Articles tagged with Drug Discovery
The June edition of SLAS Discovery features the cover article on developing high-throughput biochemical assays to assess small molecule impact on SARS-CoV-2 nonstructural protein 14. The issue also includes nine original research articles, covering topics such as HIV latency reversal, kinase inhibitors, and drug combination screening.
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have developed a machine learning platform that can identify natural product drugs for treating various ailments. The platform, called NRPminer, uses genomic and metabolomics data to detect promising natural products, including four novel compounds with potential antimalarial properties.
A collaborative research team has discovered compounds with antimalarial activity from a collection of 80,000 drug-like molecules. The most promising candidates are now being further developed towards potential antimalarial drugs.
Researchers at 48Hour Discovery will screen billions of peptides to identify hit compounds for pharmaceutical giant Merck. The two-year project aims to accelerate drug development and address unmet medical needs.
Researchers analyzed online requests from people who use drugs in Russia and found that online platforms provide essential support and services. The study highlights the effectiveness of remote work in reducing harm and increasing help-seeking behavior among individuals with problematic drug use.
DeepBAR, a new machine learning-based technique, quickly calculates binding affinities between drug candidates and their targets, offering a faster and more efficient approach to drug discovery and protein engineering. The approach yields precise calculations nearly 50 times faster than previous methods.
Researchers are harnessing the power of peptides to develop new therapeutics, leveraging vast libraries and animal venom to discover novel leads. Recent studies have shown promising results in pain relief and biopesticides, highlighting the potential for peptides to revolutionize the pharmaceutical landscape.
Researchers found six FDA-approved drugs that can inhibit protein-cutting enzymes essential for SARS-CoV-2 replication. The study's findings have the potential to develop a broad spectrum of antiviral drugs and prevent future pathogenic SARS-CoV strains.
NeuroVision Imaging, Inc. has received an investment from the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) to develop reliable and affordable biomarker tests for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. The goal is to improve clinical trials and monitor response to treatments.
The event aims to address current and future challenges in cancer drug development through panel discussions with eminent speakers. Delegates will learn about key areas for innovation and collaboration to improve cancer treatment.
A global research consortium is proposed to collect and share digital speech and language data to detect early signs of Alzheimer's. The consortium aims to create a comprehensive, harmonized repository of samples from diverse cohorts to develop biomarkers that can monitor disease progression.
A new cancer therapy approach combines gemcitabine chemotherapy with celecoxib, an anti-inflammatory medication, to activate the immune system and fight cancer. The combination has shown potential in improving the percentage of patients who respond to immunotherapy drugs.
Researchers discovered that fluorescent proteins behave like miniature antennas, absorbing and emitting light in specific directions. This finding has significant applications in basic biological research and novel drug discovery.
Insilico Medicine introduces Molecular Sets (MOSES), a benchmarking platform for generative chemistry models, enabling easy comparison and evaluation of new models against existing approaches. The platform provides a curated dataset, metrics, and baselines for assessing model performance.
Researchers at UC Riverside developed a simple, inexpensive way to measure drug dissolution that addresses shortcomings of existing methods. The technique uses a vibrating tube sensor to monitor the weight of individual pellets as they dissolve, providing accurate and continuous measurements.
Scientists have discovered how drug-like small molecules can regulate the activity of therapeutically relevant ion channels, providing new avenues for drug discovery. The study reveals how Pico145 binds to TRPC5 channels, preventing them from opening, and highlights the importance of individual amino acid residues in this binding site.
Scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison discovered a new antifungal compound, turbinmicin, in the microbiome of a sea squirt from the Florida Keys. Turbinmicin efficiently targets multi-drug resistant strains of deadly fungi without toxic side effects in mice.
A research team is working on developing new tools to guide the discovery and optimization of new antibacterial agents, addressing the growing challenge of antibiotic resistance.
Researchers from Osaka University have developed a technique to visualize small-molecule drugs in cells using gold nanoparticles and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) microscopy. This approach allows for real-time observation of the dynamics of small molecules inside target cells, providing valuable insights for drug discovery.
Research reveals that tau protein undergoes stepwise chemical modifications over time, correlating with dementia stage in Alzheimer's disease. The discovery suggests that multiple drugs may be necessary to target tau effectively, with early intervention requiring different therapeutics compared to late-stage treatment.
The University of Luxembourg is pioneering the use of machine learning to identify potent drug candidates and accelerate pharmaceutical development. By combining quantum mechanics and large molecular datasets, researchers hope to overcome challenges in chemical discovery and create novel compounds with tailored properties.
