Focus on drug discovery

In This Issue - pv

doi:10.1038/nchembio1206-v

Full Text - In This Issue | PDF (362 KB) - In This Issue

Focus on drug discovery

Frontiers in drug discovery - p645

doi:10.1038/nchembio1206-645

Integrating chemistry and biology in the search for the next generation of therapeutics.

Full Text - Frontiers in drug discovery | PDF (76 KB) - Frontiers in drug discovery

Focus on drug discovery

Smart drug discovery leveraging innovative technologies and predictive knowledge - pp646 - 648

Tomi K Sawyer

doi:10.1038/nchembio1206-646

By building on the successes of the past and leveraging both innovative technologies and predictive knowledge, scientists can develop smarter ways to create a molecular armamentarium of chemical and biological medicines.

Full Text - Smart drug discovery leveraging innovative technologies and predictive knowledge | PDF (1,319 KB) - Smart drug discovery leveraging innovative technologies and predictive knowledge

Focus on drug discovery

Drug discovery through industry-academic partnerships - pp649 - 653

Nathanael S Gray

doi:10.1038/nchembio1206-649

Translational research in academia is extending beyond the traditional involvement in clinical trials to the early phases of the drug discovery process. Examples of successful academic-industrial partnerships illustrate the ways in which they can enable the discovery of new medicines.

Full Text - Drug discovery through industry-academic partnerships | PDF (377 KB) - Drug discovery through industry-academic partnerships

Focus on drug discovery

Stuart Levy - p655

Joanne Kotz

doi:10.1038/nchembio1206-655

Seeking to maintain a supply of effective antibiotics, Stuart Levy combines research in microbiology and antibiotic drug discovery with a strong commitment to public communication.

Full Text - Stuart Levy | PDF (287 KB) - Stuart Levy

Focus on drug discovery

Marlene Haffner - p657

Catherine Goodman

doi:10.1038/nchembio1206-657

As head of the Office of Orphan Products Development, Marlene Haffner offers a perspective on the immense influence the Orphan Drug Act has had in promoting research on and awareness of rare diseases.

Full Text - Marlene Haffner | PDF (259 KB) - Marlene Haffner

Puzzling through fragment-based drug design - pp658 - 659

Philip J Hajduk

doi:10.1038/nchembio1206-658

Fragment-based drug design capitalizes on the modular binding of low-molecular-weight, low-affinity ligands. However, the deconstruction of lead-like inhibitors into putative fragments reveals the surprising complexity of dealing with low-affinity leads, thereby challenging oversimplification of these leads and highlighting the richness of their chemical diversity and molecular recognition.

Full Text - Puzzling through fragment-based drug design | PDF (311 KB) - Puzzling through fragment-based drug design

See also: Letter by Babaoglu & Shoichet

A sweet success for substrate engineering - pp659 - 660

Byron R Griffith & Jon S Thorson

doi:10.1038/nchembio1206-659

Chemically synthesizing complex oligosaccharides remains a significant challenge. Through the addition of hydrophobic appendages to 'unnatural' substrates, some oligosaccharide-forming glycosyltransferases can direct the formation of distinct sugar linkages while maintaining stereoselectivity.

Full Text - A sweet success for substrate engineering | PDF (257 KB) - A sweet success for substrate engineering

See also: Letter by Lairson et al.

Combinatorial biosynthesis in symbiotic bacteria - pp661 - 662

Jörn Piel

doi:10.1038/nchembio1206-661

Ascidians obtain diverse libraries of cytotoxic compounds by maintaining cyanobacterial symbionts that have combinatorial variants of a natural-product pathway. The biosynthetic flexibility of this route can be used to genetically engineer new substances.

Full Text - Combinatorial biosynthesis in symbiotic bacteria | PDF (152 KB) - Combinatorial biosynthesis in symbiotic bacteria

See also: Letter by Donia et al.

The connectivity map - pp663 - 664

Stephen W Michnick

doi:10.1038/nchembio1206-663

The sheer quantity and complexity of gene expression data can provide extraordinarily accurate descriptions of differences between states of cells, tissues and whole organisms. A compendium of genomic signatures that attempts to describe all biological states has the potential to reveal hidden connections among drugs, genes and diseases.

Full Text - The connectivity map | PDF (240 KB) - The connectivity map

Research Highlights - p665

doi:10.1038/nchembio1206-665

Full Text - Research Highlights | PDF (274 KB) - Research Highlights

Focus on drug discovery

Developing a new resource for drug discovery: marine actinomycete bacteria - pp666 - 673

William Fenical & Paul R Jensen

doi:10.1038/nchembio841

Abstract - Developing a new resource for drug discovery: marine actinomycete bacteria | Full Text - Developing a new resource for drug discovery: marine actinomycete bacteria | PDF (479 KB) - Developing a new resource for drug discovery: marine actinomycete bacteria

Focus on drug discovery

Production of isoprenoid pharmaceuticals by engineered microbes - pp674 - 681

Michelle C Y Chang & Jay D Keasling

doi:10.1038/nchembio836

Abstract - Production of isoprenoid pharmaceuticals by engineered microbes | Full Text - Production of isoprenoid pharmaceuticals by engineered microbes | PDF (287 KB) - Production of isoprenoid pharmaceuticals by engineered microbes

Focus on drug discovery

Synthetic therapeutic antibodies - pp682 - 688

Sachdev S Sidhu & Frederic A Fellouse

doi:10.1038/nchembio843

Abstract - Synthetic therapeutic antibodies | Full Text - Synthetic therapeutic antibodies | PDF (2,054 KB) - Synthetic therapeutic antibodies | Supplementary information

Focus on drug discovery

New approaches to molecular cancer therapeutics - pp689 - 700

Ian Collins & Paul Workman

doi:10.1038/nchembio840

Abstract - New approaches to molecular cancer therapeutics | Full Text - New approaches to molecular cancer therapeutics | PDF (2,647 KB) - New approaches to molecular cancer therapeutics

Focus on drug discovery

Drug discovery and development for neglected parasitic diseases - pp701 - 710

Adam R Renslo & James H McKerrow

doi:10.1038/nchembio837

Abstract - Drug discovery and development for neglected parasitic diseases | Full Text - Drug discovery and development for neglected parasitic diseases | PDF (314 KB) - Drug discovery and development for neglected parasitic diseases | Supplementary information

Focus on drug discovery

RNAi therapeutics: a potential new class of pharmaceutical drugs - pp711 - 719

David Bumcrot, Muthiah Manoharan, Victor Koteliansky & Dinah W Y Sah

doi:10.1038/nchembio839

Abstract - RNAi therapeutics: a potential new class of pharmaceutical drugs | Full Text - RNAi therapeutics: a potential new class of pharmaceutical drugs | PDF (2,508 KB) - RNAi therapeutics: a potential new class of pharmaceutical drugs