 | The commonly quoted figure describing the number of Americans with atrial fibrillation is about 2.2 million. The current prevalence is now considerably larger than this and is set to continue growing. The condition is a risk factor for stroke and patients with atrial fibrillation tend to suffer more severely from strokes than the general population. |
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 | In 1999 Human Genome Sciences researchers published a study in the journal Science describing a new member of the TNF super-family which they named BLyS. Since that time our understanding of this protein, also known as BAFF, and its homologue APRIL has progressed rapidly. The BAFF sub-family has emerged as a candidate target for therapies of various autoimmune diseases and hematological cancers with breathtaking speed. |
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 | Affecting as many as 5% of the population, autoimmune disease represents a major clinical problem. Ranking alongside other major conditions such as type II diabetes, in terms of prevalence this group of diseases includes a large number of different conditions of varying prevalence, associated morbidity and disability, and available clinical options. Despite the fragmentation of this market it has proved lucrative for the drug development sector with the emergence of TNF blockers, therapeutics that have now been approved for multiple indications in this market. Global sales of TNF blockers now exceed $5 billion. |
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 | The field of histone deacetylase inhibitors is moving into a new phase of development. The exponential growth in the level of research activity surrounding the histone deacetylases (HDACs) witnessed over the past decade has now started to produce success in the clinic, particularly in the field of oncology. |
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 | The autoimmune diseases are receiving increasing attention in the pharmaceutical industry as progress is made in the understanding of immune and inflammatory processes. It is predicted that the annual value of the market for drugs used to treat autoimmune disease will exceed $20 billion in the next few years. Rheumatoid arthritis is one of the more common and difficult to treat autoimmune diseases and there is a great deal of interest in the discovery of novel drugs to treat this condition. |
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 | This report produced by LeadDiscovery in collaboration with head of Thoracic Medicine at the National Heart and Lung Institute, asthma field-leader and panelist for the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA), Professor Peter Barnes, focuses on the evaluation of emerging asthma therapeutics and provides a state of the art analysis of those drug discovery targets destined to underlie future therapeutics. |
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