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The Editors’ views: Drug Target Review’s 2020 round-up
The Junior Editors of Drug Target Review, Victoria Rees and Hannah Balfour, discuss some of the most noteworthy news and announcements from this year.
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Haematoxylin could be a promising therapy for bone marrow cancers
Study shows that haematoxylin can selectively kill cancers with a mutated form of the calreticulin gene (CALR), common in a group of bone marrow cancers called myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs).
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Brain organoids used to identify promising treatments for Rett syndrome
Two drugs, Nefiracetam and PHA 543613, were able to return neuronal signalling to near normal in organoids derived from patients with the autism spectrum disorder, Rett syndrome.
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Inhibiting cadherin 11 significantly increases survival of mice with pancreatic cancer
Mice treated with a small molecule inhibitor of cadherin 11 (CDH11) had reduced pancreatic cancer growth and increased survival time.
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Red propolis could be a better treatment for schistosomiasis
Investigators found that red propolis can kill schistosomes at all stages of development and therefore suggest it could be highly effective for treating schistosomiasis.
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Oral drug blocks SARS-CoV-2 transmission in ferrets, researchers find
A team has found that their drug Molnupiravir (MK-4482/EIDD-2801) acts as an antiviral against SARS-CoV-2 in pre-clinical studies.
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Novel peptide therapy improves COVID-19 survival by LEAPS and bounds in mice
Researchers report that their LEAPS COV-19 peptides significantly improved survival in a murine model of COVID-19.
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Biosynthetic polysaccharide-based drugs and nutraceuticals from non-animal sources
Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are a class of naturally occurring polysaccharides that play vital roles in cellular functions. GAGs (eg, hyaluronic acid, heparosan, chondroitin, chondroitin sulfate, heparan sulfate and heparin) have also been utilised in biopharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries. Animal-sourced GAGs can contain process impurities and contaminants, which may result in adverse…
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A rational approach to discover and precision-engineer new biologic drugs
When it comes to developing antibody drugs, Dr Jerome Boyd-Kirkup and his team are not sticking to the classical playbook. Here, he explains how they use systems biology and immuno-engineering to remove the element of luck from biologic drug discovery and development.
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New ‘smart’ cell therapies show promise in solid tumours
By combining machine learning and T-cell engineering researchers were able to develop cell therapies that can selectively and effectively target and destroy solid tumours.
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Drug Target Review – Issue 4 2020
In this journal, find articles discussing antimicrobial resistance, exploring why inhibiting the interaction between SARS-CoV-2 and neuropilin-1 could help combat COVID-19, as well as how CRISPR can be used to enhance productivity in cell line development. Also in this issue, features on engineering new biologic drugs and precision medicine.
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Tetracycline antibiotics show promise against Zika virus
A new study shows that methacycline, a commonly used antibiotic, can reduce the neurological damage caused by Zika virus infections in mice.
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Network modelling reveals a potential new Alzheimer’s therapy
Researchers used integrative network biology analysis to identify the molecular mechanisms that may drive Alzheimer’s and identified a potential therapeutic intervention.
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Novel inhibitor kills brain cancer cells missing ENO1 in mice, study shows
In pre-clinical studies, researchers have shown that a new therapy called POMHEX can destroy brain cancer cells that were missing one of two genes encoding the enolase enzyme.
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Drug target and candidate for paediatric heart failure identified
A group of researchers has found a drug candidate named TRV027 that can increase the cardiac contractility of neonatal mice.
