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Positive agreement received for approval of AXANUM (low-dose ASA/esomeprazole) in Europe

Last Updated on Tuesday, 2 August 2011 01:50 Written by admin Tuesday, 2 August 2011 01:50

AstraZeneca today announced that AXANUM, a fixed dose combination of 81 mg low-dose ASA (acetylsalicylic acid) and 20 mg esomeprazole, has received positive agreement for approval in 23 European Union member countries and in Norway. AXANUM is indicated for prevention of cardiovascular (CV) events such as heart attack or stroke, in high-risk CV patients in need of daily low-dose ASA treatment and who are at risk of gastric ulcers.

Low-dose ASA (commonly known as aspirin) is recommended mainstay therapy for patients with high-risk for cardiovascular events. About one third of these patients are also at increased risk of stomach ulcer. Low-dose ASA further increases the risk for gastric ulcers and gastrointestinal bleeding. In fact, the most common reason for stopping low-dose ASA treatment is upper gastrointestinal problems. The consequences of interrupting low-dose ASA treatment can be severe, increasing the risk of a heart attack or stroke as early as eight to 10 days later.

AXANUM is the only medicine that ensures every single pill of low-dose ASA comes with built-in protection against gastric ulcers. That means AXANUM has the potential to provide continuous CV protection in this patient population.

The EU decision took place under the decentralised procedure (DCP), with Germany acting as reference member state. This process is now followed by national approvals and local pricing and reimbursement discussions.

Tony Zook, Executive Vice President of AstraZeneca’s Global Commercial Organisation said: “AstraZeneca has had some significant regulatory approvals this year, and we’re pleased with this positive agreement for AXANUM in Europe. We will now work with relevant health authorities to secure reimbursement decisions and get onto formularies to bring this medicine to patients as soon as possible.”

Source: http://www.europeanpharmaceuticalreview.com/8417/news/industry-news/positive-agreement-received-for-approval-of-axanum-low-dose-asaesomeprazole-in-europe/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=EPR+-+Newsletter+16+2011&utm_content=EPR+-+Newsletter+16+2011+CID_0d42f174df14efdb3a6804bfbf1f416a&utm_source=Email+marketing&utm_term=Positive+agreement+received+for+approval+of+AXANUM+low-dose+ASAesomeprazole+in+Europe

Posted under Drug Development, Europe, Europe, Medicinal Chemistry, New Drugs, New Products, R & D  |  Comments Off

Protein ‘helps predict Alzheimer’s risk’

Last Updated on Thursday, 23 June 2011 12:53 Written by admin Thursday, 23 June 2011 12:53

A protein in spinal fluid could be used to predict the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, according to German researchers.

Patients with high levels of the chemical – soluble amyloid precursor protein beta – were more likely to develop the disease, they found.

Doctors said in the journal Neurology this was more precise than other tests.

Alzheimer’s Research UK said early diagnosis was a key goal, and the study represented a potential new lead.

Doctors analysed samples of spinal fluid from 58 patients with mild cognitive impairment, a memory-loss condition which can lead to Alzheimer’s.

The patients were followed for three years. Around a third developed Alzheimer’s.

Those who developed the illness had, on average, 1,200 nanograms/ml of the protein in the spinal fluid at the start of the study.

Those who did not started with just 932 nanograms/ml.

Beta amyloid proteins have already been implicated in Alzheimer’s itself, but not as a “predictor” of the disease.

The researchers said that a combination of soluble amyloid precursor protein beta, defective tau proteins, which are involved in the structure of brain cells, and a patient’s age was 80% accurate in predicting the onset of the disease.

Early diagnosis crucial

There is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease. If a treatment is developed, it is thought that it would need to be delivered early, before any permanent damage was done.

Dr Robert Perneczky, from the Technical University Munich, said: “Being able to identify who will develop Alzheimer’s disease very early in the process will be crucial in the future.

“Once we have treatments that could prevent Alzheimer’s disease, we could begin to treat very early and hopefully prevent the loss of memory and thinking skills that occurs with this devastating disease.”

More than 800,000 people have dementia in the UK, and that figure is expected to rise as populations get older.

Rebecca Wood, chief executive of Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “The ability to diagnose Alzheimer’s early is a key goal for doctors and researchers. This small study provides a potential new lead to follow up.

“We will need to see larger trials before we can know how accurate this method could be as a diagnostic test. It will also be important to see how measurements of these proteins compare to those found in healthy people.”

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-13875984

Posted under Alzheimer's disease, Discoveries, Innovations and Patents, Europe, Europe, Medicinal Chemistry, R & D, Reports  |  Comments Off

Swine flu concerns in jails

Last Updated on Friday, 20 May 2011 02:03 Written by admin Friday, 20 May 2011 02:03

In a confined space, a contagious illness like the swine flu (H1N1) could spread quickly.  It’s a problem health officials inside jails are thinking about as cases of swine flu fluctuate.  Many have come up with a health plan, but in Ireland their plan is raising eyebrows.

In Ireland, swine flu cases are increasing rapidly which is forcing every organization to make a long term plan.  If there was an outbreak of the swine flu in a prison staff may be quarantined with inmates.

An Irish Prison Service spokesman said, “At a corporate level, we are acutely aware of the possible adverse impact of a swine flu outbreak at a prison level and we are considering the necessary steps which may have to be considered in the event that significant numbers of cases occur within the prison system, either involving staff or prisoners.”

The Irish Prison Service has secured medical supplies and has contracted with community pharmacists to access Tamiflu if needed.  Tamiflu is often prescribed to help kick the symptoms brought on by the flu, including fever, aches and stomach pain.