A new machine learning model has been developed to help characterize compounds in the development of new drugs. The model uses tandem mass spectrometry and is based on a small amount of positive and negative training data, making it useful for automating characterization of compounds by chemists.
Insilico Medicine will showcase its latest AI advancements in drug discovery and productive longevity at the Leveraging Intelligent Tech for Drug Development Forum. The company's work on AI-generated molecular structures, synthetic biological data, and clinical trial prediction has garnered significant attention and funding.
The Mark Foundation has launched a new funding program for novel cancer therapeutics. Two projects have been selected, focusing on Ewing sarcoma and leukemias, targeting USP7 and CBP/p300 enzymes with highly selective inhibitors.
South Rampart Pharma, a New Orleans life science company, has been awarded a $1.9 million NIH STTR grant to develop a new class of non-opioid medicines for pain relief and fever reduction. The company aims to create a safer treatment option for acute and chronic pain, which affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide.
Researchers have created ultrapotent compounds to treat Clostridioides difficile (C. diff), a leading cause of healthcare-associated infections in the US. The compounds show significant advantages over current antibiotics, including minimum inhibitory concentration values as low as 0.003 μg/mL and improved prevention of recurrence.
Researchers at Gruthan Bioscience aim to develop a new class of cholesterol-lowering drugs for patients with familial hypercholesterolemia, a rare form of high cholesterol. The startup plans to use its novel cell platform to identify and test promising compounds.
Researchers at UNC-Chapel Hill and Stanford solve the high-resolution structure of psychedelic compounds bound to the 5-HT2A serotonin receptor, revealing key insights into their therapeutic potential. The discovery sets the stage for the exploration of more precise compounds with strong therapeutic effects.
Researchers discovered that hollow multishelled structures can realize sequential drug release through unique temporal-spatial order property. This property enables burst, sustained, and stimulus-responsive release stages, providing a long sterility period in bacteria-rich environments.
Researchers studied the binding of general anesthetics and benzodiazepines to the GABAA receptor in the brain. They found that both types of drugs can bind to multiple sites on the receptor, with differences between them. This discovery could lead to the development of new, more selective anesthetics with fewer side effects.
Austrian researchers identified drug-like compounds that could block a key coronavirus protein called PLpro, found in all coronaviruses. These compounds previously developed to fight SARS showed promise in halting the growth of COVID-19 virus (SARS-CoV-2) in laboratory testing.
Researchers at Waseda University have created a novel method to produce alicyclic compounds from commercially available arenes, promising to accelerate drug discovery research. The new method uses a palladium catalyst and malonates as reactants, producing highly functionalized molecules with diverse properties.
Researchers at UC Riverside developed a drug discovery pipeline to identify effective drugs for treating COVID-19. The team used a powerful machine-learning approach to screen millions of chemicals and identified hundreds of promising candidates, including some that are already FDA-approved.
Rice University scientists have won a $1.9 million NIH grant to explore the use of CRISPR-Cas genome editing in natural fungi to discover new drugs that stay ahead of disease resistance. By understanding how fungi synthesize useful compounds, they aim to create novel drug development toolkits.
A new process developed by SFU chemist Robert Britton and his team allows for the creation of new nucleoside analogues in a fraction of the time previously required. This breakthrough has significant implications for treating viral infections and cancer.
Researchers have developed a catalytic system that directly installs the trifluoromethyl group onto arenes using trifluoroacetic acid. The new reaction offers a milder alternative to existing strategies and has been successfully applied to a diverse array of arenes and heteroarenes.
A new technology dubbed MorphEUS enables rapid screening of drug candidates against Mycobcterium tuberculosis (M. tb), the bacterium that causes TB. It uses high throughput imaging and machine learning to uncover patterns in how antibacterials kill, improving the efficiency and effectiveness of treatment development.
A study supported by the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation found that rotigotine, a dopamine-acting drug, improved frontal lobe executive function and daily activities in patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease. The treatment also enhanced dopaminergic pathways reaching this section of the brain.
Researchers at Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia have discovered a novel chemical compound that shows promise in treating core symptoms of brain disorders such as Down syndrome and autism. The new compound selectively blocks the transporter NKCC1, which is dysregulated in these conditions.
Eugenia Trushina, Ph.D., Mayo Clinic Rochester researcher, receives $600,000 to develop new drug candidates restoring mitochondrial function in treating Alzheimer's. The ADDF-Harrington partnership aims to accelerate discovery into clinical studies for a potential cure.
