Drug Discovery

University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine researchers report the first genome-wide expression analysis of long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) in HIV-infected macrophages that promote tissue inflammation, stimulate the immune system, and rid the body of foreign debris. In general, lncRNAs do not encode the recipe for proteins the way other RNAs do, but instead help control which genes are turned “on” or “off” in a cell.

NIAID is providing additional funding of $9.2 million to its existing contract with Enanta Pharmaceuticals to fund development for a new class of bridged bicyclic antibiotics called bicyclolides.

Gilead Sciences will partner with Chinese health authorities on a randomized, controlled trial designed to assess its antiviral drug candidate remdesivir (GS-5734) as a potential treatment for 2019-nCoV novel coronavirus.

Xencor could receive up to $175 million in upfront payments, research support, and preclinical and clinical development, regulatory and sales milestones, in addition to future royalties.

BioSante took a 19.9% stake in Cold Genesys and will get milestones and royalties.

PCR-based assays are designed to measure antigen receptor sequences of WBCs.

Allergan and AstraZeneca work on development and commercialization of antibiotic treatment for resistant microbes.

Sage Therapeutics is now in a license agreement with Washington University in St. Louis to develop and commercialize novel small molecule GABAA receptor allosteric...

Novartis enlisted the help of Danish drug discovery company Nuevolution to identify small molecule leads against specific drug targets. Nuevolution will use its fragment-based...

Temporarily disabling a single protein inside our cells might be able to protect us from the common cold and other viral diseases. The protein, an actin histidine methyltransferase called SET domain containing 3 (SETD3), was identified in a CRISPR screen and confirmed to be essential to viral pathogenesis in cultured cells and mouse models. Curiously, when viruses use SETD3, they neglect the part needed for enzymatic function.