Chemists have determined the correct structure of a highly promising anticancer compound approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for clinical trials in cancer patients. In the new study, scientists show that TIC10's structure differs subtly from a version published by another group last year, and that the previous structure associated with TIC10 in fact describes a molecule that lacks...
A method for activating biosynthetic silent gene clusters could aid in the discovery of new antibiotics, researchers report. The vast majority of anti-infectives on the market today are bacterial natural products, made by biosynthetic gene clusters. Genome sequencing of bacteria has revealed that these active gene clusters are outnumbered approximately ten times by so-called silent gene clusters. ...
Researchers have shown how the bacteria primarily responsible for causing strep throat can be used to fight colon cancer. By engineering a streptococcal bacterial toxin to attach itself to tumor cells, they are forcing the immune system to recognize and attack the cancer. The study found the engineered bacterial toxin could significantly reduce the size of human colon cancer tumors in mice, with a...
Novartis has scooped up the ex-U.S. rights to Ophthotech's Fovista--its late-stage therapy for wet age-related macular degeneration that hopes to one day rival heavyweight franchises controlled by Roche and Regeneron--in a package deal potentially worth more than $1 billion. ...
Despite soaring biotech valuations thanks to a then-boiling IPO market, Big Pharma wasn't shy about buyouts in the first quarter, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers, helping compensate for some fairly flat M&A activity among smaller drugmakers. ...
Scientists have discovered how insect pests resist cotton plants engineered to kill them. The findings will help scientists design more durable strategies for pest management. Based on laboratory experiments aimed at determining the molecular mechanisms involved, scientists knew that pink bollworm can evolve resistance against the Bt toxin, but they had to go to India to observe this happening in the...
The latest download of data on a pair of rival therapies for lethal cases of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis wowed researchers in the field, producing clear evidence of their ability to slow down the lung disease and offering patients a possible set of game-changing treatments. ...
Bristol-Myers Squibb has won its second breakthrough therapy designation from the FDA inside a week. Just days after getting the FDA's elite status for its closely-watched anti-PD-1 drug nivolumab, the agency has followed up with a nod for elotuzumab, an experimental multiple myeloma therapy partnered with AbbVie and now in Phase III. ...
Another drug developer for the animal health field is going public. Parnell Pharmaceuticals outlined plans to raise $57.5 million in an IPO designed to fuel its work on new therapies for family pets as well as production animals. ...
In the old days, back in April, the big news everyone was waiting for from Pfizer was whether it would go ahead and file for FDA approval of its star pipeline drug palbociclib on Phase II data alone. The answer, signaled by the rolling of the drums Friday as trading in Pfizer's shares was momentarily suspended, was yes. But as Pfizer had recently shifted the primary focus to its wholly unexpected...
Colorado recently passed a "right to try" bill that allows people to use an experimental drug when the company agrees to give it, without federal approval, according to a report from NBC News . And now other states are beginning to discuss similar legislation, as The Goldwater Institute presses for such laws from coast to coast. ...
Just months after inking a $246 million development deal with Baxter for a biosimilar of Enbrel, Redwood City, CA-based Coherus has rounded up a whopping $55 million C round, including cash from KKR. ...
A new protocol for collecting saliva and stool samples for genomic and transcriptomic analyses has been developed by scientists. This method eliminates the need for specialized personnel and facilities while keeping the sample intact. It also provides critical insight into the genetic makeup of the microbiome of the digestive tract and the bacteria associated with celiac disease, oral cancer, perodontitis...
Chinese scientists have successfully deciphered the genome sequence of another diploid cotton -- Gossypium arboreum. As one of the most important economic crops in the world, cotton also serves as an excellent model system for studying polyploidization, cell elongation and cell wall biosynthesis. However, breeders and geneticists have had little knowledge of the genetic mechanisms underlying the complex...
The gene egr-4 may play a key role in early brain regeneration in planarians —- a group of invertebrates used as models in the study of the genetics of development, research suggests. The planarian Schmidtea mediterranea are flatworms with bilateral symmetry used as models in the research on cell regeneration and stem cells. ...
It was long assumed that the joining of egg and sperm launched a dramatic change in how and which genes were expressed. Instead, new research shows that totipotency is a step-wise process, manifesting as early as in precursors to sperm, called adult germline stem cells (AGSCs), which reside in the testes. ...
Researchers have created an imaging system that reveals neural activity throughout the brains of living animals. This technique, the first that can generate 3-D movies of entire brains at the millisecond timescale, could help scientists discover how neuronal networks process sensory information and generate behavior. ...
Pfizer has upped its bid for AstraZeneca to £55 a share, or $117 billion, hitting the "magic number" that bankers close to these talks have said will force the reluctant U.K. pharma giant to the table. ...
A potential solution for how to more effectively kill tumor cells using cancer-killing viruses has been discovered by researchers. The investigators report that trapping virus-loaded stem cells in a gel and applying them to tumors significantly improved survival in mice with glioblastoma multiform, the most common brain tumor in human adults and also the most difficult to treat. ...
Microbes are not only a rich source of disease, but also a rich source of medicines, and experts think many life-saving compounds produced by as-yet-unnamed bacteria are awaiting discovery. But they don’t always give up their secrets easily. Researchers must know where to look to find promising bacteria, and how to get them to grow in the lab, the traditional route to identifying potentially valuable...