TARA's in vitro human cardiac models replicate drug responses similar to those observed in humans, supporting their use as a robust platform for new medicines evaluation. The models' ability to reproduce diverse mechanisms of action showcases their applicability for cardiac drug discovery and development.
Researchers developed a machine learning algorithm to predict six major clinical forms of drug-induced cardiac toxicity from gene expression data. The model demonstrated generalizability and was validated on an independent dataset, with potential applications in enhancing pharmaceutical industry safety evaluation.
Scientists have discovered a new killing mechanism in teixobactin, a potent natural antibiotic that can kill superbugs. The research provides fundamental insights into how teixobactins work and could lead to the development of new drugs.
KinaRx LLC, a Purdue University-affiliated startup, has received a $2 million SBIR grant to develop novel kinase inhibitors for treating relapse in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and other diseases. The company's platform aims to rapidly create complex drug molecules using bioinformatics and multi-component compound synthesis.
Research at Kobe University reveals that metformin causes blood sugar to be excreted in the stool, promoting its removal from the intestine. This discovery contributes to understanding the mechanism of metformin's biological effects and may lead to the development of new drugs for diabetes.
A special collection in SLAS Discovery highlights new screening tools and assays for ion channel drug discovery. The articles cover various techniques such as optical and automated patch clamp electrophysiology to identify new chemical matter for medically relevant membrane protein targets.
The Chemical Checker tool uses a similarity principle to analyze over 1M compounds and identify potential treatments for diseases. It has been used to reposition approved drugs for Alzheimer's disease and identify substitutes for expensive biologics.
A team of computational scientists, medicinal chemists, biochemists, and virologists have coalesced to rapidly identify drug-like molecules that inhibit SARS-CoV-19 replication. They are leveraging powerful supercomputers to screen millions of small molecules against all the major non-structural proteins of SARS-CoV-19.
Researchers are developing new metal catalysts for drug discovery, potentially offering lower therapeutic dosages and fewer side effects. The project aims to create synthetic forms of biological macromolecules that detoxify aldehydes, addressing biochemical imbalance and disease development.
Researchers unveil the structure of a key protein in human metabolism, which could lead to better obesity treatments. The study found that calcium ions play a crucial role in the protein's function, opening new paths for developing targeted pharmaceuticals.
A USC-led team of scientists has discovered the precise shape of the melanocortin 4 receptor, a key player in human metabolism. The findings could lead to more effective therapies for obesity and other metabolic diseases, which affect millions worldwide.
Multispecific drugs have the potential to target 85% of currently thought-of-as-undruggable proteins. By inducing proximity between targets and natural enzymes or cells, they can harness biology's power to go beyond conventional drugs.
An international team of researchers has identified six potential COVID-19 treatment candidates after testing over 10,000 compounds. The targeted therapeutics were found to be effective in inhibiting the main protease enzyme of the virus.
Gero's AI platform identifies 9 potential COVID-19 treatments among existing drugs, including Niclosamide and Nitazoxanide. The list enables urgent clinical trials to begin in weeks.
Experts debate nationalizing the pharmaceutical sector to improve public health priorities, address extortionate pricing, and ensure patient access to new advanced drugs. Mariana Mazzucato and Henry Lishi Li propose a government-provided quality-assured medicine option that co-exists with private sector products.
The discovery of CRISPR-Cas9 systems has revolutionized pharmaceutical research by allowing for industrial-scale gene editing and functional genomic screening. This enables the identification of new biological targets for precision medicines and the exploration of mechanisms of drug resistance and sensitivity ahead of clinical trials.
A novel injectable drug, NOV004, is being developed by Novosteo Inc. to heal broken bones faster and strengthen weak bones. The treatment concentrates at the fracture site while reducing exposure to the rest of the body, potentially reducing mortality rates among older adults.
Researchers at Emory University have developed a new approach to organic synthesis that can efficiently transform simple molecules into complex ones with 3D structures. This method opens up whole new chemical space for potential drug targets, enabling the creation of more direct and efficient pathways for pharmaceutical research.
A new minimally invasive treatment has shown significant improvement in symptoms and quality of life for patients with thyroid eye disease. The drug, teprotumumab, blocks inflammatory autoimmune pathophysiology and has the potential to alter the course of the disease.
Calibr's novel cell therapy leverages a patient's own immune cells, directing them to engage cancer targets with a control switch. Clinical trials will test the approach in patients with relapsed/refractory B-cell malignancies.