Researchers have identified several proteins on the surface of
cancer cells that contribute to the cells' ability to metastasise.
The finding provides unique drug targets to prevent the cancer
spread and a basis for which new...
Euroscreen has announced it has been issued with a US patent, which
relates to a high-throughput screening method of modulators for any
GPCR, calcium-coupled channel or protein.
US company SurModics is evaluating a biodegradeable polymer
technology, developed at Rutgers University, that could improve the
delivery of drugs into the eye.
A technique for neutralising the action of the leptin - providing a
means for controlling and better understanding of the function of
this protein, including its role in unwanted cell growth - has been
developed by researchers at...
GE Healthcare has launched a range of prepacked columns designed to
meet the growing need for pure proteins to use in functional and
structural genomics and proteomics research.
US researchers have discovered that cholesterol plays a key role in
anchoring a signalling pathway, which has been linked to cell
division and cancer. The findings could identify cholesterol as an
unlikely drug target.
Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Sciences have
discovered a way of making membrane proteins in bacterial cells,
opening the door to new and improved treatments for a host of human
diseases.
Researchers have built and demonstrated a prototype for a new class
of miniature devices to study synthetic cell membranes in an effort
to speed the discovery of new drugs for a variety of diseases,
including cancer.
A new high throughput ion channel screening service has been
launched by BioFocus, which will allow pharmaceutical companies to
pre-screen libraries against defined cell lines, identifying target
compounds and limiting the use of...
Biacore International has launched the Biacore T100, a system that
analyses the protein interactions that occur in disease pathways,
selection of drug candidates and decisions on the safety of a
protein therapeutic.
Nobex Corporation has been granted two new US patents, which expand
its 'PEGylation' technology of small polyethylene glycols (PEG) for
modifying molecules for improved drug performance.
GE Healthcare has launched the first in a new family of
chromatography media designed specifically to handle the high
volumes used in the bioprocessing sector.
NOBEX has been granted two new US patents on its polyethylene
glycol (PEG)-based technologies to improve the delivery of drugs
that currently need to be injected.
Procognia and Hamilton life sciences have entered into a joint
collaboration, which focuses on the automated growth and handling
of Procognia's functional human protein arrays.
MIP Technologies, a Swedish firm specialising in polymers with
binding properties, has signed a deal which could take its
technology out of the laboratory sector and into the realms of
large-scale production of pharmaceuticals.
A current trend towards systems biology and analysis and
interactions of proteins and nucleic acids has led Qiagen to
introduce a method that reduces the complexity of proteomics
samples. Currently, researchers use primarily home...
Qiagen has announced a new product line for the separation,
purification and handling of nucleic acids, an essential process in
drug discovery, which aims to improve over current applied methods,
which suffer from decreased sensitivity...
Researchers in the US have developed a fluorescent tag for proteins
- based on a fragment of green fluorescent protein (GFP) - that can
penetrate cells and so be used to detect proteins in living cells
and cell lysates.
Separation and filtration giant Pall has completed its $32 million
acquisition of BioSepra, a division specialising in protein
purification technologies, from Ciphergen.
Inpharmatica has announced a discovery collaboration with Novartis
Institutes for Biomedical Research which is to focus on identifying
protein targets for Novartis' drug discovery projects.
Invitrogen announced that it has obtained the licensed rights for
the development of protein microrrays, which contain more than 200
protein-based analytes, further increasing its intellectual
property position in the burgeoning microarray...
Japan's Ajinomoto has developed a revolutionary enzymatic method to
manufacture peptides that could dramatically cut the cost of
producing this growing class of therapeutic agents.
Canada's SemBioSys Genetics has been granted a US patent on a
vaccine production system that uses genetically modified seeds as
biological factories of vaccine antigens.
A pioneering research project could pave the way for more effective
drug treatments for diseases including cancer, parasitic, bacterial
and viral diseases by visualising, in detail, membrane proteins
that have the potential to be...
Setting aside the acrimony of a patent dispute, UK separations
company Whatman is to buy German rival Schleicher & Schuell for
€50.2 million, allowing it to narrow the gap between itself and the
main players Pall and Millipore.
