Bio Saga Blog - A Chronicle of Life Sciences & Informatics

Belgian biotech firm Galapagos today announced its BioFocus service division has extended a contract with Amgen through 2012 to include target discovery and validation work. The extension will include the use of BioFocus' target discovery platform to deliver novel targets to support Amgen's therapeutic programs. Galapagos will receive €2 million ($2.6 million) in research fees in the first year, under the terms of the deal. It is also eligible for access fees and milestone payments. Originally forged in 2002, the collaboration between BioFocus, which Galapagos acquired in 2005, and Amgen involves identifying new molecules against drug targets. The partnership was extended in 2006 and 2008. BioFocus' discovery platform includes the use of  in vitro  and cell-based screening, structural biology, and chemogenomic and informatics tools.

Aileron Therapeutics and Roche announced today that they have entered into a collaboration to discover, develop and commercialise a new class of drugs called Stapled Peptide Therapeutics. As part of this agreement, Roche will work with Aileron to develop drug candidates against up to five undisclosed targets selected from Roche’s key therapeutic areas, which include oncology, virology, inflammation, metabolism and CNS. Stapled Peptide Therapeutics are a result of Aileron’s breakthrough peptide stabilization technology, and are a potential solution to drug as-yet intractable disease targets, including those originating from long sought-after intracellular protein-protein interactions. Under the terms of the agreement, Roche will provide Aileron guaranteed funding of at least $25 million in technology access fees and R&D support. Aileron is eligible to receive up to $1.1 billion in payments upon the achievement of discovery, development, regulatory and commercialisation milesto...

This Pathways Compendium provides an index of Alzheimer disease pathway models contributed by researchers and companies. Probable Interaction Networks Involved in Pathology of Alzheimer Disease: Predicting Targets and Therapeutic Agents - NetPro™ based Study . Developed by researchers at Molecular Connections Private Limited, an in silico discovery services company. Users can click on a specific node (molecule) to get information on all interactions of the molecule in the given network. Click on the interaction arrows for information on the specific interaction. The Alzheimer Research Forum is a Pioneering Biomedical Web Community . Founded 13 years ago when the Web was still in its infancy, the "Alzforum" has more than 5,000 registered members and is familiar to most Alzheimer scientists in the world. XTractor Premium - A Platform for discovery , knowledge sharing, analysis and modelling of published biomedical facts. The only Knowledgebase which provides "manu...

The malaria parasite has waged a successful guerrilla war against the human immune system for eons, but a study in this week's Journal of Biological Chemistry has exposed one of the tricks malaria uses to hide from the immune proteins, which may aid in future drug development. Malaria parasites (plasmodia) are transmitted to people via infected mosquitoes. Once inside their human hosts the parasites first set up shop in liver cells, then move into red blood cells (RBCs) to replicate and wait for the next mosquito to help continue the cycle. After plasmodia infect a blood cell, they send out clusters of sticky proteins to the cell surface, enabling them to attach to blood vessels and escape destruction by the host's spleen while they replicate. This tactic can be especially problematic during pregnancy as malaria-infected RBCs congregate in the vessel-rich placenta (the source of food and oxygen for the growing fetus), creating health problems such as anemia, low birth-weight, f...

Molecular Connections , a life sciences informatics major, is now looking at acquiring small and medium-sized companies as part of its inorganic growth strategy. "The acquisition will depend on good technology fit and domain expertise that could plug into our products and services,'' Jignesh Bhate, CEO, Molecular Connections Pvt Ltd told Pharmabiz . "We are aggressively scouting for companies both in India and abroad. If we lay our hands on an international company, we will have access to their customers. In the case of an Indian company, we are essentially looking at a synergy in content and database,'' Bhate said. To facilitate these acquisitions, Molecular Connections has identified three options to raise funds: internal accruals, foreign loans and venture funds. The mode of raising capital will depend on the size of the deal and the company is in talks with foreign banks. Around $2 million was raised from Barings Private Equity in 2006 for expansion. Early...

Several times i have discussed the the topic of anti-cancer targets, Novel Enzyme Inhibitor Paves Way for New Cancer Drug: Agent Proves Effective Against Melanoma Cells; Researchers Find that a Small Molecule Can Activate an Important Cancer Suppressor Gene. The development of resistance to anticancer chemotherapeutic agents remains a large problem. In some cases, such resistance is associated with altered control of a cellular process known as translation, which is central to the generation of proteins. New data, generated by Jerry Pelletier and colleagues, at McGill University, Montreal, have identified a drug that can enhance the sensitivity of mouse cancer cells to standard anticancer chemotherapeutic agents. In the study, small molecules were screened for their ability to inhibit the initiation of translation by modifying the function of a protein known as eIF4A, which has a central role in translation initiation. A class of natural drugs known as cyclopenta[b]benzofuran flavag...

