Research and development - Articles

PEG-linkers are particularly attractive as a linker for Antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs). Water solubility, lack of toxicity; low immunogenicity and well-defined chain lengths and molecular weights are specific characteristics of PEG moieties relevant to pharmaceutical applications
As the field of antibody-drug conjugation chemistry has advanced, the use of linkers to impart "drugability" has also been growing. Biopharma PEG  leapts at the opportunity to develp various high purity PEG derivatives used as ADC linkers. Antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs) or immunoconjugates have shown to offer the unique benefits of a targeted therapeutic strategy combined with the best features of both therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAb) and potent small-molecule cytotoxic drugs through a linke…

Historically, the way patients have been treated for diseases has been centred around our understanding of a dominant version of a disease as it occurs in the average human. The ailment is identified, a treatment path is offered, and drugs are prescribed. The effectiveness of this treatment, however, can vary due to a range of factors.
Historically, the way patients have been treated for diseases has been centred around our understanding of a dominant version of a disease as it occurs in the average human. The ailment is identified, a treatment path is offered, and drugs are prescribed. The effectiveness of this treatment, however, can vary due to a range of factors. The patient might have a particular variation of a disease, or a conflicting condition, or their biological makeup means cert…

A successful hit identification campaign relies on the use of a high-quality, diverse library of potential compounds to be screened, but also on capitalizing on other complementary techniques, such as structure-based virtual screening (SBVS) and fragment-based screening.
The major preclinical phases of peptide drug discovery encompass initial target identification and validation, hit identification, high throughput screening, lead optimization, etc. Among them, hit identification is one of the most critical steps in identifying peptides that can interact with well-validated targets.   Hit identification (HI) follows the process of target validation, in which the compound screening assays are developed. The main goal of the HI process is to apply the most suitable hit finding approaches…

Without a firm grip on data quality, life sciences companies will continue to be caught out by audits, missed registrations, or project disruption. As data becomes more important than documents, Amplexor’s Agnes Cwienczek provides practical starting points towards ensuring data quality, integrity, currency and completeness.
A comprehensive, approved master data source is increasingly vital to support a whole range of activities, whether submission and compliance related, or supporting internal analytics and management reporting. Without complete confidence in a defined quality, integrity, currency and completeness of data, however, there are two main risks to the business functions. One is that they will fall foul of the authorities, providing inaccurate or out-of-date information, and as a…

Pharmaceutical excipients can be classified into natural, semi-synthetic and fully synthetic compounds according to their sources.
Pharmaceutical excipients refer to the substances used in the production and formulation of medicines. They perform multiple functions in pharmaceutical preparations and are likely to affect the quality, safety and effectiveness of drugs. Pharmaceutical excipients can be classified into natural, semi-synthetic and fully synthetic compounds according to their sources. And based on their use, excipients can be divided into diluents, binders, disintegrants, lubricants, glidants and anti-caking agents, wetting agents and solubilizers. Among all varieties of excipients, how to select the most appropriate ones for a specific drug formulation project? The guidelines be…

Errors sometimes occur during drug development, but if pharma companies apply only a temporary solution to the problem, they risk repeating the same mistakes. Helen Lowe at Arriello outlines a best-practice approach that ensures the errors of the past are not repeated.
For companies to improve their performance, they have to understand their failures. But deep understanding requires more than just making a bit more effort – it needs a change of mindset where failures are not seen as problems but as opportunities for improvement. Establishing a Corrective Action Preventive Action (CAPA) programme benefits a company in many different ways. A well-designed CAPA programme can enhance and improve a company’s relationships with its clients and vendors, at the same time as cutting costs and reduci…

Since the peptide library provides a powerful tool for drug development, protein-protein interactions, and other biochemical as well as pharmaceutical applications, the total peptide library becomes a productive tool as it enjoys higher stability because of the special structure of the peptide bond. Additionally, its construction cycle is relatively short compared with traditional peptide library construction technologies, accelerating the development of peptides drugs.
Peptides with low molecular weight have been known to be less allergenic and the diverse physiological roles of peptides make them suitable candidates for the development of therapeutic agents. Peptide drugs are widely used in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and AIDS. However, t…

