Although Taxol® (paclitaxel) offers significant benefits to cancer patients, its initial isolation from the bark of the Pacific yew tree (Taxus brevifolia) raised serious ecological concerns since the trees are killed in the harvesting process. These concerns led to the…
Drug Discovery Opinion
Consultancy for Biotech and Pharma
DDO has been providing support in medicinal chemistry and drug discovery to academic and commercial scientists since 2008. We have helped with a range of activities such as due diligence, SAR analysis and advice, portfolio prioritisation, funding applications, target assessment and therapeutic area reviews.
If you have a task that needs the input of experienced medicinal chemists or project leaders, we are here to help.
Of course, if you are just here to read the blog, you’re also welcome! Read on….
Blocking Cancer Networks
The emergence of drug resistance is one of the main causes of failure in cancer treatment and is one reason that cancer drugs are often used in combination. Resistance can also arise during the use of combinations of cytotoxic agents…
Study Casts New Light on Prozac Mechanism
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as fluoxetine (Prozac®) have been used to treat depression for more than three decades but researchers from INSERM and Hoffmann-La Roche have now shed new light on their mechanism of action. SSRIs are believed…
The BMK1 Pathway in Oncology – a Road Less Travelled
Of the four mammalian MAP kinase pathways (ERK1/2, JNK, p38 and BMK1), BMK1 is the least studied. BMK1 and ERK1/2 pathways are both activated by mitogens and oncogenic signals and are therefore implicated in tumorigenesis. Indeed, the ERK1/2 pathway has…
Possible Biomarker for COX-2 Cardiovascular Risk
Selective COX-2 inhibitors were developed to minimise the adverse gastrointestinal effects seen with conventional NSAIDs and have provided effective pain relief for millions of arthritis patients. Long-term, high dosage use of some COX-2 inhibitors, however, was found to be associated…
Speeding the Cellular Waste Disposal System
The ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) is a critical element of the cellular machinery, responsible for removing unwanted proteins. Target proteins, which may be misfolded, oxidised or simply no longer required, are marked for degradation by attachment of ubiquitin chains. The ubiquitinated…
2-AG – Not Such Eternal Bliss?
The cannabinoid receptors, CB1 and CB2, were first identified as the receptors for the active components of Cannabis sativa. The endogenous ligands for the cannabinoid receptors, anandamide (from ananda, a Sanskrit word meaning ‘bliss’) and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), exert most of…
LRRK2 Inhibitor Protective in Parkinson’s Disease Model
The main symptoms of Parkinson’s disease are tremor, rigidity and involuntary movement, caused by loss of dopaminergic neurons in the brain. Leucine-rich repeat protein kinase-2 (LRRK2) is mutated in a significant number of Parkinson’s disease cases, both familial and sporadic…
How Arthritis May Protect Against Alzheimer’s Disease
Epidemiological studies have suggested that either rheumatoid arthritis itself – or the anti-inflammatory drugs used to control it – are associated with a reduced risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Recent clinical trials with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have failed to…
Stomach Bugs Need Vitamin B6
Approximately half of the world’s population is infected with Helicobacter pylori, the bacterium that causes peptic ulcers and some forms of stomach cancer. Although ‘triple therapy’ with a proton pump inhibitor and two antibiotics – selected from a very limited…
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