Strategies & Technologies Driving Drug Discovery to Market
Lawsuit Alleges Merck Gender Discrimination
May 9, 2013 11:48 am | News | CommentsA Merck & Co. sales representative is suing the drugmaker for at least $100 million, saying Merck doesn't give women equal opportunities for advancement and that women are told they have to choose between having children and taking bigger roles at the company.
A Target Rich Environment
May 9, 2013 11:45 am | by Cynthia Fox, Science Editor | Articles | CommentsRecent meetings have provided a showcase for many potential druggable tumor targets. The range of potential new drug targets has been expansive, especially if one counts the whole-exome sequencing work being performed for the Cancer Genome Atlas project.
Almac Out-Licenses ALM201
May 9, 2013 10:45 am | News | CommentsAlmac Discovery announced the licensing of its novel anti-angiogenic peptide ALM201 to Shin Poong Pharmaceutical Company Ltd. for clinical development and marketing in South Korea. Shin Poong will make an undisclosed upfront payment and pay milestones and royalties as part of the deal.
Vaccine Program Aimed at Vulnerable Girls
May 9, 2013 7:34 am | by Linda A. Johnson | News | CommentsTwo multinational drugmakers are teaming up with top global health groups to protect millions of girls in the world's poorest countries from deadly cervical cancer. The ambitious project ultimately is intended to inoculate more than 30 million girls in more than 40 countries by 2020.
Producing Orally Bioavailable Biologics
May 8, 2013 3:24 pm | by Nick Terrett, Chief Scientic Officer; Ensemble Therapeutics Corp, Cambridge, Mass. | Articles | CommentsDrug developers have been in a quandary for some years now. The Human Genome Project offered novel insights into disease, including numerous tantalizing targets for therapeutic intervention. Unfortunately, many of these are protein-protein interactions not readily addressed by conventional “Rule of 5” small-molecule drugs.
Alexza Licenses Adasuve to Teva
May 8, 2013 1:30 pm | News | CommentsAlexza Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. will market its agitation drug Adasuve in the United States. The companies said that Teva will be responsible for all U.S. commercial and clinical-related activities, including a required post-approval study.
FDA Reviewing Allergy Therapy
May 8, 2013 12:47 pm | News | CommentsDrugmaker Merck & Co. says the Food and Drug Administration is reviewing its second application to sell a new type of allergy treatment meant to gradually reduce allergic reactions over time, rather than just relieving sneezing, itching and other symptoms temporarily.
Diabetes Increases Heart Disease Risk
May 8, 2013 10:16 am | News | CommentsType 1 diabetes appears to increase the risk of heart disease, the leading cause of death among people with high blood sugar, partly by stimulating the production of calprotectin, a protein that sparks an inflammatory process that fuels the buildup of artery-clogging plaque.
Scientists ID Tumor Protein
May 8, 2013 9:56 am | News | CommentsScientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have identified a protein that drives the formation of pituitary tumors in Cushing's disease, a development that may give clinicians a therapeutic target to treat this potentially life-threatening disorder.
Breast Cancer Resistance Mechanism Found
May 8, 2013 9:47 am | News | CommentsA seven-year quest to understand how breast cancer cells resist treatment with the targeted therapy lapatinib has revealed a previously unknown molecular network that regulates cell death. The discovery provides new avenues to overcome drug resistance.
Another Setback in Alzheimer’s Fight
May 7, 2013 9:48 am | by Andrew Pollack | News | CommentsBaxter International said that a promising new therapy had failed to halt the mental decline caused by the disease in a late-stage clinical trial. The company said its immunoglobulin therapy did not significantly arrest the decline in either cognition or daily functioning when compared with a placebo.
Endo Health Turns 1Q Profit
May 7, 2013 8:46 am | News | CommentsEndo Health Solutions Inc. turned a first-quarter profit, reversing a loss at the start of 2012, when the drug developer absorbed a sizeable pre-tax charge tied to a settlement and license agreement. The company said it earned $15.3 million in the three months that ended March 31.
Estrogen Links Exercise and Breast Cancer
May 7, 2013 12:05 am | News | CommentsChanges in estrogen breakdown, or metabolism, may be one of the mechanisms by which aerobic exercise lowers a woman’s breast cancer risk. A study shows that aerobic exercise influences the way the body breaks down estrogens to produce more of the "good" metabolites that lower breast cancer risk.
AIDS Research May Tackle Drug-Resistant Bacteria
May 7, 2013 12:00 am | News | CommentsResearchers have discovered a potential treatment for deadly, drug-resistant bacterial infections that uses the same approach that HIV uses to infect cells. The treatment uses a synthetic version of the amino acids on the tail end of HIV that allow the virus to “punch into” cells.
Alnylam 1Q Loss Shrinks
May 6, 2013 6:07 pm | News | CommentsAlnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. said it took a smaller loss in the first quarter as its expenses decreased. The RNAi drugmaker said its general and administrative spending decreased, but it also reported less in revenue because payments from its drug development partners decreased.
