Neutron Scattering Provides Unique Insights for Drug R&D By Dr Martyn Bull Drug discovery and development is a long and expensive process. Techniques, such as computer modelling, that make the search for promising candidates easier are usually taken up enthusiastically. Neutron scattering, an emerging technique in this field, can provide… Read More
New Mechanisms and Expanded Indications for Biologic Therapies: a perspective on immunology research and development By Dr Susan B. Dillon Over the past decade, the introduction of biologic therapies has had a profound impact for millions of patients with immune-mediated arthritides, inflammatory bowel diseases and plaque psoriasis. Today, five anti-Tumor… Read More
Current Trends in Label-Free Drug Discovery Technologies By Philip Rawlins Drug Discovery Label-free technologies have been used throughout drug discovery for the detection and characterisation of molecular interactions. The implementation of automated systems, increased sensitivity and the development of new technologies have recently broadened the use of label-free methods from… Read More
Mass Spectrometry is a mature technology predicated on a premise demonstrated almost a century ago. It is widely used in most scientific disciplines involving basic research or industrial endeavours, that require accurate and precise measurement of elemental and molecular components. More recently it has become one of the foundation technologies… Read More
Bulk Reagent Dispensers: Ubiquitous liquid handling tool for microplate filling By Dr John Comley The initial success of the bulk reagent dispenser (BRD) as an automated liquidhandling product can be attributed to its simplicity and low cost. Its current role as an essential dispensing tool in those labs requiring microplate… Read More
Overcoming Bottlenecks in Drug Discovery By Dr Trevor Perrior Developing a new drug is an expensive and time-consuming process. The best current estimate puts the cost of developing a single new drug at close to $1 billion. After a drug candidate has entered the clinical trial process it takes, on… Read More
Is the Pharmaceutical Industry Open For Innovation? By Dr Jackie Hunter CBE Open innovation is the hot topic in many industries and this approach has the potential to make a radical difference to the costs of drug discovery and development in the pharmaceutical industry. But there are also barriers to… Read More
High Throughput Flow Cytometry for Discovery at UNMCMD and the NIH Molecular Libraries Initiative By Dr Larry A. Sklar and Dr Bruce S. Edwards Commercial flow cytometers became widely established in research and clinical laboratories in the 1980s. Once the domain of immunologists and hematologists for cell sorting and analysis,… Read More
Biomarkers Make Their Mark on Current Research and Drug Development Trends By Stephane Parent and Dr Gregory Cosentino Biomarkers continue to become increasingly relevant in research and healthcare applications, as evidenced by the global market for products involved in their identification, validation, and use estimated at $8.3 billion in 2007… Read More
Enterprise ELNs as a Foundation for Preclinical Drug Development By Simon Beaulah, Dr Paul Denny- Gouldson and Dr Scott Weiss To have real business impact within preclinical drug development, Enterprise ELNs (Electronic Laboratory Notebooks) must provide a secure, scalable and searchable data management backbone across all disciplines focused on development… Read More
New Trends and Therapeutic Approaches for the Management of Diabetic Retinopathy By Dr Didier Pruneau Diabetes mellitus is a growing epidemic that has become a global public health problem. The long-term complications of diabetes include retinopathy, the leading cause of blindness and visual impairment in adults. Diabetic retinopathy correlates with… Read More
3D Cell Culture: Easier said than done By Dr John Comley The transition from cell culture on the flat surface of a conventional two-dimensional (2D) culture vessel to a three-dimensional (3D) environment, matrix or scaffold with 3D architecture has begun, and is providing much needed support for emerging applications in… Read More
Personalised Medicine Market and Regulatory Landscape By Dr Enal Razvi and Dr Patricia Hurley Over the past several years, there has been continuing interest in the deployment of personalised medicine via the development of companion diagnostics/therapeutics. The leading edge of this discipline is in the cancer personalised medicine arena where… Read More
Tracking HTS Assay Development Time: Opportunity for improving drug discovery By Dr Jennifer Hartigan, Cindy Liu and William Downey High throughput screening (HTS) assays are developed more quickly now due to advances in technology, improved liquid handling and sensitive detection, as well as increased communication between scientists in high throughput… Read More
Fluorescence Lifetime: Finally picking up momentum! By Dr John Comley Fluorescence lifetime (FLT) largely failed to make a significant inroad as a screening technology when it was first introduced nearly a decade ago, despite the fact that intrinsically it has many benefits, particularly in dealing with assay interferences. Market studies… Read More
Overview of Companion Diagnostics in the Pharmaceutical Industry Part 2: Business models. By Dr Stephen Naylor and Toby Cole There is an emerging consensus that the development of Companion Diagnostics appears to offer a set of tools to address many of the current problems that pharmaceutical companies must overcome. This in… Read More