It’s one of several plans being looked at to safeguard the country’s 4,000+ inmates and staff.

The plans come on the heels of an inmate dying from an alleged case of swine flu.  John O’Connor, 52, was being held at the Cloverhill Prison when he died.  His family believes his medical care was not handled properly.  They specifically want to know why he was not given Tamiflu to fight the illness.

Swine Flu Background
The World Health Organization says this strain of flu sparked the century’s first influenza pandemic in 2009.  Now it’s considered to be in the post pandemic phase, meaning the number of illnesses is scaling back.  The pandemic meant mass amounts of vaccine had to be shipped around the world.  It was the first time the world faced such a pandemic in more than 40 years.

Source: http://www.accessrx.com/blog/current-health-news/swine-flu-jails-l0509

Posted under Europe, Europe, Swine Flu Research  |  Comments Off

Fragment Library

Last Updated on Monday, 20 December 2010 02:59 Written by Editor Monday, 20 December 2010 02:59

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. announced that its Maybridge Ro3 Diversity Fragment Library has helped researchers validate an emerging technique for drug discovery that targets key protein receptors involved in a wide range of biological functions.

David Myszka, founder of Biosensor Tools LLC and director of the Center for Biomolecular Interaction Analysis at the University of Utah, used surface plasmon resonance (SPR) to screen small molecules (fragments) in the Maybridge Ro3 collection against stabilised G-Protein Coupled Receptors (GPCRs) provided by Heptares Therapeutics1. Several new classes of compounds were identified from the Ro3 library, which is accelerating drug discovery efforts around these receptors

Dr. Myszka’s study demonstrated for the first time that fragment screening by SPR is an effective approach. It utilises the sensor surface to purify and concentrate solubilised tagged GPCRs and then characterise their binding activities with the fragments. Dr. Myszka and Rebecca Rich, a research scientist in Dr. Myszka’s group, recently presented their work, “Fragment Screening against Membrane Receptors using SPR,” at the Fragment-Based Lead Discovery Conference in Philadelphia and at the Developments in Protein Interaction Analysis symposium in Barcelona, Spain.

“While fragment screening by SPR has become standard practice, this is the first example of a successful SPR-based fragment screen against GPCRs,” said Dr. Myszka. “One major factor contributing to our success was the integrity of the Maybridge Ro3 Fragments. The library was well-behaved in terms of high solubility and displayed minimal nonspecific binding or so-called promiscuous binders. In addition, the structural diversity within this library allowed us to span a lot of chemical space, helping us to identify subsets of novel compounds that targeted two GPCRs. From the primary screen we identified thematic structural elements in the hits and then selected analogs from within the full Maybridge collection to investigate as confirmatory hits. With these follow-up studies in hand, we are now poised to pursue the next stage in elaborating compounds for drug development.”

“The guaranteed aqueous solubility of Maybridge Ro3 Fragments is not only key from a practical perspective, but it also provides an insight into likely ADME problems as the hits are evolved into drug-like molecules,” said Simon Pearce, product manager for Maybridge products at Thermo Fisher Scientific. “Furthermore, pharmacophoric enrichment and quality assurance of at least 95 percent, with full Rule of Three (Ro3) compliance, meant that all fragments used for the study possessed physicochemical properties that also increased the probability of successful hits.”

Thermo Fisher Scientific and Dr. Myszka are continuing their collaboration as the study now expands to drug development using additional Maybridge Ro3 Fragments.

Source: Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc and DDDMag.com

Posted under Compound Libraries, Compound Screening, Diversity Libraries, Drug Development, Europe, Europe, North America, Press Releases, USA and Canada  |  Comments Off

Could Starfish Inspire New Cure for Inflammation?

Last Updated on Monday, 13 December 2010 05:25 Written by Editor Monday, 13 December 2010 05:25

Lurking in the seas of Scotland is an unlikely candidate for a medical breakthrough.

But scientists believe the starfish could hold the key to finding a new treatment for inflammatory conditions such as asthma, hay fever and arthritis.

The species they are interested in is the spiny starfish (Marthasterias glacialis), and in particular the slimy goo that covers its body.

The team says that chemicals in this coating could inspire new medicines.
Diver with starfish The spiny starfish can be found on the west coast of Scotland

While most man-made structures that are placed in the water rapidly get caked with a mixture of marine life, starfish manage to keep their surface clear.

Dr Charlie Bavington, from GlycoMar, a marine biotechnology company based at the Scottish Association for Marine Science in Oban, explained: “Starfish live in the sea, and are bathed in a solution of bacteria, larvae, viruses and all sorts of things that are looking for somewhere to live.

“But starfish are better than Teflon: they have a very efficient anti-fouling surface that prevents things from sticking.”

And it is this non-stick property that has grabbed medical scientists’ attention, particularly in the field of inflammation.

Inflammation is the body’s natural response to an injury or infection, but inflammatory conditions are caused when the immune system begins to rage out of control.

White blood cells, which normally flow easily through our blood vessels, begin to build up and stick to the blood vessel wall, and this can cause tissue damage.

The idea is that a treatment based on starfish slime could effectively coat our blood vessels in the same way the goo covers the marine creature, and prevent this problem.

Dr Bavington said: “It is a very similar situation to something sticking to a starfish in the sea.

“These cells have to stick from a flowing medium to a blood vessel wall, so we thought we could learn something from how starfish prevent this so we could find a way to prevent this in humans.”

While many inflammatory conditions can be effectively treated, for example with steroids, these drugs can often cause unwanted side effects.
Continue reading the main story

But scientists at King’s College London (KCL) think starfish could offer a better solution, and they have been analysing the chemicals in the creature’s non-stick slime.