Peptide plays a key role in basic biochemical and physiological processes, and it is essential to many aspects of biomedical research, especially when the pharmaceutical industry continues to apply new drug candidates in the biological field. Therefore, rapid, efficient, and reliable methodology for the chemical synthesis of peptide drugs is of utmost interest in chemical biology research.
Peptide plays a key role in basic biochemical and physiological processes, and it is essential to many aspects of biomedical research, especially when the pharmaceutical industry continues to apply new drug candidates in the biological field. Therefore, rapid, efficient, and reliable methodology for the chemical synthesis of peptide drugs is of utmost interest in chemical biology research.   In gener…

Protein structure analysis is one of the core contents of protein engineering. It mainly collects a large amount of protein molecular structure information in order to establish a database of the relationship between structure and function, thereby laying a foundation for theoretical research on the relationship between protein structure and function. Protein structure analysis is of great significance for the strategic consideration and specific approach selection of protein engineering aiming at designing and constructing novel proteins.
Protein structure analysis is one of the core contents of protein engineering. It mainly collects a large amount of protein molecular structure information in order to establish a database of the relationship between structure and function, thereby laying…

It takes at least ten years for a new medicine to reach market, with clinical trials alone taking up to seven years. But drug developers, particularly those developing vaccines, have had to work much quicker in recent times. Could industry maintain this momentum, and develop pharmaceutical products faster? Here, Dave Walsha, sales manager at precision drive system supplier, Electrical Mechanical Systems (EMS), explores how micromotors are helping drug discovery.
It takes at least ten years for a new medicine to reach market, with clinical trials alone taking up to seven years. But drug developers, particularly those developing vaccines, have had to work much quicker in recent times. Could industry maintain this momentum, and develop pharmaceutical products faster? Here, Dave Walsha, sales m…

Recently, Shionogi Company of Japan reported a non-covalent, non-peptidic, orally bioavailable 3CL protease inhibitor as a clinical candidate for the treatment of COVID-19.
The pathogen causing New Coronavirus pneumonia is a beta genus coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2, which is an RNA virus. After entering cells through the human ACE2 receptor, SARS-CoV-2 translates and expresses the polyprotein pp1a/pp1ab, which is then hydrolyzed by Mpro or 3CLpro or nsp5 to release various nonstructural proteins that are important for virus replication, thus inhibiting the activity of 3CL protease and blocking virus replication.   In order to obtain non-covalent 3CL protease inhibitors as clinical candidates quickly, Shionogi performed docking-based virtual screening and biological screening of its in-…

“I like the excitement of not knowing what’s going to happen and I think I thrive on it.” For the first interview in our Human Strategy Series,  the team recently spoke with Dr Jackie Ameri, CEO of Pancryos, who benefited from our Leadership Assessment service as part of the partnership between Coulter Partners and the BioInnovation Institute (BII). Jackie discusses her early career, her decision to join the BII and highlights the benefits of being part of the BII Creation House Program.
“I like the excitement of not knowing what’s going to happen and I think I thrive on it.” For the first interview in our Human Strategy Series,  the team recently spoke with Dr Jackie Ameri, CEO of Pancryos, who benefited from our Leadership Assessment service as part of the partnership between Coulter P…

Protein phosphorylation is one of the most important post-translational modifications of proteins, and phosphorylation occurs in about 1/3 of all proteins in eukaryotic cells. Catalyzed by protein kinases, phosphate groups are transferred from the donor molecule to the side chains of amino acids containing hydroxyl groups of the protein. Protein phosphorylation is reversible, and protein phosphorylation and dephosphorylation regulate almost all processes of life activity.
Protein phosphorylation is one of the most important post-translational modifications of proteins, and phosphorylation occurs in about 1/3 of all proteins in eukaryotic cells. Catalyzed by protein kinases, phosphate groups are transferred from the donor molecule to the side chains of amino acids containing hydroxyl groups…

Cytokines are classified according to their different roles in the inflammatory response: pro-inflammatory cytokines and anti-inflammatory cytokines.
Cytokines are classified according to their different roles in the inflammatory response: pro-inflammatory cytokines and anti-inflammatory cytokines.   Pro-inflammatory Cytokines Interleukin-1 (IL-1) IL-1 is a proinflammatory cytokine that activates a variety of immune and inflammatory cells and is secreted mainly by monocytes/macrophages, neutrophils and endothelial cells. IL-1 consists of two genetically encoded peptide molecules, IL-1α and IL-1β, both with a molecular mass of about 17 ku, the former being secreted, while the latter is mostly cell bound.   IL-1β stimulates the production of other CK and inflammatory transmitters th…

