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Mike Yeadon discusses the challenges of starting a company based on assets licensed from Pfizer following the closure of its research operations in Sandwich, UK.
There are an estimated 1.3 billion smokers worldwide, and nearly six million people die from tobacco-related diseases each year. This article discusses smoking cessation drugs that are in development or on the market, and provides an outlook for their commercial potential.
Pharmacogenetics is an increasingly important tool for drug development, which has been reflected in recent guidelines from regulatory agencies on the application of pharmacogenetics in studies of investigational drugs. In this article, authors from Europe, the United States and Japan overview the guidelines from the regulatory agencies in each region and discuss the common themes and differences.
The accumulation of eosinophils in blood and tissue is associated with several inflammatory and infectious diseases. Here, the authors describe recent advances in the development of first-generation eosinophil-targeted therapies and highlight innovative new strategies — such as inhibiting eosinophil activation — that are aimed at targeting eosinophils.
Immunomodulatory biologics targeting cell surface signalling proteins on immune cells allow immune responses to be driven in desired directions — enhancing these in infection or cancer, or dampening them in autoimmune diseases or transplantation. In this Review, Chen and colleagues discuss immunomodulatory signalling pathways that provide targets for immunomodulation, and the current state of drug development in the field.
The clinical success of inhibitors of tumour necrosis factor (TNF) in the treatment of autoimmune diseases has generated interest in the therapeutic potential of targeting other members of the TNF superfamily (TNFSF) of cytokines and their receptors. Here, Croft and colleagues review the current developmental status of biologics targeting these molecules in a range of disorders, highlighting key challenges and emerging therapeutic targets.
