Volume 11 Issue 5, May 2012

Following an FDA advisory committee vote to restart clinical development of nerve growth factor antagonists, could this novel class of analgesics still fulfil its once-anticipated potential?

Researchers are starting to use high-throughput genomic technologies to guide patients into trials of experimental cancer therapies, but is our understanding of the cancer genome ready yet?

Stephen Frye, from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, USA, discusses emerging capabilities of academic drug discoverers.

This article analyses the relationship between risk and the cost of capital for projects in different stages of drug development and describes a framework that could improve portfolio optimization strategies.

First disease-modifying drug approved in the United States for the treatment of cystic fibrosis in patients with a specific mutation in the gene encoding the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator.

Extensive analyses of successful and failed compounds in drug discovery and development have improved our understanding of the role of physicochemical properties in attrition. They have also clarified the difficulties in finding the 'sweet spot' in medicinal chemistry programmes. Hann and Keserü discuss scientific, strategic and cultural considerations for medicinal chemistry practices, with the aim of promoting more effective use of what is already known, and a wider appreciation of the risks of pursuing suboptimal compounds.

The human proprotein convertases are a family of nine serine proteases that are involved in the processing and modulation of various proteins. Seidah and Prat review the physiological functions and pathological implications of proprotein convertases, highlighting recent advances and associated challenges in the development of novel therapeutics targeting them, including inhibitors of proprotein convertase subtilisin kexin 9 (PCSK9) for the treatment of hypercholesterolaemia.

Epigenetic regulation of gene expression can contribute to diseases such as cancer, inflammation and neuropsychiatric disorders. Here, the authors review the protein families that mediate epigenetic signalling through histone acetylation and methylation, and highlight progress in the pharmacological modulation of each class of proteins.

In this Case History, Lacey and colleagues chronicle the events that led to an increased understanding of osteoclast biology, beginning with the identification of the pathway mediated by osteoprotegerin (OPG), receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL) and RANK. They discuss the strategies that were followed to target this pathway, culminating in the development of the RANKL-specific antibody denosumab, which is now approved for the treatment of osteoporosis and the prevention of cancer-related skeletal events.