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Archive for August, 2008

TARGET DETECTIVE CONNECTS BIOLOGICAL TARGETS TO MOLECULES

Last Updated on Thursday, 28 August 2008 08:42 Written by admin Thursday, 28 August 2008 08:42

Tocris Bioscience (Bristol, UK) announced today the official launch of Target Detective, www.targetdetective.com, a new search facility that connects biological targets to research molecules.

Target Detective represents a significant development for pre-clinical researchers working in the Life Sciences field because for the first time scientists can connect receptor, enzyme, protein and gene data to Tocris products, through comprehensive ‘Target files’.

A Target File consists of a concise summary of the biological target, together with links to external sources of genetic and pharmacological information. Tocris products with activity at each target are listed here allowing rapid identification of the most relevant research tools.

To use Target Detective, start with any of the following biological search terms: Receptor (e.g. CB2), Enzyme (e.g. MEK), Protein (e.g. p53), Gene Name (Human, mouse and rat genes are currently searchable)

The ability to rapidly identify research tools for biological targets in this way is already proving to be extremely popular and at Tocris we are delighted with the response.  We will continue to add Target files and products and in the longer term we hope to make this the most useful resource for Life Science researchers on the internet.

Posted under BioInformatics, Europe, New Products, Press Releases  |  Comments Off

AstraZeneca, Singapore institutions sign innovative new partnership to develop anti-cancer compounds

Last Updated on Tuesday, 19 August 2008 03:19 Written by Fred Tuesday, 19 August 2008 03:19

Healthcare company AstraZeneca Plc (AZN: News, Chart, Quote ,AZN.L: News, Chart, Quote ) said Friday that it signed an innovative new partnership with the National Cancer Centre Singapore, or NCCS, and the National University Hospital, or NUH, for development of anti-cancer compounds. The collaboration is spelt out in a Memorandum of Understanding, or MOU.

As per the MOU, AstraZeneca and the Singapore institutions will enter into a collaborative agreement that spans both clinical and pre-clinical development activities.

AstraZeneca noted that the partnership also includes a Training Programme placement with the Manchester Cancer Research Centre, with whom AstraZeneca has a formal research alliance. Singapore Economic Development Board partly supports the training programme. The purpose of the training programme is to train a pool of clinical research professionals for both private-sector and public-sector research labs.

According to AstraZeneca, the partnership aims to further build its drug development capabilities in Asia and ultimately accelerate access to new medicines of potential benefit to patients with inoperable Hepatocellular Carcinoma, or HCC. HCC is a cancer that is particularly prevalent in Asia and accounts for approximately one million deaths annually worldwide.

Under the terms of the clinical development collaboration, NCCS and NUH can access AstraZeneca compounds that have already undergone initial clinical testing in the West.

The institutions have already identified AstraZeneca’s two compounds for clinical screening in inoperable HCC during 2008 and 2009. The company stated that more compounds would be made available at a rate of one per year, for the duration of the partnership, which exists until 2012.

For both clinical and pre-clinical activities, AstraZeneca maintained the alternative to presume further development and marketing of all drugs made available as part of the partnership deal.

AZN closed Thursday’s regular trade at $49.04, up $0.34, on a volume of 1.2 million shares.

Posted under Asia, Asia, Cancer Research, Collaborations, Press Releases  |  Comments Off

Pharma Invests Big in Stem Cells

Last Updated on Wednesday, 6 August 2008 01:33 Written by Fred Wednesday, 6 August 2008 01:33

GSK gives the Harvard Stem Cell Institute $25 million.

Today, the pharma company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced a five-year, $25-million-plus collaborative agreement with the Harvard Stem Cell Institute to develop new methods for screening drugs with stem cells.

“GSK believes stem cell science has great potential to aid the discovery of new medicines by improving the screening, identification, and development of new compounds,” said Patrick Vallance, head of drug discovery at GSK, in a statement released by the company.

Big Pharma has mostly shied away from investing in stem-cell research. But drug screening, which some scientists say is likely to be one of the biggest near-term benefits of stem cells, is a growing area of interest.

Because stem cells can be differentiated into any type of cell in the body, they present an ideal source for screening. For example, scientists can determine how a candidate heart-disease drug affects heart cells and also look for potential side effects in liver or other cell types.

The time appears ripe for investing, because scientists can now use new reprogramming techniques to develop stem cells from patients with specific diseases. (While no one has yet reported this, word among stem-cell researchers is that it has been done.) That means they can make nerve cells from stem cells derived from an Alzheimer’s patient and then examine how candidate Alzheimer’s drugs affect the diseased cells.

Posted under Business and Investment, Collaborations, Drug Development, Press Releases  |  Comments Off