Clive Page, professor of pharmacology at KCL, said: “The starfish have effectively done a lot of the hard work for us.

“Normally when you are trying to find a new drug to go after a particular target in human beings, you have to screen hundreds of molecules to find something that will give you a lead.

“The starfish is effectively providing us with something that is giving is different leads: it has had billions of years in evolution to come up with molecules that do specific things.”

Having identified promising compounds, the team is now working on creating their own versions of them in the laboratory. They want to create a treatment that is inspired by starfish goo rather than one that is made from it.

Professor Page said: “Conceptually we know this is the right approach.

“It’s not going to happen tomorrow afternoon, but we are learning all the time from nature about how to find new medicines.”

While the starfish-based cure might be some years off, the race to explore the oceans for its medical potential is only just beginning.
Spiny starfish Starfish could be one of many marine creatures to inspire new medicines

A sea snail has already formed the basis of a new painkiller, and scientists are starting to look at a whole range of marine life, from sea cucumbers to seaweed.

Dr David Hughes, an ecologist from the Scottish Association for Marine Science, explained: “Some of the most widespread, widely used medicines come from nature.

“Penicillin is a mould that grows on bread, aspirin comes from willow trees, so it’s not too surprising turning to nature to find useful drugs. But we’ve only very recently begun to look to the sea for a useful source of medicines.”

And with the oceans covering nearly three quarters of the Earth’s surface, scientists have likened the deep to an untapped underwater pharmacy.

Dr Hughes told the BBC: “There is such a huge diversity of animals and plants living in the oceans and very few of them have been tested and investigated in any way.

“We know marine animals and plants produce a huge range of compounds, sometimes very different compounds from those produced by animals and plants on land.

“So many might have useful properties that could be brought into medicine and other medicinal applications.”

Source: BBC.com

Posted under Antibiotics, Discoveries, Innovations and Patents, Drug Development, Europe, Europe, New Drugs  |  Comments Off

Biochrom’s new Anthos Instant Microplate Solution (AIMS)

Last Updated on Wednesday, 11 November 2009 03:26 Written by admin Wednesday, 11 November 2009 03:26


If you have a new project a new job or a new lab you can stretch your budget further with Biochrom’s new Anthos Instant Microplate Solution (AIMS). This package has all the microplate instrumentation you need at a great price.

AIMS is ideal for laboratories that handle a large number of ELISA or other absorbance based assays and that need the flexibility for future applications.

“Top of the range” Anthos microplate instrumentation and software:

* Zenyth 200 monochromator Microplate Reader with built-in cuvette UV/Vis spectrophotometer.
* Fluido 2 four channel microplate washer.
* Free PC analysis software.
* Free laser printer.

Anthos instruments are CE marked and made under our rigorous quality system. Building on Anthos’s 25 years experience in microplate instrumentation, AIMS represents new thinking for the next generation providing total flexibility for microplate absorbance applications. Get more from your budget with Biochrom.
Find out more see www.biochrom.co.uk/aims

Posted under Europe, New Products  |  Comments Off

Horizon Discovery signs screening agreement with SuperGen Inc.

Last Updated on Friday, 21 August 2009 01:04 Written by Editor Friday, 21 August 2009 01:04

Horizon Discovery today announced it has signed a commercial agreement with US Pharmaceutical company SuperGen, Inc., relating to its X-MAN technology.

Horizon’s X-MAN (Mutant And Normal) cell-line technology provides the first genetically-defined and patient-relevant in vitro models of human cancer. These models are being used by a growing number of Pharma and Biotech companies to rationalize key steps of the ‘targeted’ drug development process, and thus accelerate and economize the burgeoning field of ‘personalised’ medicine.

The agreement covers the screening of a number of lead compounds on a wide panel of human isogenic cell-lines comprising target genotypes of interest to SuperGen. The approach may enable SuperGen to gather information relating to the selectivity and mode-of-action of their compounds using model in-vitro systems.

“Dr Darrin M Disley, Commercial Director and Chairman of Horizon says “working with SuperGen is an exciting development for Horizon. In this expandable agreement, we hope to further prove the potential of our human X-MAN models in a screening environment; thus facilitating a long and productive relationship with SuperGen.”

SuperGen will pay Horizon undisclosed fees during the term of the agreement. Work between the parties will begin in July 2009.

About Horizon Discovery

Horizon Discovery is a translational genomics company founded in June 2007 and is headquartered at the Babraham Research Campus, Cambridge, UK and with additional research laboratories in Torino, Italy. Horizon’s goal is to convert new information on the genetic causes of cancer into laboratory models that will facilitate the discovery of drugs that target these defects. Central to this aim is Horizon Discovery’s offering of X-MAN cell-lines, which represent accurate models of defined cancer patient populations and their matched normal genetic backgrounds – a missing link in the rational and efficient development of novel targeted anti-cancer agents.

Source: Cambridge Network

Posted under Business and Investment, Cancer Research, Compound Screening, Europe, Europe, Events, Industry News, Press Releases, USA and Canada  |  Comments Off

3rd International Symposium on Advances in Synthetic and Medicinal Chemistry

Last Updated on Sunday, 10 May 2009 10:19 Written by admin Sunday, 10 May 2009 10:19

Kiev, Ukraine, August 23 – 27, 2009

ASMC09 in Kiev is being prepared by EFMC (European Federation for Medicinal Chemistry) and ChemBridge Corporation, in the series of events which started with ASCMC04 Moscow followed by ASMC07 St. Petersburg.

Prof. Erick Carreira, ETH Zurich, Switzerland and Dr Scott Biller, Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Cambridge, USA, have kindly accepted to be the Chairmen of the Symposium.

