Informatics In-Depth Focus 2019
In this In-Depth Focus: AI-driven automated chemistry as a tool to accelerate drug discovery, and a look at network-driven drug discovery
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Assays In-Depth Focus 2019
In this In-Depth Focus: the importance of characterising chemical starting points of drugs using appropriate in vitro ADME-toxicity assays, and why do we have no effective treatments for osteoarthritis?
Drug Target Review – Issue 1 2019
In this issue: AI-driven automated chemistry as a tool to accelerate drug discovery processes, the shifting landscape of immuno-oncology, and how lipid molecules provide an insight into biological research.
Network-driven drug discovery
Target-driven drug discovery, in which the starting point is a specific protein target hypothesised to play an important role in disease, has been the dominant paradigm for the last few decades. However, phenotypic-driven drug discovery, which does not rely on a specific target hypothesis, is starting to regain traction for…
Hit-to-lead discovery at a nonprofit research institute
Small molecule drug discovery has long been the domain of pharmaceutical companies, and that’s not likely to change anytime soon. But there’s a cadre of universities and nonprofit research institutes that have embraced drug development at its earliest stages, in some cases identifying and optimising compounds that target possible disease-driving…
Small molecules could have big benefits in the battle against cancers
Immunotherapy and targeted treatments, including targeted chemotherapy, continue to show great potential in cancer care. Future steps in their development will involve improving their ability to treat a wider range of cancers and a broader cross-section of the patient population, especially those for whom current treatments have shown limited efficacy...
Beyond ‘simple’ biology – turning organoids, spheroids, and 3D tissue models into physiologically relevant high-content assays for drug discovery
Drug discovery is still hampered by the routine use of cell-based models that often fail to recapitulate the truly relevant biological complexity of the corresponding disease. Just moving from two- (2D) towards three-dimensional (3D) cell culture model systems like spheroids and organoids is not enough to generate truly representative and…
New frontiers in G protein-coupled receptor drug discovery
G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are seven transmembrane spanning proteins that mediate the physiological responses to a broad array of stimuli, including photons, biogenic amines, peptides and large proteins. They represent the target of approximately one-third of all approved drugs,1 yet paradoxically remain a relatively under-exploited protein class.
Proteomics: cracking the molecular mystery of diseases and therapeutics
In the wake of the human genome project, molecular biology and genetic technologies are tremendously integrating into biomedical research. Currently, PCR, qPCR, and sequencing are key tools in the clinical laboratory for the detection and characterisation of microorganisms and genetic disorders.
Webinar highlights: Integrated fragment based approach reveals enzymatic inhibitors with potential therapeutic application
This webinar, held on 25 October 2018, presented the results from integrated fragment-based approaches for Indoleamine 2,3 dioxygenase 1 (IDO1), an enzyme widely recognised as a drug target for the development of immunotherapeutic small molecules in oncology, unveiling the first ligands able to modulate non-catalytic signalling.
Omics-informed drug target discovery in combating emerging infectious diseases
The catastrophic consequences of ever-increasing rates of death from infectious diseases demands new experimental strategies for drug target selection and drug design. Over the last decade, the pharmaceutical industry has been wounded by several issues including failure of drug-development programmes, burgeoning cost of drug development, increasing regulatory control, lack of…
Webinar highlights: Harmonising drug-target binding data analytics on a single platform
Harmonising drug-target binding data analytics looks at building a single, integrated software platform for a future pharma research and development digital ecosystem. This webinar, sponsored by PerkinElmer, outlined the fundamentals of a design process where an experimental analytics data workflow was integrated into a more seamlessly interactive digital platform.
Webinar highlights: Recent advances in diagnostics and treatments – from small molecules to cellular therapies
The webinar presented an overview of the pre-clinical milestones, the current status of the global drug pipeline and a description of a number of novel drugs undergoing clinical trials.
Expert view: Three-dimensional cell cultures as predictive tools in early drug discovery
Three-dimensional cell cultures (spheroids, organoids) are becoming widely used as a new predictive tool in early drug discovery. The use of 3D cell cultures is believed to provide a more physiologically relevant response than monolayer (2D) cell cultures because they closely mimic the extracellular matrix and cell-cell interactions that occur…
Expert view: Challenges in drug discovery screening
The basic premise of drug discovery screening necessitates that the biological assays upon which it depends can be performed in a reproducible manner. In addition, the techniques employed must generate results that are biologically relevant and actionable.