UK drug discovery company Inpharmatica has raised £13.9 million
(€19.9 million) in a third round stock financing with several
top-tier biotechnology investors and says it will use the proceeds
to progress its PharmaCarta platform...
UK researchers have developed a technique that could be used to
analyse membrane proteins, capturing them in their natural
structural state to make it easier to develop drug candidates to
target them.
Agilent Technologies has launched what it claims is the industry's
first fully automated, high-throughput 'lab-on-a-chip system' for
basic life science research and drug discovery. The Agilent 5100
Automated provides...
A new therapeutic technique based on a small molecule working in
tandem with a larger protein has been shown to block accumulation
of the brain-clogging amyloid protein seen in Alzheimer's disease,
raising the possibility of...
A new biotechnology company - Peakadilly - has been set up in
Belgium to provide molecular diagnostic tools to guide the
development of new drugs. The company maintains that the tools will
make drug development more efficient, effective...
Serologicals has completed its acquisition of Upstate Group,
acquiring the privately held company for $205 million (€166m) in
cash ($102.5m) and stock.
A report cites an emerging trend within the pharmaceutical industry
that focuses on the human proteome and in turn, gene expression.
The findings are certain to play a future in the discovery of
protein-based biomarkers and hence...
US biotechnology company Corgentech has licensed a peptide delivery
technology from UK-based Cyclacel to help it develop a new class of
gene blocking drugs.
The recent surge in HIV research shows no sign of terminating as
researchers reported the successful targeting of an HIV protein
that has eluded existing therapies. The technique used for
identifying the synthetic molecules may also...
Antibody technology company MorphoSys has formed a marketing
collaboration with Genefrontier, with a view to accessing the
Japanese life science market. This agreement will aim to establish
MorphoSys' HuCAL technology in the...
Cambrex Corporation announces the availability of a method for the
non-cytotoxic delivery of biologically active cargo molecules, such
as proteins, peptides, or small molecules directly into living
cells providing drug R&D with...
A new method to improve the accuracy and speed of protein
visualization has been developed. The technique, which uses a novel
set of biosensor dyes, promises to dramatically increase the
accuracy and speed of the technique, used in...
A collaboration agreement to identify and develop an improved
variant of CT500, a non-antibody protein with antagonist activity
against HMGB1 has been established, paving the way for
applications, to treat tumours and autoimmune diseases.
Netherlands firm Pharming has acquired the patent portfolio of
former transgenic protein production specialist PPL Therapeutics,
at a stroke enhancing its proprietary position in this emerging
market.
Researchers in the US and Austria have developed a method that
could vastly improve the ability of atomic force microscopes to
visualise the chemical composition of a sample, follow variations
of the sample, as well as map its topographic...
In a joint project with the Max-Planck-Institute for Molecular
Genetics, Germany's Scienion is adapting its nucleic acid chip
technology to handle protein applications. The project aims to
develop antibody chips for the analysis...
Scientists in the UK and Germany have discovered that drugs that
inhibit enzymes known as metalloproteinases have the hallmarks of a
new treatment for the common skin diseases psoriasis.
Locus Pharmaceuticals have acquired the drug discovery company
Protein Mechanics, which brings together novel technologies that
broaden the scope of drug targets and further strengthens its
position as a leading company in computational...
The discovery of the three-dimensional structure of the anthrax
toxin as it binds to and enters human cells could lead to both a
treatment for the disease and a way to harness its effects in
cancer therapy, according to a report in...
Invitrogen subsidiary Protometrix is gearing up to launch a
microarray containing nearly all the 6,200 or so proteins in the
proteome of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a commonly
used organism in genomics research.
This week has seen three companies put forward different solutions
to the topical issue of improving the yield of proteins and nucleic
acids made by biomanufacturing technologies.
Cobra Biomanufacturing of the UK saw its losses halve in the first
half of the current fiscal year, in the face of continuing declines
in the market for contract manufacturing of plasmid DNA.