Research & Development

Developing drugs for disordered proteins

6 November 2020 | By Hannah Balfour (Drug Target Review)

Scientists have developed a drug-like molecule to target amyloid-beta, a disordered protein implicated in Alzheimer's disease that has been considered undruggable.

Team identifies new potential approach to treat multiple sclerosis

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

Researchers have prevented immune cells from attacking myelin in mice, which stopped the progression of multiple sclerosis (MS).

Protease inhibitor aprotinin shows promise against SARS-CoV-2 in cells

5 November 2020 | By Victoria Rees (Drug Target Review)

Researchers have found that aprotinin, an approved drug for influenza in Russia, combats SARS-CoV-2 in cells.

Persistence of infected cells in lungs could explain long-term COVID-19 symptoms, say scientists

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

Researchers have found the genome of COVID-19 and infected cell syncytia in the respiratory cells of deceased patients, potentially explaining long-term coronavirus effects.

IDBS

Scientists identify new way to target leukaemia cells

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

Researchers have found they can make leukaemia cells vulnerable by dislodging leukaemia stem cells from a tumour-promoting niche.

Novel vaccine protects mice from lung, bowel and pancreatic cancer

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

By targeting the mutated KRAS gene, researchers have developed an experimental vaccine that protected mice against a range of cancers.

Mini lung organoids reveal early SARS-CoV-2 infection process

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

Using lung organoids, researchers have shown that 48 hours after SARS-CoV-2 infection, the innate immune response began.

Novel anti-inflammatory slows progression of MS in mice

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

When delivered intranasally, the anti-inflammatory drug VX-765 prevented axon demyelination and loss in a murine model of multiple sclerosis (MS).

CBD could treat inflammation caused by COVID-19, study shows

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

Researchers have found that CBD reduces inflammation in the lungs of COVID-19 mouse models by increasing levels of the apelin peptide.

First draft sequence of human proteome released

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

Researchers have mapped 90 percent of the human proteome, which could inform the development of new medicines.

SARS-CoV-2 papain-like protease could be a novel drug target

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

Scientists suggest targeting the SARS-CoV-2 papain-like protease (PLpro) with inhibitors could prevent the spread of infection.

Study reveals roles of antibodies in SARS-CoV-2 disease severity

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

Researchers have found that the level of antibodies in the serum of SARS-CoV-2 patients correlated with disease severity.

Over 200 molecules and genes linked to COVID-19 severity

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

A team has identified 219 molecules and genes that influence the severity of COVID-19 in patients, providing information that could aid the development of therapeutics.

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.