Previously blogging on novel anti-cancer molecules in Researchers Find that a Small Molecule Can Activate an Important Cancer Suppressor Gene. Scientists at The Wistar Institute have developed a new type of enzyme inhibitor capable of blocking a biochemical pathway that plays a key role in cancer development by combining natural organic atoms with metal complexes. Based on studies in human melanoma cells, the research paves the way for developing new ways to treat cancer by dampening the overactive enzyme activity that leads to uncontrolled tumor growth. Details of the study, to be published in the May 16 issue of the journal ACS Chemical Biology , show how small-molecule inhibitors can be designed to target a family of signaling proteins, called phosphatidyl-inositol-3-kinases, or PI3Ks. “The PI3K pathway has been called the most mutated pathway in human cancer,” says Ronen Marmorstein, Ph.D., a professor in the Gene Expression and Regulation Program at Wistar and s...

Life Sciences is the next big thing to IT and that is happening to India now, Ranbaxy to develop anti-infective drugs for Merck... India's Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. (Ranbaxy) is to develop new anti-infective drugs for Merck & Co Inc, (Merck) in a major deal underlining the growing use of Indian pharmaceutical research by multinational Companies. Ranbaxy and Merck announced today that they have signed a strategic Product Development Agreement (the “Agreement”) providing for a drug discovery and clinical development collaboration for new products, in the anti-infective field. Potential Payments Totaling More than $100 Million . Ranbaxy and Merck will work together to develop clinically validated anti-bacterial and anti-fungal drug candidates. Ranbaxy will carry-out drug discovery and clinical development through Phase IIa clinical trials, with Merck conducting development and commercialization of drug candidates thereafter. The Indian group will get an undisclosed upfront su...

Already blogging about vital information that can be obtained form publications and scientific literature Smart tools to track, analyze and visualize research and the importance of Protein structure information in Protein structure databases with new web services for structural biology and biomedical research . Now one of the tactics used by influenza virus to take over the machinery of infected cells has been laid bare by structural biologists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory ( EMBL ) and the joint Unit of Virus Host-Cell Interaction of EMBL, the University Joseph Fourier and National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), in Grenoble, France. The high-resolution image of the influenza virus' PB2 protein shows how the virus steals a 'cap' molecule from its host to take over the protein production machinery and multiply. PB2 binds the cap by sandwiching it between aromatic amino acids. "Viruses are masters of cunning when it comes to hijacking the normal f...

Brookhaven Lab researchers Subramanyam Swaminathan, Desigan Kumaran and Richa Rawat. "We have found a highly efficient inhibitor of botulinum neurotoxin type A - the most potent of seven neurotoxins produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. This finding can lead to a very effective drug to stop the devastating effects of the toxin," said Dr. Subramanyam Swaminathan, Botulinum neurotoxin -- responsible for the deadly food poisoning disease botulism and for the beneficial effects of smoothing out facial wrinkles - can also be used as a dreaded biological weapon. When ingested or inhaled, less than a billionth of an ounce can cause muscle paralysis and eventual death. Although experimental vaccines administered prior to exposure can inhibit the destructive action of this neurotoxin - the most deadly protein known to humans -- no effective pharmacological treatment exists. Scientists have now taken the first step toward designing an effective antidote to the most potent ...

Heart attacks are commonly caused by blood clots formed of blood platelets. A new research suggests that it should be possible to create a clot-busting pill that targets a receptor on the blood cells’ surface, something that high-risk patients could take at the first sign of chest pain. The key to such a pill is according to the research findings a receptor called αIIbβ3 on the platelets’ surface that is intimately involved in the aggregation process. Interfering with αIIbβ3 can prevent an unwanted thrombus and the three αIIbβ3 inhibitors currently on the market can do just that. But they also have side effects and risks and must be administered intravenously. Researchers at Rockefeller University have found a new molecule, called RUC-1 , that not only appears to sidestep these problems but, unlike existing drugs, could be taken orally.

The Protein Data Bank Japan (PDBj) curates , edits and distributes protein structural data as a member of the worldwide Protein Data Bank (wwPDB) and currently processes 25–30% of all deposited data in the world. Structural information is enhanced by the addition of biological and biochemical functional data as well as experimental details extracted from the literature and other databases. Several applications have been developed at PDBj for structural biology and biomedical studies : (i) a Java-based molecular graphics viewer, j V; (ii) display of electron density maps for the evaluation of structure quality; (iii) an extensive database of molecular surfaces for functional sites, e F-site, as well as a search service for similar molecular surfaces, e F-seek; (iv) identification of sequence and structural neighbors; (v) a graphical user interface to all known protein folds with links to the above applications, Protein Globe. Recent examples are shown that highlight the...