Pharmacology/ Therapeutics News for June 2013

Pharmacology/ Therapeutics News Archive

Cure for young acute myeloid leukaemia patients increases six-fold since 1970s Cure for young acute myeloid leukaemia patients increases six-fold since 1970s

Almost half of teens and young adults with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) – a typically aggressive form of leukaemia – are cured thanks to improvements in treatment and care, according to research published in the British Journal of Haematology.

Researchers discover how a mutated protein outwits evolution and fuels leukemia Researchers discover how a mutated protein outwits evolution and fuels leukemia

Scientists have discovered the survival secret to a genetic mutation that stokes leukemia cells, solving an evolutionary riddle and paving the way to a highly targeted therapy for leukemia. In a paper published in Cell, researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center describe how a mutated protein, called Fbxw7, behaves differently when expressed in cancer cells versus healthy cells.

Potential drug compound attacks Parkinson’s on two fronts Potential drug compound attacks Parkinson’s on two fronts

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have found a compound that could counter Parkinson’s disease in two ways at once.

Pioneering breakthrough of chemical nanoengineering to design drugs controlled by light Pioneering breakthrough of chemical nanoengineering to design drugs controlled by light

The scientific cooperation between chemists, biotechnologists and physicists from various Catalan institutes, headed by Pau Gorostiza, from the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), and Ernest Giralt, from the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), has led to a breakthrough that will favor the development of light-regulated therapeutic molecules.

Compound kills persistent and drug-resistant tuberculosis Compound kills persistent and drug-resistant tuberculosis

An international team led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University has identified a highly promising new anti-tuberculosis compound that attacks the tuberculosis (TB) bacterium in two different ways.

CRT, University of Manchester and AstraZeneca work together to seek new cancer drugs CRT, University of Manchester and AstraZeneca work together to seek new cancer drugs

Cancer Research Technology, the commercial arm of Cancer Research UK, the University of Manchester and AstraZeneca today announced two agreements to seek new cancer drugs.

Osteoporosis drug stops growth of breast cancer cells, even in resistant tumors Osteoporosis drug stops growth of breast cancer cells, even in resistant tumors

A drug approved in Europe to treat osteoporosis has now been shown to stop the growth of breast cancer cells, even in cancers that have become resistant to current targeted therapies, according to a Duke Cancer Institute study.

Scientists uncover new details of natural anticancer mechanism Scientists uncover new details of natural anticancer mechanism

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have identified key triggers of an important cancer-blocking mechanism in cells.

New centre will decipher roles of nature and nurture in human health New centre will decipher roles of nature and nurture in human health

A national research facility has opened which will put the UK at the forefront of a revolution in health and medical research. The MRC-NIHR Phenome Centre will examine around one hundred thousand blood and urine samples every year. It will analyse phenomes – the biological results of people's genes and environment – to help determine the causes of disease and indicate how treatments can be tailored for individual patients.

New treatment will help GPs tackle sun damage that can lead to skin cancer New treatment will help GPs tackle sun damage that can lead to skin cancer

Picato (ingenol mebutate) gel is a topical treatment licensed for the cutaneous treatment of non-hyperkeratotic, non-hypertrophic actinic keratosis (AK) in adults, a type of skin damage caused by long-term sun, or UV exposure, that has the potential to progress to the non-melanoma skin cancer, squamous cell carcinoma (SCC).

£250k prize offered to encourage human toxicology breakthrough £250k prize offered to encourage human toxicology breakthrough

A GBP250k prize is being offered to encourage researchers to deliver a breakthrough in toxicology research that could ultimately lead to the replacement of animals used in product safety testing.

Retrogenix points to new drug target for malaria in children Retrogenix points to new drug target for malaria in children

UK biotechnology company Retrogenix announces that its unique human cell microarray technology played a pivotal role in determining the molecular interaction that triggers severe malaria in children. The discovery, reported this week in Nature, could lead to new therapies to combat a form of the disease that kills around one million children per year.

Cancer Research UK and CRT collaborate with Abcodia to discover and develop tests for early diagnosis of cancer Cancer Research UK and CRT collaborate with Abcodia to discover and develop tests for early diagnosis of cancer

Cancer Research UK and its commercial arm, Cancer Research Technology (CRT), have joined forces with Abcodia, the biomarker validation company with a focus on cancer screening, to develop new blood tests to detect a range of cancers when they are still at a very early stage.

MRC Technology highlights presentation of data for antibody candidate lambrolizumab developed using its humanization technology MRC Technology highlights presentation of data for antibody candidate lambrolizumab developed using its humanization technology

MRC Technology, a technology transfer organisation, announced today the presentation of positive data for lambrolizumab, initially advanced by MRC Technology’s antibody engineering group, at the American Society for Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago. The study is also published online in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Experts call for breast cancer trials aimed at younger patients Experts call for breast cancer trials aimed at younger patients

A lack of clinical trials aimed specifically at younger breast cancer patients could be partly to blame for their poorer survival rates, according to a major new Cancer Research UK study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.