Breaking News on Drug Discovery
All news articles > March 2007
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30-Mar-2007
Drugs moving into the clinic: 8
The eighth in a series of periodic roundups of drugs that have moved from preclinical research into clinical testing via the announcement of a Phase I trial or an application for a trial to industry regulators.
Stem cell nanotech tracker system
Researchers have found a new technique that allows stem cells to be tracked as they move through the body, potentially allowing a greater understanding of regenerative medicines.
Merck insomnia drug put to bed
A next-generation insomnia drug has been put to bed after its developers decided the risk of using the drug outweighed its potential benefit to millions of insomnia sufferers.
More preclinical data needed for high-risk first-in-man trials
More analysis of a drug's target and mode of action in the preclinic has been called for in the draft guidelines for first-in-man trials published by the European Medicines Agency (EMEA).
Sanofi raises stakes in cancer vaccine race
An exclusive license to a late stage product has enabled Sanofi-aventis to up the stakes in a bid to be the first company to release a dedicated cancer vaccine.
28-Mar-2007
Isis cholesterol drug makes sense
Antisense drug developers received a boost today with the news that Isis Pharmaceuticals' cholesterol lowering drug is showing good results in clinical trials.
Pfizer illustrates torcetrapib failure
Suggestions that Pfizer's scrapped cholesterol drug could actually make coronary artery disease worse could set hearts racing among others developing drugs in the same class.
27-Mar-2007
Charles River wants a piece of the Chinese market pie
Contract research organisation (CRO) Charles River Laboratories has announced it will establish a presence in China by signing a joint venture deal with Shanghai BioExplorer, a Chinese preclinical services provider.
26-Mar-2007
Biocon to boost contract research biz
Indian biotech firm Biocon is planning to boost its contract research business as global pharma companies are increasingly looking to outsource R&D to India, according to media reports.
Novel cancer drug enters second phase trials
A new drug to treat the most common type of acute leukaemia is showing positive early results, according to its UK based developer.
Naturally reducing drug 'friendly fire'
A new technique mimics Nature to mark cancer tumours for destruction by the immune system while leaving healthy cells alive, and could potentially lead to anticancer drugs with fewer side effects.
23-Mar-2007
Drugs moving into the clinic: 7
The seventh in a series of periodic roundups of drugs that have moved from preclinical research into clinical testing via the announcement of a Phase I trial or an application for a trial to industry regulators.
Eisai buy cancer antibody specialists
Japanese pharma firm Eisai has made a foray into biological drug discovery by buying a US company who specialise in cancer antibodies.
Chaperone drugs show promising results
A new wave of drugs designed to treat rare brain disorders, which are caused when proteins don't fold correctly, are showing promising results in trials, according to their developer.
Technology Sector wins in the UK budget?
On the face of it, the UK's 2007 budget looks good for the technology sector with increased R&D tax relief - but is it all as good as it seems?
22-Mar-2007
New software could curb drug failures
New software has been launched that its developers say will help companies to spot drug candidate safety failures at an earlier clinical stage.
21-Mar-2007
Native kinase profiling
ActivX has launched a new profiling platform, which the company claims allows the functional analysis of twice the number of protein kinases than competing systems.
Sun setting on big pharma research in Japan?
A second pharma giant is closing its only research facility in Japan and others are also considering following suit, according to a Japanese business paper.
Innovation does not scale
Even though life expectancies are increasing and drug sales are still rising, the future looks tough for the pharmaceutical industry.
Nature undervalued in drug discovery
Mother nature still has the jump on major pharma firms when it comes to designing therapeutic products, a new study suggests.
GSK opens new Singapore facility and doubles staff
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has today opened a new medicinal chemistry laboratory in Singapore and plans to double the number of researchers hired at the site to 60.
20-Mar-2007
AtheroGenics rethink strategy for heart drug
A novel drug designed to prevent coronary heart disease has failed a pivotal clinical trial although the developers are hopeful the drug might still win approval.
Signalling the end of IBD?
New research has uncovered an important signalling pathway that underpins the onset of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), potentially leading to new treamtents.
Baxter to increase research spending
Baxter has pledged to invest a greater proportion of its profit in R&D, to bring the company in line with other pharma firms.
Talks over new Covance facility 'positive'
The mayor of a US city where Covance is planning to build a controversial new preclinical testing facility met last week with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and government officials to discuss the animal testing issues surrounding the plans.
Sony PS3 powers Alzheimer's research
Scientists hope to harness the power of Sony's new PlayStation 3 games console to conduct research on protein folding and associated diseases such as Alzheimer's and cancer.
Alexion: the NME of blood disease
Patients suffering from a rare and life threatening blood disorder received a boost when the first ever drug to treat the disease was approved.
16-Mar-2007
Millipore licenses neural stem cells
A new licensing deal will allow Millipore to supply researchers with a commercial source of neural stem cells for the first time.
Thermo's new way to study proteomics
A new piece of equipment could enable scientists to study changes in protein structure, including those necessary to cancer tumour growth, both faster and more accurately, according to its developers.
Another setback for Lilly's blindness drug
Eli Lilly & Co has withdrawn its European approval application for Arxxant (ruboxistaurin), a potential blockbuster drug to treat blindness caused by diabetes.