The scientific program of the International Symposium on Advances in Synthetic and Medicinal Chemistry will include:

* 28 invited plenary lectures, presented by highly recognized scientists from academia and the pharmaceutical and biotech industry from Europe, USA and former USSR countries.
* 10 short oral communications which will be selected from submitted abstracts
* poster sessions

The scientific program will be complemented by an attractive cultural program in Kiev.

The topics to be covered during this symposium include:

* New Synthetic Methodologies, Total Synthesis of Natural Products and Heterocyclic Chemistry
* Diversity- and Target-Oriented Synthesis and Chemical Biology
* Medicinal Chemistry and Drug Discovery & Development

The program will also include a commercial exhibition and a half-day Business Mini-Symposium “Small Molecule Screening Libraries in Drug Discovery: Experience and Trends”.

The official language of the symposium is English.

http://www.ldorganisation.com

Posted under Compound Libraries, Diversity Libraries, Europe, Europe, Heterocyclic Chemistry, Medicinal Chemistry, Press Releases  |  Comments Off

Drug Discovery and Selection – 45e RICT – Orleans, France, July 1-3, 2009

Last Updated on Sunday, 10 May 2009 09:34 Written by admin Sunday, 10 May 2009 09:34

The upcoming edition of the RICT, the annual symposium of the Société de Chimie Thérapeutique (SCT), will be held in Orléans (France). This prestigious International Conference on Medicinal Chemistry will be organized by the University of Orléans and the Institute of Organic and Analytical Chemistry (ICOA).

Aim of the Symposium
The major change which has occurred in drug discovery during the two last decades has clearly been the tremendous increase in data availability. Years ago, the medicinal chemist relied on very limited information on his compounds provided mainly by pharmacologists. Today, he is in danger of being overwhelmed by the flood of data generated by High Throughput technologies of all kinds, structural and physico-chemical, in vitro and in vivo pharmacology or pharmacokinetics. Even if computer-aided data management is of great assistance during the multiparameter optimization process that will allow going from a hit to a drug candidate, drug design remains an art. More than ever, the training of a medicinal chemist is based on experience and requires multiple confrontations with trial and error. In this regard, while SAR “structure-activity relations” remain specific for a pharmacological target (or family of targets), SPR “structure-properties relations”, such as solubility, permeability, plasma protein binding, metabolism, toxicophores… are generic and can be extrapolated from one series to another. Thus, sharing experiences on SAR and SPR at a precompetitive stage should eventually decrease attrition rates at both clinical and preclinical levels. It is the goal of these 45th RICT in Orleans which, like the 43rd RICT in Lille in 2007, will have as theme “Drug Discovery and Selection”, with a particular spotlight on imaging, to provide a stimulating forum for these exchanges.

More information
To find out more about the topics of the conference, we kindly invite you to visit the symposium website http://www.LDOrganisation.com

Posted under Europe, Europe, Press Releases  |  Comments Off

KINAXO’s Cellular Target Profiling® reveals mTOR as a new target of Celebrex

Last Updated on Sunday, 10 May 2009 08:46 Written by admin Sunday, 10 May 2009 08:46

Martinsried, Germany, April 29, 2009 / b3c newswire / - Kinaxo Biotechnologies GmbH has successfully applied its Cellular Target Profiling® technology to identify the protein kinase mTOR as a new cellular target of celecoxib (Celebrex®, Pfizer). Celecoxib is a non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory Cox-2 inhibitor approved for the treatment of osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and acute pain. In addition, celecoxib’s anti-proliferative effect has earned it a place in numerous clinical trials against several malignancies.

The discovery that celecoxib targets mTOR contributes to a better understanding of the drug’s mode of action and efficacy in cancer patients. mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) acts as a central regulator of cell proliferation, cell survival, angiogenesis and cell metabolism. Moreover, mTOR is a key intracellular convergence point for a number of signaling pathways that are abnormally activated in many types of cancer.

As traditional drug development approaches become more and more expensive, drug repositioning has been widely recognized as an opportunity to expand a drug’s therapeutical applications. Here, Cellular Target Profiling® provides a powerful approach to revealing new targets that indicate additional or alternative medical uses for clinically validated or approved drugs. Further information on celecoxib reprofiling (AN3) and similar studies with other small molecules (e.g. profiling of the natural product geldanamycin, AN2) can be downloaded from our website at www.kinaxo.com.

Link to the news release
http://www.b3cnewswire.com/popup.php?id=149

About KINAXO
Kinaxo Biotechnologies GmbH is a privately-held biotechnology company based in Munich/Martinsried, Germany. We offer advanced chemical proteomics and phosphoproteomics services to support lead compound selection, target deconvolution, drug reprofiling, and off-target toxicity assessment. Kinaxo has several ongoing collaborations, including with Boehringer Ingelheim, Johnson & Johnson and Takeda.

Posted under Cancer Research, Drug Development, Europe, Medicinal Chemistry, Press Releases, Proteomics, Targeted Libraries  |  Comments Off

Salk Forms Stem Cell Partnership With Sanofi-Aventis

Last Updated on Friday, 27 March 2009 09:35 Written by admin Friday, 27 March 2009 09:35

The Salk Institute says it has formed a new stem cell research partnership with Sanofi-Aventis, the international pharmaceutical giant based in Paris. Financial terms of the five-year alliance were not disclosed, and some details of the deal remain to be worked out, Salk spokesman Mauricio Minotta told me this afternoon.

