Drug Discovery

Novel antimicrobial molecules derived from wasp venom

13 October 2020 | By Hannah Balfour (Drug Target Review)

Altering the mastoparan-L (mast-L) peptide found in Vespula lewisii wasp venom, researchers created several novel antimicrobial molecules.

Nobel Prize in Chemistry awarded to scientists who discovered CRISPR-Cas9

12 October 2020 | By Victoria Rees (Drug Target Review)

Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna have been given the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their discovery and development of CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing. 

New class of inhibitors protect mice from neurodegeneration

9 October 2020 | By Victoria Rees (Drug Target Review)

So called "interface inhibitors" could be used to protect against neurodegeneration, researchers have said.

New treatment could reverse vision loss caused by retinopathy

6 October 2020 | By Victoria Rees (Drug Target Review)

Researchers have developed an experimental compound that could treat vision loss in premature infants and adults. 

Platform for hit-to-lead identification of antibacterial lysins developed

6 October 2020 | By Victoria Rees (Drug Target Review)

A group of scientists has created a novel high-throughput hit-to-lead development platform to identify engineered antibacterial lysins. 

Novel RNA-targeting molecule can halt SARS-CoV-2 replication

1 October 2020 | By Hannah Balfour (Drug Target Review)

The C5 compound targets the frameshifting element that allows SARS-CoV-2 to effectively replicate and marks the genome for destruction to stop the infection spreading.

Could a sphingosine nasal spray prevent COVID-19?

30 September 2020 | By Hannah Balfour (Drug Target Review)

According to a study, the lipid sphingosine can inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection and could potentially be delivered in a nasal spray to prevent COVID-19 infections.

Novel compounds show efficacy against C. diff

28 September 2020 | By Hannah Balfour (Drug Target Review)

Researchers have developed two novel trifluoromethylthio compounds which showed potent activity in protecting mice from Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) infection.

Assay that mimics SARS-CoV-2 infection could test potential COVID-19 drugs

22 September 2020 | By Victoria Rees (Drug Target Review)

Scientists have developed a new assay that uses nanoparticles to mimic how SARS-CoV-2 infects a cell, which could be used to screen for drugs that treat COVID-19.

Under the microscope: Transforming drug discovery on membrane proteins

11 September 2020 | By Creoptix

IN NOVEMBER 2017, leadXpro chose to strengthen its capabilities with the Creoptix™ WAVEsystem. “We were looking for a label‑free, biophysical method to investigate binding affinity and kinetics of small molecules with challenging integral membrane proteins,” explained Michael Hennig, Chief Executive Officer of leadXpro.

Application note: 3D cell panel screens for drug discovery and development

11 September 2020 | By Horizon Discovery

Horizon Discovery have developed their 3D OncoSignature™ spheroid screening service that consists of a panel of 200 cell lines. In this application note they demonstrate the ability of parallel 2D and 3D OncoSignature primary screens to identify known compounds with enhanced activity under 3D conditions.

Expert view: Where are you seeing changes in the flow cytometry market?

10 September 2020 | By Sartorius

We have entered a new era of drug discovery where the use of advanced cell models such as multi-cellular co-cultures, stem cells and CRISPR-based screens can lead to the next generation of therapeutics.

Under the microscope: Searching for optimised drugs: combining AI with human expertise

8 September 2020 | By Martin Redhead (Head of Quantitative Pharmacology at Exscientia)

Applying artificial intelligence (AI) to small molecule drug discovery can provide a more rapid and cost‑effective route to discovering drug candidates. Here, Martin Redhead, Head of Quantitative Pharmacology at Exscientia, discusses the role of AI in drug discovery, the processes involved and how it can be used to address the…

BellBrook Labs

Nanobody could be used as antiviral treatment against COVID-19

4 September 2020 | By Victoria Rees (Drug Target Review)

Researchers have found a nanobody named Ty1 that neutralises SARS-CoV-2 by attaching itself to the Spike protein of COVID-19.