Cancer

Every few years, it seems, we need to be reminded that no matter how educated and experienced any one of us is, we are all fallible.

After six years of work, Kinexus Bioinformatics Corp. recently launched its first Internet accessible, cell signaling proteomics database, KiNET, with built-in bioinformatics searching capabilities.

The Sixth International Conference on Systems Biology at Harvard Medical School on October provided a venue for Reify’s Visible Discovery platform to show its mettle in two very different models: an in vivo analysis of cardiovascular structure and function in zebrafish and an in vitro analysis of transcription-associated gene dynamics. The posters for these two studies were presented by researchers at the Cardiovascular Research Center at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI).

In two papers published back-to-back in Nature, researchers at Prolexys Pharmaceuticals, Seattle’s Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) elucidated and characterized the first large-scale protein interaction network of the major parasite that causes malaria, Plasmodium falciparum.

Georgia Institute of Technology researchers have discovered 10 new molecular structures with pharmaceutical potential in a species of red seaweed known as Callophycus serratus that grows in the shallow coral reef along the coastline of Fiji in the south Pacific Ocean. Some of these natural compounds have exhibited the potential to kill cancer cells, bacteria and the HIV virus, according to Georgia Tech research. Two of them exhibit anti-bacterial activity specifically towards antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University recently announced that they are receiving five-year funding from the National Cancer Institute, to the tune of $20 million, for the MIT-Harvard Center of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence. Closely following this announcement was the presentation of recent research at November’s 13th European Cancer Conference regarding the use of nanoparticle-aptamer bioconjugates for drug delivery, which was spearheaded by MIT and the Harvard Medical School.

In a time when many pharmaceutical operations are looking for novel therapeutics, drug discovery company Medisyn Technologies has decided to go with a novel partner instead. To that end, Medisyn recently inked a multi-year agreement for a strategic alliance with Minneapolis, Minn.-based Humanetics, a biotechnology company focused on discovery, development and commercialization of naturally occurring, non-prescription oral agents focused on disease prevention, particularly with regard to obesity, the immune system and cognitive function. Financial terms and exact duration of the agreement were not disclosed.

DOR BioPharma Inc. announced last month that it signed a binding letter of intent to acquire Gastrotech Pharma A/S, a private Danish biotechnology company based in Copenhagen. Gastrotech develops therapeutics based on peptide hormones to treat cancer and gastrointestinal diseases and conditions. Gastrotech was founded on technology developed at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Sweden, which is known as the development cradle of growth hormone and IGF-1 research.

Founded in 2000 and headquartered in West Sacramento, Calif., Lipomics Technologies specializes in analyzing and interpreting lipid metabolism with an eye toward a better understanding of disease progression and drug discovery. Recently, Executive Editor Randall C Willis talked to Dr. Steven Watkins about the company’s perspective on lipidomics and the pharmaceutical industry.

Caprion Pharmaceuticals, a proteomics-based drug discovery company, in early November announced a collaboration agreement with AstraZeneca focused on the discovery of novel targets for prostate cancer. The intention of the collaboration is to push forward the development of innovative therapies, which in turn could bolster the development pipelines of both companies.

Continuing progress in its preclinical and clinical programs has led ArQule, known in the past primarily for being a chemistry services business, to shift its focus to drug discovery efforts to develop innovative cancer therapeutics. As a result, the company will exit the chemistry services business altogether.

Because of its high incidence and mortality rate, cancer ranks high on the list of the world’s deadliest and costliest diseases.