The Sanofi-Aventis regenerative medicine program will sponsor grants in promising research areas, and is intended to provide long-term, multi-participant collaborations between scientists at San Diego-based Salk and Sanofi-Aventis. “It’s meant to be a true collaboration, it’s not just funding,” says Michael White, who oversees the institute’s office of technology management and development. Sanofi-Aventis has about 16,000 employees in the United States, mostly at its U.S. headquarters in Bridgewater, NJ, and about 100,000 employees worldwide.

The program also will provide unrestricted support for the Salk Institute’s stem cell facility, which was created as a separate laboratory supported by private funding during the years the Bush Administration had placed restrictions on federal stem cell funding.

In a statement, Salk president William Brody says there are no preconditions concerning the collaborative alliance. “Our scientists will continue to freely explore cutting-edge research and publish their work,” Brody says. (That’s important to academic freedom, because companies have been known to try to squelch research findings if they don’t support the company’s marketing message.) Under this deal, Salk will also gain access to “extensive resources” at Sanofi-Aventis, which includes a large-scale facility in Tucson, AZ, for screening compounds with potential to be new drugs.

“That’s something that’s very attractive to us, to be able to screen our targets with their drugs,”White says.

Such industry collaborations could be a sign of the times. In January, San Diego’s Burnham Institute for Medical Research announced a multi-year agreement with Johnson & Johnson’s Pharmaceutical Research and Development unit.

Source: xconomy.com

Posted under Collaborations, Compound Libraries, Compound Screening, Europe, North America, Press Releases  |  Comments Off

Thermo Fisher Scientific Accelerates Drug Discovery Process With New Maybridge Quick2Leadâ„¢ Compound Kits

Last Updated on Friday, 27 March 2009 09:32 Written by admin Friday, 27 March 2009 09:32

Thermo Fisher Scientific, the world leader in serving science, announced recently that it has introduced a novel tool to accelerate hit-to-lead programmes in the drug discovery process. Its Maybridge Quick2Leadâ„¢ Compound Kits are designed to save time and money by enabling rapid compound library synthesis around bioactive “hits” emerging from screening assays. The kits are made up of pre-weighed, diverse building block selections, facilitating rapid capture of structure-activity (SAR) data from the closely related structural analogues within the library.

Quick2Lead Compound Kits are available as five functionality-based kits, with each one containing 48 carefully selected compounds. This enables the exploration of a wide area of chemical space to maximise credible SAR data acquisition for the successful conversion of an initial hit into a genuine, optimisable lead. Since these compounds are all pre-weighed, the kits are ready to use by simply adding solvent and transferring straight to a synthesiser.

The five functional groups available include: carboxylic acids, sulfonyl chlorides, amines, anilines and boronic acids. Each of these different functional groups is applicable to a wide range of tried and trusted parallel synthesis methodologies. Furthermore, although each kit taps into the hugely diverse Maybridge collection, they all include compounds from the top levels of the relevant Topliss Tree, thereby ensuring quality and rigour in interaction testing.

Each of the pre-selected compounds is supplied as 0.1mMol in a 5mL vial. This saves time and money at several levels — minimising stock, avoiding disposal and reducing storage footprint. The pre-selection process also avoids the “dead time” that can be experienced whilst waiting for multiple building blocks from internal and external sources. Maybridge Quick2Lead Kits arrive as a complete library, delivered rapidly ex-stock.

“Our aim with the Maybridge product range is to help shorten the discovery process, from screening to scale-up, and the introduction of our Quick2Lead Compound Kits is the latest addition to our broad product portfolio of pharmacophorically relevant compounds and services,” said Dr. Mick Durrant, Director of Business Development for Maybridge products at Thermo Fisher Scientific. “We recognise that identifying, sourcing and weighing building blocks to feed the library production process around an initial hit can be time consuming and expensive. Our new Quick2Lead Kits offer a novel approach to drive these costs down by providing pre-weighed, diverse building block selections which are simply ready-to-go.”

About Maybridge
Maybridge, part of Thermo Fisher Scientific, is well known for providing highly innovative drug-like molecules and screening compounds for drug discovery and development. With products available for both lab and development scale, they specialise in producing new heterocyclic and phenyl ring-based chemical building blocks, including a unique and expanding range of reactive intermediates.

About Thermo Fisher Scientific
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is the world leader in serving science, enabling our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. With annual revenues of $10.5B, we have more than 34,000 employees and serve over 350,000 customers within pharmaceutical and biotech companies, hospitals and clinical diagnostic labs, universities, research institutions and government agencies, as well as environmental and industrial process control settings. Serving customers through two premier brands, Thermo Scientific and Fisher Scientific, we help solve analytical challenges from routine testing to complex research and discovery. Thermo Scientific offers customers a complete range of high-end analytical instruments as well as laboratory equipment, software, services, consumables and reagents to enable integrated laboratory workflow solutions. Fisher Scientific provides a complete portfolio of laboratory equipment, chemicals, supplies and services used in healthcare, scientific research, safety and education. Together, we offer the most convenient purchasing options to customers and continuously advance our technologies to accelerate the pace of scientific discovery, enhance value for customers and fuel growth for shareholders and employees alike.