Exosomes, a tiny membrane vesicle with a lipid bilayer structure, are secreted by most cells and are approximately 40-200 nm in diameter. exosomes are found in body fluids, including blood, saliva, urine and breast milk. exosomes of different tissue origins differ in content composition and function, and this difference is dynamically regulated by the extracellular matrix and microenvironment. Exosomes secreted by host cells or tumor cells are involved in tumorigenesis, growth, invasion and metastasis. The analysis and detection of exosomes can assist in early diagnosis, efficacy evaluation and prognostic analysis of the disease.
What are exosomes? Exosomes, a tiny membrane vesicle with a lipid bilayer structure, are secreted by most cells and are approximately 40-200 nm in diameter. exosom…

The analysis of proteins and peptides and their post-translational modifications is particularly important for the study of diseases where multiple genes are known to be involved, such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.
Post-translational modification (PTM) is the covalent and generally enzymatic modification of proteins following protein biosynthesis. Proteins are synthesized by ribosomes that translate mRNA into polypeptide chains and then undergo PTM to form the mature protein product. After the protein is compounded, 20 different amino acids participate in protein PTM, such as protein phosphorylation, protein acetylation, as well as protein methylation, which play a significant role in almost all biological processes. Therefore, the synthesis of post-translationally modified peptid…

A growing body of evidence now suggests that human microbial dysbiosis has a crucial role in cancer development and progression. Unlikely earlier studies relying on culturing bacteria from the tissue of cancer, high-throughput sequencing methods have enabled genotyping the microbial ecosystem within a cancer tissue from hundreds to thousands of patients in parallel, providing a better overview of the landscape of cancer diseases associated with human microbiome.
  The Microbiome Sequencing in Cancer Research A growing body of evidence now suggests that human microbial dysbiosis has a crucial role in cancer development and progression. Unlikely earlier studies relying on culturing bacteria from the tissue of cancer, high-throughput sequencing methods have enabled genotyping the microbi…

Biomarkers are defined as measurable biological characteristics that associate with normal or pathological conditions. They possess clinical relevance, including diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive values. RNA, not only an essential part of central dogma, is certainly a relatively untapped resource for biomarker discovery of various diseases.
Biomarkers are defined as measurable biological characteristics that associate with normal or pathological conditions. They possess clinical relevance, including diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive values. RNA, not only an essential part of central dogma, is certainly a relatively untapped resource for biomarker discovery of various diseases.   Cumulating data show that RNA molecules, including mRNAs, lncRNAs, miRNAs, siRNAs, piRNAs, snoRNA…

In a usual drug packaging test project, the following factors should be tested, including identification, solution appearance, UV absorbance, pH, total organic carbon, bioreactivity tests for polyethylene, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, cyclic olefins and plasticized polyvinyl chloride, as well as chemical safety assessments.
The packaging materials used for pharmaceutical tablets are in direct contact with the pharmaceuticals. Therefore, as a pharmaceutical manufacturer, when selecting packaging materials, it is necessary to understand some properties and characteristics of packaging materials and containers, to ensure the efficacy and quality of medicines. What are the common pharmaceutical packaging materials? Glass: Glass has the advantages of being moisture-proof, easy to s…

With the growing popularity of Paxlovid, the second spring of caronic anhydride has arrived, one the key intermediates of Paxlovid.
On February 16, 2022, the data on Paxlovid previously published by Pfizer and submitted to the FDA were published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). This NEJM article published viral load data that Paxlovid reduced viral load by 0.868 log10 compared to controls for 5 days of treatment, which equates to a remarkable 7.38-fold reduction in viral load. This pivotal study (NCT04960202) enrolled 2,246 patients with COVID-19, 1,120 received Paxlovid and 1,126 received placebo. Interim analysis showed that 28 days after receiving treatment, Paxlovid reduced the risk of hospitalization and death by 89.1% (p<0.001). Applying the final results of the IT…