GSK's new breast cancer drug approved
GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK) new breast cancer drug has been given the all clear to be used in the US, with the company expecting European approval to follow later this year.
15-Mar-2007
BMS to pump $300m into India with new R&D deals
Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) has this week inked two large R&D services contracts in India as it dips its toe further into this budding region.
14-Mar-2007
Precancerous stem cells identified
The discovery of precancerous stem cells may yield valuable new drug targets for use in the fight against cancer.
Schering-Plough and Organon match up
Schering-Plough's surprise €11bn bid for Organon on Monday will double the number of new molecular entities (NMEs) in its pipeline.
13-Mar-2007
Report calls for first-in-man drug trial reforms
A new report has been released this week calling for reforms in first-in-man clinical trials in the wake of the TGN1412 drug trial disaster in London last year.
12-Mar-2007
Structure may help remove bacteria's 'sugar coating'
Solving the crystal structure of the enzyme that creates the bacterial cell wall could herald a new wave of antibacterial agents.
Preclinical services news in brief
In this week's review of activity within the preclinical research services arena, new deals have emerged involving Arius Research, Fusion Antibodies, Samaritan Pharmaceuticals and Advinus Therapeutics.
Schering-Plough offers €11bn for Organon
Schering-Plough took the industry by surprise this morning when it unveiled an €11bn bid to buy European rival Organon from Akzo Nobel.
A flat year for GSK?
Industry experts have predicted a challenging year ahead for GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and advised investors to sell their shares in the pharma giant.
Stem cells have multiple brain benefits
Not only can stem cells replace diseased brain tissue, but they can also form functional nerve cells that transmit electrical impulses, according to scientists working on rare brain disorders.
09-Mar-2007
Genome study drives cancer drug development
The broadest ever survey of the human cancer genome has revealed that the number of mutated genes that can cause the disease is even greater than previously thought.
Stress kills sleeping sickness parasites
The discovery of a new method of killing the parasite that causes sleeping sickness could lead to a drug that eliminates the disease.
Aspirin research heralds new dawn for Vioxx?
A UK charity is hoping to exploit their research on aspirin to enable anti-inflammatory drugs, such as Vioxx, to be administered more safely.
Patenting stem cells is 'ethical'
A recent article published in the journal Stem Cell has advocated the patenting of isolated stem cell lines.
08-Mar-2007
Frontier Biosciences settles in China
US services provider Frontier Biosciences has announced that it has bought a majority stake in a China-based preclinical contract research organisation (CRO).
07-Mar-2007
New drug battles 'silent killer'
The first new type of high blood pressure medicine in more than a decade has been approved in the US, with experts predicting blockbuster success.
Bio-Rad launches protein interaction analyser
Bio-Rad launched a new instrument at Pittcon last week that allows the analysis of up to 36 protein-protein interactions in one rapid experiment.
Second generation HIV drug enters clinical trials
The second generation of a new class of HIV drugs have entered clinical trials and could prove more difficult for HIV to develop resistance to, according to developers Panacos.
New online RNA access to speed drug discovery
Biobanking firm Asterand has launched a new online service to offer researchers access to human RNA samples via the internet that it claims could potentially speed up the early stage drug discovery process.
Drugs moving into the clinic: 6
The sixth in a series of periodic roundups of drugs that have moved from preclinical research into clinical testing via the announcement of a Phase I trial or an application for a trial to industry regulators.
05-Mar-2007
GSK erodes pipeline across several areas
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has stopped development of several drugs, leaving some industry experts to wonder if the company's cap on research spending is stifling drug development.
Novo increases diabetes research in China
Novo Nordisk will continue to exploit the emerging importance of China in pharma research by establishing a new diabetes research foundation there.
PPD bags a bargain from Ranbaxy
PPD has in-licensed a preclinical anti-cholesterol compound off India's Ranbaxy in a deal worth up to $44m (€33m) - the firm will have bagged itself a bargain if the drug successfully reaches the lucrative statin market.
Genome of meningitis-causing bacteria uncovered
Yale University researchers have sequenced the genome of a bacteria that can cause various infections, including meningitis and pneumonia.
Labcyte release acoustic sample preparation technique
The Portrait 630, launched by Labcyte at Pittcon 2007, allows accurate and reproducible matrix deposition for high quality MALDI imaging.
02-Mar-2007
Alpha results for new cancer radiotherapy
An anti cancer therapy that emits the most lethal from of radiation has successfully made it through second stage human trials.
Galapagos lands further in the red after spending spree
A highly-acquisitive and research-intensive year has left drug discovery services provider Galapagos further in the red at the end of its 2006 financial year, although sales soared.
Does industry sponsorship influence drug trial results?
Clinical trials of potential breast cancer therapies are more likely to report positive results if pharma companies sponsor them, according to a new report.
Bayer and Abbott cutting research jobs
Bayer Healthcare is cutting 1,400 research and development jobs, as the company integrates workers from recently acquired pharma business, Schering.
01-Mar-2007
Does industry sponsorship influence drug trial results?
Clinical trials of potential breast cancer therapies are more likely to report positive results if they are sponsored by pharma companies, according to a new report.
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