SOURCE: Thermo Scientific Brand Products, Part of Thermo Fisher

Posted under Compound Libraries, Diversity Libraries, Drug-Like Compounds, Europe, New Products, Press Releases  |  Comments Off

The French Institute I-Stem Realizes First Innovative Screens Using Stem Cells to Identify Drugs for Myotonic Dystrophy

Last Updated on Friday, 20 March 2009 05:02 Written by Editor Friday, 20 March 2009 05:02

EVRY, France, March 19 /PRNewswire/ –     Four research teams of I-STEM[*] have joined forces in a collaborative project that has just achieved a first pilot therapy-oriented screen of compounds and RNA interference aiming at reversing the altered phenotypes observed in human embryonic stem cells carrying the mutant gene for myotonic dystrophy type1. This assay inaugurates a series of R&D planned in 2009.Human embryonic stem (hES) cells lines carrying the mutant gene responsible for diseases may replicate associated molecular defects associated and be used, therefore, to analyse pathological mechanisms and search for treatments. I-STEM teams have shown that hES cell lines carrying the mutant gene responsible for myotonic dystrophy type1 (DM1) -the most frequent myopathy in adult- present known cellular and molecular abnormalities. hES capacity of self-renewal and pluripotency provides an unlimited and highly versatile cell resource, relevant for large-scale analyses. In order to exploit fully these potentials of hES cell lines within the framework of its exploration of therapeutics for monogenic diseases, I-STEM has set up a screening department through a close partnership with the companies Velocity11, Discngine and Prestwick Chemical. I-STEM has installed at its site, in Evry-Genopole, a powerful automation platform using the innovative Velocity11 BioCel1800(R) technology, coupled to a specific data management system designed by Discngine. The Conseil Régional d’Ile-de-France and the Association Française contre les Myopathies (thanks to the French Telethon donations) co-funded this platform[**]. The investments to build  this facility assays have been developed in order to screen the “FDA  approved” Prestwick Chemical library and a subset of the in house designed  siRNA (small interferent RNA) library.

Using this screening platform, the I-STEM teams have looked for compounds and siRNA that would provoke the disruption of abnormal aggregation seen in the nucleus of human embryonic stem cells carrying the DM1 mutation. Several of the 1120 compounds and 50 siRNA assayed were identified as candidates.

I–STEM intends to perform five to ten similar screening campaigns per year on other genetic diseases, using its library of human stem cell lines carrying genetic mutations[***].

About I-STEM

The Institute for Stem Cells in the Treatment and Study of Monogenic Diseases- is a laboratory which has set out to explore the therapeutic potential of stem cells in the treatment of rare genetic diseases. Headed by Marc Peschanski (an INSERM Research Director), I-STEM was in early 2005, the first lab in France to be allowed to work on (imported) human embryonic stem cell lines. Then, in June 2006, it was authorized by the French Agency for Biomedicine to set up a library of mutated cell lines that can serve as models in the study of monogenic diseases. For more information: http://www.istem.eu

Posted under Collaborations, Compound Screening, Europe, Press Releases, RNA Reasearch, Stem Cell Research  |  Comments Off

Flavor/Fragrance Ingredients in the Works

Last Updated on Tuesday, 10 March 2009 12:21 Written by Editor Tuesday, 10 March 2009 12:21

DORTMUND, Germany and MILAN—The joint research efforts of InterMed Discovery (IMD) and Axxam SpA have resulted in a technology platform that offers screening solutions and the discovery of natural bioactive compounds valuable to companies in the food, beverages, flavor and fragrance industries.

Based on that success, the companies signed a second joint research agreement that will focus on discovery and validation of flavor/fragrance functional ingredients, which will then be offered to food, beverages, flavor and fragrance companies. The proprietary compounds will have clearly defined activity profiles and naturally derived chemical properties.

“This cooperation is a direct response to what we see as growing market needs,” said Dr. Thomas Henkel, managing director of InterMed Discovery. “Our innovative approach to developing natural functional ingredients together with Axxam caters perfectly to the increasing market demand for turnkey solutions.”

Posted under Europe, Europe, Events, New Products, North America, Press Releases, Research Projects, USA and Canada  |  Comments Off

Prous Institute Presents Innovative Approach to Drug Discovery

Last Updated on Tuesday, 3 March 2009 03:44 Written by Editor Tuesday, 3 March 2009 03:44

BARCELONA, February 26 /PRNewswire/ — Prous Institute for Biomedical Research today presented its strategies for drug discovery on its newly designed website (http://www.prousresearch.com). A large computational project with basic research support and broad disease coverage is being developed at Prous Institute under the broad-based Epistemic Drug Discovery(R) project.

President and C.E.O. of the Institute, Dr. J.R. Prous, explained that “We are committed to accelerating biomedical knowledge by the synchronization of powerful expert knowledge-based systems and basic research. This next-generation drug R&D force is expected to increase the efficiency and efficacy of core drug R&D processes, facilitating continuous innovation.”

Two main drug discovery programs are being developed at the Institute. One is focused on the design, synthesis and biological evaluation of new small-molecule modulators of autophagy as therapeutic agents for cancer and neurodegeneration (Alzheimer’s disease and Huntington’s disease). Another program looks at target-driven drug discovery from natural sources, covering type 2 diabetes, psychological stress and asthma. The Institute’s computational tools enable the in silico screening of thousands of natural products in a rapid, reliable and cost-effective manner, as well as the discovery of new targets and new uses for existing drugs.

J.R. Prous commented “our approach is bringing us closer to drug discovery, and the Institute expects to have several compounds in preclinical evaluation by the end of this year (2009).”

Posted under Drug Development, Europe, Europe, Events, News by Region, News by Subject, North America, Press Releases  |  Comments Off

International Symposium Stem Cell Transplantation in Multiple Sclerosis: Sharing the Experience in Moscow, Russia on the 5th of October, 2009

Last Updated on Friday, 23 January 2009 11:35 Written by admin Friday, 23 January 2009 11:34

The Symposium is focused on the new modality of multiple sclerosis treatment– immunosuppressive therapy followed by autologous stem cell transplantation. Centers in Europe, North and South America, Russia, China, Israel and Australia have successfully performed this procedure, and, to date, more than 600 stem cell transplantations in multiple sclerosis have been performed worldwide.

