Thursday November 26 2009 | Biotechnology feed | All feeds
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Thursday November 26 2009 | Biotechnology feed | All feeds
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Emerging Drug Discovery Targets "Emerging Drug Discovery Targets" provides a regular summary of some of the most exciting breaking information recently featured by the pharmaceutical analysts, LeadDiscovery. Information includes editorials on recently published journal articles, selected press releases and "intelligence reports". Our target audience includes business development personnel, senior management and researchers within the drug development sector as well as bioscience investors and analysts. Please feel free to pass this mail onto colleagues that may benefit from registration to Emerging Drug Discovery Targets. To register click here! In this weeks edition:
Berlex researchers develop lipoxin A4 (LXA4) mimics for the treatment of inflammation: Treatments for inflammatory diseases comprise a $20 billion market spanning diseases such as psoriasis, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and inflammatory bowel disease. Both the prostaglandins and the leukotrienes are involved in the initiation and maintenance of inflammatory responses however agents that center on these mediators have produced limited therapeutic efficacy in various inflammatory disease settings. Harnessing the properties of anti-inflammatory mediators such as lipoxin A4 (LXA4) may offer a better approach. Berlex researchers have exploited this concept, synthesizing ZK-994, a stable and potent LXA4 mimic...[more on these findings] ********************** IL-27 as an exciting new target for cancer immunotherapy: In 2002 nearly 1,285,000 new cancer cases were diagnosed in the United States, and due to the lack of options for the treatment of advanced disease more than 550,000 Americans died of the disease. Immunotherapy represents an emerging approach to the treatment of cancer that promises high specificity with negligible side effects. This approach to cancer treatment commonly involves the stimulation of T cells and antibody production and the use of cytokines has been extensively studied. IL-12 has been shown to be an effective immunotherapeutic cytokine, however severe adverse effects have limited its development. In contrast a recently identified member of the IL-12 family, IL-27 has been shown to prevent tumor progression and induce protective immunity without the adverse effects of IL-12...[more on these findings] ********************** Development of anti-CD154 monoclonal antibodies for the prevention of transplant rejection: The recent success of monoclonal antibody therapies such as Genentech's Rituxan and Johnson & Johnson's Remicade are driving further development of this field. MAb therapies brought in revenues of over $5.1 billion in 2003, a figure which should nearly triple over the next five years as new MAbs are launched and following the approval of new indications for MAbs already on the market. By 2008, MAbs should account for 32 percent of all revenue in the biotech market. One therapeutic antibody indication under investigation is that of graft rejection. First generation anti-CD154 monoclonal antibodies were found to effectively prevent transplant rejection however development was halted due to the rare occurrence of thromboembolic complications. Novartis researchers have recently demonstrated that these adverse events are related to the blockade of CD154 signaling and are not specific to first generation therapeutics. Further clarification of the mechanism behind these adverse will be necessary before the efficacy of molecules such as ABI793 can be exploited in the clinic...[more on these findings] ********************** Advances in the development of corticotropin-releasing-hormone (CRH) receptor agonists as candidate analgesics: It has been estimated that 9% of the US population suffers from moderate to severe non-cancer-related pain. Acute pain resulting from conditions such as headache, muscle spasms, dental problems or following surgery, affects 90 million Americans every year and the development of analgesics represents a major pharmaceutical objective. A recent study has demonstrated the analgesic activity of corticotropin-releasing-hormone (CRH) and has shown that this activity is probably due to activity within the central nervous system...[more on these findings] ********************** Fujisawa's FK-866 reduces the growth and vascularization of renal cell carcinomas and also tumor metastasic: Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is a niche cancer that accounts for 2-3% of all solid tumors in the major pharmaceutical markets. Approximately 30,000 patients are diagnosed with the disease each year in the US and 12,000 patients die of the disease annually. The market is currently dominated by the cytokines, but there is significant interest among physicians in the potential of anti-angiogenics, particularly so since renal cell carcinomas are known to be well vascularized. Researchers have now shown in a predictive model of human renal cell carcinoma that Fujisawa's FK-866 is able to reduce angiogenesis and growth of primary tumors. Metastatic progression is also reduced...[more on these findings] ********************** Developing therapeutic agents for the treatment of early (premature) ejaculation: Early ejaculation represents a major market, and indeed in 18-65 year olds it represents the predominant sexual dysfunction, affecting at least 20% of men. The global annual market for the treatment of early ejaculation has been estimated at $4 billion. However due to the absence of readily available therapeutics fewer than 10% of patients seek treatment for early ejaculation. Successful pharmaceutical development in this field may therefore reap immense rewards. Drug development has however been limited by non-standardization of methodologies. Field leaders have now evaluated past clinical studies in order to set down guidelines for improving future trials...[more on these findings] ********************** Selected new reports:
LeadDiscovery and BioPortfolio aims to provide reliable, insightful analysis on the biotechnology industry. However, this information is provided "as is" and no representations or warranties either express or implied of completeness, accuracy, or of any other nature are made with respect to this information. This information is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation to buy the securities of any company. This information contains forward-looking statements, which involve risks and uncertainties which may not be listed. The biotechnology industry is an emerging industry and the securities of the companies mentioned in this report have a very high degree of risk and volatility. For this reason, this information is supplied on the condition that the reader will make his or her own determination as to its suitability for any purpose prior to any use of this information. The employees and officers of LeadDiscovery and BioPortfolio may hold positions in some or all of the stocks discussed in this report. This abstract has been produced by LeadDiscovery Ltd. Founded by life scientists for life scientists we aim to help industry identify cutting edge drug discovery options and academic/biotech institutions maximize the potential of their research. Abstracts strictly reflect the opinion of LeadDiscovery's editorial panel. While all reasonable efforts are made to ensure the accuracy of information provided LeadDiscovery and the publisher BioPortfolio, takes no responsibility for incorrect or misleading information. LeadDiscovery is designed for educational and drug development purposes only and is not intended or designed to offer medical advice or advice of any sort, and must not be used for such purpose. The information provided through LeadDiscovery and BioPortfolio should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health problem or a disease and no reliance should be placed on any information contained in this abstract or elsewhere on LeadDiscovery's and BioPortfolio's website. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional care. If you have or suspect you may have a health problem, you should consult your physician or other health care provider.
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