles.
SwRI receives contract to develop drug formulation to treat cyanide exposure
September 16, 2011 10:38 am | News | CommentsSouthwest Research Institute was awarded a $4.4 million contract from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority to develop a nasal-delivery, first-line treatment system to combat cyanide poisoning.
Scientists reengineer antibiotic to overcome resistent bacteria
August 25, 2011 7:32 am | News | CommentsA team of scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have successfully reengineered an important antibiotic to kill the deadliest antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The researchers report the finding has clinical significance.
Scientists create natural Alzheimer's-fighting compound in lab
August 25, 2011 4:20 am | News | CommentsScientists at Yale University have developed the first practical method to create a compound called huperzine A in the laboratory. The compound, which occurs naturally in a species of moss found in China, is an enzyme inhibitor that has been used to treat Alzheimer's disease in China since the late 1990s and is sold in the U.S. as a dietary supplement to help maintain memory.
Cresset, Redx Pharma announce drug discovery collaboration
August 24, 2011 7:50 am | News | CommentsCresset and Redx Pharma announced that they have signed a major drug discovery collaboration, which gives Redx Pharma access to Cresset's computational chemistry technologies for use on their portfolio of drug discovery programs.
Sweet discovery could speed drug development
August 22, 2011 5:06 am | News | CommentsIn a new study, University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers have described a simple process to separate sugars from a carrier molecule, then attach them to a drug or other chemical.
New drug could cure nearly any viral infection
August 10, 2011 4:34 am | by Anne Trafton, MIT News Office | News | CommentsMost bacterial infections can be treated with antibiotics such as penicillin. However, such drugs are useless against viral infections. Now, in a development that could transform how viral infections are treated, a team of researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Lincoln Laboratory has designed a drug that can identify cells that have been infected by any type of virus, then kill those cells to terminate the infection.
Antibody recognizes many strains of flu virus
August 8, 2011 11:53 am | News | CommentsUnlike many vaccines, the shot for influenza needs yearly updating. Howard Hughes Medical Institute scientists have discovered a human antibody that recognizes many different flu strains and could be the basis for a longer-lasting vaccine.
Sperm from mice stem cells offers infertility hope
August 8, 2011 6:07 am | News | CommentsA team of scientists at Kyoto University has reported producing viable sperm using the stem cells of mice in an experiment that researchers hope could one day lead to treating infertile men.
Drug prices to plummet in wave of expiring patents
July 25, 2011 5:00 am | by Linda A. Johnson, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsThe next 14 months will bring generic versions of seven of the world's 20 best-selling drugs, including the top two: cholesterol fighter Lipitor and blood thinner Plavix. Generic competition will decimate sales of the brand-name drugs and cut costs to patients and companies that provide health benefits.
Newly designed molecule blocks chlamydia bacteria
July 22, 2011 8:09 am | News | CommentsResearchers at Duke University Medical Center have discovered a way to block the damaging actions of chlamydia. The team, which included Duke University microbiologists and chemists, designed a molecule that takes away the bacteria's self-defense mechanisms.
Novel biodegradable pellet targets glue ear infection
July 21, 2011 6:16 am | News | CommentsScientists at The University of Nottingham have developed a novel biodegradable pellet, which over a period of three weeks, will release effective quantities of antibiotics into the middle ear, targeting glue ear infection.
Neutralizing HIV
July 18, 2011 5:12 am | by Katie Neith | News | CommentsA study involving researchers at Caltech points to the possibility of using neutralizing antibodies in the development of a vaccine for HIV. Their research describes a group of novel antibodies that were isolated from HIV-infected individuals using a new cloning approach.
Scientists unlock cellular sodium channel
July 14, 2011 8:26 am | by Leila Gray | News | CommentsResearchers at the University of Washington have determined the atomic architecture of a sodium channel. The achievement opens new possibilities for better drugs to address pain, epilepsy, and heart rhythm disturbances.
Recreating human livers, in mice
July 12, 2011 4:27 am | by Anne Trafton, MIT News Office | News | CommentsAlthough scientists commonly use mice for biomedical research, they are not always helpful for pharmaceutical testing. Because mouse livers react to drugs differently than human livers, they often can't be used to predict whether a potential drug will be toxic to people. That means that a drug that harms the liver could make it all the way to human clinical trials before researchers discover its risks. Now, a graduate student in the MIT-Harvard Division of Health Sciences and Technology (HST), has developed a way to overcome that problem by growing human liver tissue inside mice.
Plastic cell membranes for faster and cheaper drug development
June 30, 2011 7:18 am | News | CommentsSynthetic cell membranes invented at the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE), a research institute of Singapore's Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), may improve the way we identify and develop drugs by speeding up and reducing the cost of the drug screening process.
Scientists crack histamine code in effort to reduce side effects
June 28, 2011 5:48 am | News | CommentsAn international team of scientists using Diamond Light Source, the UK’s national synchrotron facility, has successfully solved the complex 3D structure of the human Histamine H1 receptor protein. The breakthrough, which involved Scripps Institute researchers, lets scientists begin work on third-generation anti-histamine drugs that reduce side effects.
Hitting moving RNA drug targets
June 27, 2011 4:43 am | News | CommentsBy accounting for the floppy, fickle nature of RNA, researchers at the Univ. of Michigan and the Univ. of California, Irvine have developed a new way to search for drugs that target this important molecule.
Revealing HIV's weakness
June 21, 2011 4:00 am | by Anne Trafton, MIT News Office | News | CommentsEver since HIV was revealed as the infectious agent behind the AIDS epidemic, scientists have been striving to develop a vaccine against the disease. However, the task has proven difficult, because HIV mutates so rapidly. In a new finding that may allow vaccine designers to sidestep part of that obstacle, researchers at the Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital, MIT, and Harvard Univ. have identified sections of an HIV protein where mutations would actually undermine the virus’ ability to survive and reproduce.
An alternative to antibiotics?
June 7, 2011 12:45 pm | News | CommentsAntibiotics are among the greatest achievements of medical science. But bacteria are increasingly developing resistance to once-potent drugs. Researchers are scrambling for an alternative, and researchers in Germany say they have found one in a therapeutic equivalent that could replace penicillin and related pharmaceuticals.
Potential treatment for E. coli disease
June 7, 2011 7:04 am | News | CommentsA potential life-saving treatment for severe E. coli food poisoning outbreaks—developed more than a decade ago—hasn't gone forward into clinical trials because of lack of commercial interest. Univ. of Adelaide researchers produced a "designer" probiotic bacterium which binds and neutralizes the toxin produced by E. coli , which causes life-threatening attack on the kidneys and blood vessels.
Scientists find compounds for use in basic research and drug development
May 23, 2011 5:22 am | News | CommentsScientists from The Scripps Research Institute have identified a class of compounds that could be a boon to basic research and drug discovery. In a new study, the researchers show the new compounds powerfully and selectively block the activity of a large and diverse group of enzymes known as "serine hydrolases."
Organic catalyst to enhance drug R & D
May 13, 2011 9:17 am | News | CommentsA new "organocatalyst" developed at Oregon State Univ. is now available for commercial use. Produced by an Albany, Ore., pharmaceutical company, it should make new drug development around the world less costly, more efficient, and more environmentally friendly.