Along with promising results there are a number of unclear and challenging issues that are worth studying.

The Symposium intends to share the newly acquired knowledge in the field, to discuss the challenges and perspectives of the method, and to develop collaborative projects. The topics to be covered within the symposium include:

  • Regimens of conditioning: Immunoablation or immunosupression?
  • Types of transplantation: autologous or allogenic?
  • Posttransplant immunological reconstitution
  • Side effects
  • Outcome measures: clinical, imaging, patient-reported outcomes
  • Posttransplant neurorehabilitation
  • Long-term follow-up results
  • Proposal for cooperative studies

We invite the submission of abstracts on the above aspects of stem cell transplantation in multiple sclerosis. All abstracts will be reviewed by an international committee and a number of abstracts will be selected for oral presentation within the Symposium.

www.stemcellms.ru

Posted under Cell Analysis, Europe, Europe, Press Releases, Stem Cell Research  |  Comments Off

Nanion nominated for The German Industry’s Innovation Award

Last Updated on Friday, 23 January 2009 10:22 Written by admin Friday, 23 January 2009 10:22

Munich, Germany, Jan 20th, 2009; Nanion is again nominated for a prestigious
innovation award, due its impressive product portfolio of automated patch clamp
systems. More than 350 companies competed in this year’s Innovation Award and
Nanion is finalist in the category “Start-Up Companies”.

The German Industry’s Innovation Award, also the world’s first innovation award, has since 1980 annually nominated and rewarded the nation’s most important scientific and technical innovations. Nanion is one of the five remaining candidates for the award and the winner will be announced on January 24th, 2009.

“To remain a profitable and leading provider of advanced and high quality ion channel drug screening systems, we constantly seek new inventions and solutions that are attractive to industrial and academic institutions.” says Michael George, CTO of Nanion. Dr. Niels Fertig, CEO of Nanion, continues “Our three product families for sophisticated cell analysis are
being used in the development of new medicines as well as in academic research. With the latest introduction of our high throughput patch clamp system, the SyncroPatch 96, the screening of ion channel drugs is revolutionized in terms of time and cost efficiency. We are happy and honoured that our products and technology are receiving such recognition by the nomination for this award.”

The SyncroPatch 96 is Nanion’s next generation screening platform, capable of highly parallel
recordings from up to 96 cells at a time. It will be launched at the Biophysical Society’s Annual Meeting in Boston, MA, USA, in the end of February, 2009. The SyncroPatch 96 is the first platform on the market to date that supports giga-seal recordings at a throughput of 5000 data points per day.
About Nanion:
Nanion Technologies GmbH is a German Private Limited Company and was founded in 2002 as a spinoff from the Center for Nanoscience (CeNS) of the University of Munich. Nanion’s team has developed and globally established two highly successful automated patch clamp instruments as enabling tools for sophisticated and high throughput applications for ion channel research and drug discovery. Nanion’s instruments use planar patch clamp chips which replace the traditional glass pipette used in the technique of patch clamping. Nanion was nominated in 2007 for Germany’s most prestigious innovation award the Deutscher Zukunftspreis (German Future Prize, Federal President’s Award for Technology and Innovation).

Posted under Equipment & Supplies, Europe, Grants and Awards, New Products, Press Releases  |  Comments Off

Richter-Helm and Athera Biotechnologies Partner in Development of Recombinant Protein to Treat Cardiovascular Disease

Last Updated on Friday, 23 January 2009 10:19 Written by admin Friday, 23 January 2009 10:19

Hamburg, Germany and Stockholm, Sweden, January 21st, 2009 — Richter-Helm BioLogics GmbH & Co. KG and Athera Biotechnologies AB have signed an agreement for the development and manufacturing of Athera’s novel product for prevention of plaque rupture and athero-thrombosis through binding of the protein, Annexin A5, to endothelium. The recombinant protein Annexin A5 is intended for the treatment of patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome and who are at imminent risk for Myocardial Infarction.

This agreement secures a highly cost efficient long-term development and manufacturing plan for Athera, including possible future large volume commercial production. Annexin A5 is a biotechnology product produced using Richter-Helm’s proprietary E. coli based expression system. Richter-Helm will initiate strain and process development of the new process, reaching a 1000 litre production scale.

“The Annexin A5 project fits well with the competence and experience of our company. We are confident that our collaboration will be as efficient and constructive as our negotiations were. Our state-of-the-art facilities are ideal for producing the high-quality Annexin A5 required to comply with the standards of the regulatory agencies.”, stated Dr. Bert Behnke, Managing Director of Richter-Helm.

“We are very pleased to get Richter-Helm as our development partner, they have an excellent reputation. We have now secured cost competitive and high quality production for clinical and commercial use”, said Carina Schmidt, CEO of Athera Biotechnologies.

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International symposium “Stem Cell Transplantation in Multiple Sclerosis, October 5th, 2009 Moscow, Russia

Last Updated on Friday, 23 January 2009 11:42 Written by admin Tuesday, 13 January 2009 06:19

International symposium “Stem Cell Transplantation in Multiple Sclerosis: Sharing the Experience” will be held  on October 5th, 2009 in  Moscow, Russia. Symposuim Organizers are Pirogov National Medical Surgical Center, National Center for Research and Treatment of Autoimmune Diseases, Russian Cooperative Group for Cellular Therapy, New Jersey Center for Quality of Life and Health Outcomes Research.

