Drug Development

Baton Rouge, LA — A recently discovered chemical compound helped elderly mice with obesity lose fat and weight, add muscle and strength, reduce age-related inflammation and increase physical activity, a new study shows. The study, published in the Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle, provides the first evidence that BAM15, a mitochondrial uncoupler, prevents sarcopenic obesity, […]

Chicago, IL — Using a protein nanoparticle they designed, scientists at the University of Illinois Chicago have identified two distinct subtypes of neutrophils and found that one of the subtypes can be used as a drug target for inflammatory diseases.  Neutrophils are a type of white blood cell that help fight infection, clear dead cell […]

San Diego, CA — Women have many choices for birth control, ranging from pills to patches to intrauterine devices, and partly as a result, they bear most of the burden of preventing pregnancy. But men’s birth control options — and, therefore, responsibilities — could soon be expanding. Today, scientists report a non-hormonal male contraceptive that effectively […]

La Jolla, CA — A potential cornucopia of neuroactive compounds, which might yield clues to the design of future psychiatric and neurological drugs, has become more accessible to synthetic chemists, thanks to new work from Scripps Research. The discovery, reported March 17, 2022, in Science, concerns compounds contained in the rainforest tree Galbulimima belgraveana and […]

Singapore — Scientists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have developed a novel method of delivering drugs into human cells using large biological molecules, by first encasing them in a protein-based microdroplet. This discovery promises to be faster, safer, more effective, and better suited for gene therapy, cancer treatment, and vaccine delivery, including mRNA-based […]

Berkeley, CA — For some time, scientists have been working on the major challenge of developing new therapies against many human diseases. Many of these diseases are caused by the abberant action of certain proteins in our cells that are considered “undruggable”, or difficult to therapeutically target using classical drug discovery methods. A major class […]

Newcastle upon Tyne, UK — The spectacular structure of the protective armour of superbug C.difficile has been revealed for the first time showing the close-knit yet flexible outer layer – like chain mail.This assembly prevents molecules getting in and provides a new target for future treatments, according to the scientists who have uncovered it. Publishing […]

Las Vegas, NV — Science is one step closer to developing targeted drug therapies that may reduce seizures, sleep disorders, and related symptoms common in people with intellectual disabilities. Research led by a team of UNLV neuroscientists has shown the potential to zero in on the root-level cause of a host of adverse symptoms associated […]

La Jolla, CA — Acne is among the most common skin diseases in the United States, according to the American Academy of Dermatology Association, affecting up to 50 million Americans each year. It is also among the least studied.  It’s known that hair follicles assist in the development of a pimple, but new research suggests […]

Washington, DC — Cholera, a diarrheal disease caused by the highly transmissible bacteria Vibrio cholerae, kills tens of thousands of people each year worldwide. Current vaccines last only 2–5 years, and they don’t work very well in young children. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Infectious Diseases have developed a new type of cholera vaccine consisting […]

New York, NY — An international team of researchers has discovered that Schwann cells—which are abundant in the peripheral nervous system and create a protective sheath around nerve fibres—play an essential role in migraine pain. Their study, conducted in mice and human Schwann cells and published in Nature Communications, illustrates how pain is signalled from […]

Washington, DC — Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines are a prime example of the promising field of nanomedicine. But progress in the design and application of nanoparticles as efficient delivery vehicles for biopharmaceutics containing nucleic acid or protein drug substances is, unfortunately, remarkably slow. One recent obstacle to drug delivery research is an observed weak correlation […]