Drug Discovery News and Research

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The drug discovery process begins with recognizing a disease or clinical condition in which there is a lack of adequate medical treatment. Once a potential drug has been identified, pre-clinical research can begin. This process includes several stages; the first of which involves identifying and validating the prospective drug’s target through assay development, high throughput screening, hit identification and finally, lead optimization. Once the pre-clinical process is complete, the newly synthesized drug candidate is selected for future clinical development.

Scientists identify the sensor in human lungs that detects SARS-CoV-2

Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute have identified the sensor in human lungs that detects SARS-CoV-2 and signals that it's time to mount an antiviral response.

13 Jan 2021

HKU researchers develop new drug discovery strategy targeting membrane proteins on live cells

A research team led by Dr Xiaoyu LI from the Research Division for Chemistry, Faculty of Science, in collaboration with Professor Yizhou LI from School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chongqing University and Professor Yan CAO from School of Pharmacy, Second Military Medical University in Shanghai has developed a new drug discovery method targeting membrane proteins on live cells.

29 Dec 2020

Kobe University and Sysmex conduct joint research on new blood test for identifying COVID-19

Kobe University and Sysmex Corporation have been engaged in joint research on the ELISPOT method, a new blood test for identifying the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

28 Dec 2020

Scientists discover new class of compounds for combating antimicrobial resistance

Wistar Institute scientists have discovered a new class of compounds that uniquely combine direct antibiotic killing of pan drug-resistant bacterial pathogens with a simultaneous rapid immune response for combatting antimicrobial resistance (AMR). These finding were published today in Nature.

24 Dec 2020

Researchers report a potential cancer drug that targets mitochondrial function

A newly developed compound starves cancer cells by attacking their "power plants" - the so-called mitochondria. The new compound prevents the genetic information within mitochondria from being read.

23 Dec 2020

Autobahn Labs announces strategic drug discovery collaboration with UCSF

Autobahn Labs, a virtual incubator partnering with top academic and research institutions to catalyze early-stage drug discovery and development, today announced a strategic collaboration with the University of California San Francisco (UCSF).

21 Dec 2020

Researchers create 3D miniature organs that precisely mimic human tissues

Organoids are tissues that look like organs and are extracted from stem cells cultured in laboratories. They are usually known as miniature organs.

21 Dec 2020

Using genetic engineering to grow synthetic livers

News-Medical talks to Dr. Mo Ebrahimkhani about his research using genetic engineering together with a machine-learning algorithm to mature a lab-grown 'designer liver organoid'.

From University of Pittsburgh 15 Dec 2020

Specific cellular pathways in the fetal gut may reactivate Crohn’s Disease

Researchers have successfully monitored the initial stages of gut development in a human fetus, in explicit detail.

8 Dec 2020

Study shows fluorescent protein molecules act as tiny antennas with optical properties

Scientists have revealed that fluorescent protein molecules serve as antennas with optical characteristics according to their spatial orientation.

4 Dec 2020

New breakthrough in AI system could significantly accelerate biological research

In a major scientific advance, the latest version of DeepMind's AI system AlphaFold has been recognized as a solution to the 50-year-old grand challenge of protein structure prediction, often referred to as the 'protein folding problem', according to a rigorous independent assessment.

1 Dec 2020

Study shows how drug-like small molecules regulate the activity of ion channels

Researchers have recently discovered how the function of therapeutically relevant ion channels is regulated by drug-like small molecules.

24 Nov 2020

Researchers look for mechanisms that stabilize or destabilize key sections of biomolecules

Knowing precisely where proteins are frustrated could go a long way toward making better drugs. That's one result of a new study by Rice University scientists looking for the mechanisms that stabilize or destabilize key sections of biomolecules.

24 Nov 2020

Tau protein in Alzheimer's disease looks different at every dementia stage

Research into Alzheimer's disease has long focused on understanding the role of two key proteins, beta amyloid and the tau protein. Found in tangles in patients' brain tissue, a pathological form of the tau protein contributes to propagating the disease in the brain.

19 Nov 2020

Interpretable machine learning models create new options for drug discovery

Machine learning has been extensively utilized in the chemical sciences for a wide range of processes, including drug design.

19 Nov 2020

Gold nanoparticles put spotlight on small drug molecules in live cells

Successful drug development has a significant impact on people's quality of life worldwide. Being able to track how molecules get into target cells, and observing what they do when they are inside, is key to identifying the best candidates.

From Osaka University 19 Nov 2020

Research projects receive BTCA awards to develop new drugs

Five research projects with exceptional promise to deliver new life-changing and health-altering therapies have received the inaugural Blavatnik Therapeutics Challenge Awards (BTCA) at Harvard Medical School.

From Harvard Medical School 30 Oct 2020

Researchers receive $2.6 million grant to examine tau-glycan interactions involved in Alzheimer's disease

Tangles of misfolded tau proteins in the brain are closely associated with memory loss in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

29 Oct 2020

Novel machine learning algorithm helps identify binding sites in drug targets

Scientists from the iMolecule group at Skoltech Center for Computational and Data-Intensive Science and Engineering (CDISE) developed BiteNet, a machine learning (ML) algorithm that helps find drug binding sites, i.e. potential drug targets, in proteins.

27 Oct 2020

New collaboration to develop machine learning methods for chemical discovery

The discovery and formulation of new drugs, antivirals, antibiotics and in general chemicals with tailored properties is a long and painstaking process.

21 Oct 2020