The symposium will be the first special meeting fully meant to discuss the state-of-the-art and perspectives of the new and quite promising method of multiple sclerosis treatment – high dose immunosuppressive therapy + autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. It intends to share the newly acquired knowledge in the field, to discuss challenges and perspectives of the method, and to develop collaborative projects. The topics to be covered within the symposium include:
“    Regimens of conditioning: Immunoablation or immunosupression?
“    Types of transplantation: autologous or allogenic?
“    Posttransplant immunological reconstitution
“    Side effects
“    Outcome measures: clinical, imaging, patient-reported outcomes
“    Posttransplant neurorehabilitation
“    Long-term follow-up results
“    Proposals for cooperative studies

Neurologists, immunologists, transplantologists, hematolosits, specialists in stem cell research are invited to participate in the Symposium.

Key dates:

1 March 2009 -   Deadline for abstract submission
1 April 2009   -   Deadline for early registration

Symposium Organizers Contact Information:

Tel: +7 495 463 4923 or +7 962 710 17 11

Web-site: http://www.stemcellms.ru

Posted under Clinical Trials, Europe, Europe, Medicinal Chemistry, North America, Press Releases  |  Comments Off

Galapagos enters strategic alliance in diabetes and obesity with Merck & Co., Inc.

Last Updated on Monday, 12 January 2009 03:47 Written by Editor Monday, 12 January 2009 03:47

Galapagos NV (Euronext: GLPG) announced today that it has entered into a multi-year global strategic alliance with Merck & Co., Inc. to develop potential new therapies in obesity and diabetes.

Galapagos will be responsible for the discovery and pre-clinical development of new small molecule candidate drugs based on novel Galapagos targets. Merck will have the exclusive option to license each candidate for clinical development and commercialization on a worldwide basis. The alliance will make use of Galapagos’ proprietary SilenceSelect(R: 36.098, -1.882, -4.96%) target discovery platform for identification of novel targets in obesity and diabetes. After validation, targets will be selected by a joint steering committee and entered into screening and chemistry by Galapagos. Merck has the option to acquire an exclusive license to each candidate drug and upon exercise of such an option, Merck will be responsible for the development and commercialization of the candidate drug. Galapagos may execute phase I clinical studies and will have the right to further develop and commercialize certain compounds for which Merck does not exercise its exclusive option.

Under the terms of the agreement, Galapagos will receive an upfront fee of EUR 1.5 million from Merck. In addition Galapagos is eligible to receive discovery, development and regulatory milestone payments that could potentially exceed EUR 170 million total for multiple products, as well as specific sales milestones and royalties upon commercialization of any products covered under the agreement.

“The alliance with Merck in obesity and diabetes further demonstrates Galapagos’ ability to expand into new therapeutic areas,” said Onno van de Stolpe, CEO. “Galapagos has a proven track record of delivering on its alliance programs, making us attractive to potential pharma partners seeking to fill their pipelines with medicines based on novel modes of action. Galapagos has been successful through careful management of its R&D programs; this early stage alliance with Merck fits nicely into our alliance infrastructure as other programs advance into later stages.”

“By combining Galapagos’ novel target identification strategy with Merck’s drug development expertise this collaboration provides a unique opportunity to discover and develop potential new therapies for diabetes and obesity,” said Catherine Strader, Vice President, External Basic Research, Merck Research Laboratories.

Conference call and webcast presentation

Galapagos will conduct a conference call open to the public today at 11.30 Central European Time (CET: 14.7001, -0.06, -0.41%), which will also be webcast. To participate in the conference call, please call +31 20 794 8504, ten minutes prior to commencement. A question and answer session will follow the presentation. Click here to access the live audio webcast. The archived webcast also will be available for replay shortly after the close of the call.

About diabetes and obesity

Diabetes mellitus is a disorder in which blood sugar (glucose) levels are abnormally high because the body does not produce enough insulin to meet its needs. Patients with diabetes type 1 (10% of diabetes patients) have lost the ability to produce insulin themselves. In type 2 diabetes, patients develop resistance to the effects of insulin; obesity is the chief risk factor in developing this type, as 80-90% of patients with type 2 diabetes are obese. Diabetes symptoms include increased urination, thirst, and weight loss. Diabetes also can lead to nerve damage, blood vessel damage, and increased risk of heart attack, stroke, and kidney failure. About 15% of people over the age of 70 develop Type 2 diabetes. Treatment of diabetes involves diet, exercise, education, and, for most people, drugs. Global sales of diabetes drugs totaled $15 billion in 2005[1].

Obesity is the excess accumulation of body fat and is defined as having a Body Mass Index[2] > 30. Being obese increases the risk of many disorders, such as diabetes, heart disease, and certain cancers, and can result in high blood pressure and early death. Increasing activity and reducing caloric intake are essential to treating obesity, but some people also need to take drugs. Around 10% of the world population is obese[3], and sales of obesity drugs in the world’s largest markets are expected to grow from $500 million in 2006 to more than $2 billion by 2016[4].

About Galapagos

Galapagos (Euronext Brussels: GLPG; Euronext Amsterdam: GLPGA; OTC: GLPYY) is a drug discovery company with pre-clinical programs in bone and joint diseases and bone metastasis. Its BioFocus DPI division offers a full suite of target-to-drug discovery products and services to pharmaceutical and biotech companies, encompassing target discovery and validation, screening and drug discovery through to delivery of pre-clinical candidates. BioFocus DPI also provides adenoviral reagents for rapid identification and validation of novel drug targets, compound libraries for drug screening as well as chemogenomics and ADMET database products to select targets and compounds. Galapagos currently employs about 460 people and operates facilities in six countries, with global headquarters in Mechelen, Belgium. More information about Galapagos can be found at www.glpg.com.

Posted under Collaborations, Europe, North America, Press Releases, Targeted Libraries  |  Comments Off

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