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The Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC) and its clinical, industry and disease-foundation partners are launching open-source preclinical translational medicine studies.
The clinical failure of two large mGluR5-antagonist programmes in Fragile X syndrome has forced drug developers to rethink trial design and target selection for neurodevelopmental indications.
Several breakthrough drugs have recently been approved to treat hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. To understand what it takes to achieve such success, Calcoen and colleagues analysed attrition rates for HCV drug projects over the last 20 years compared with other indications.
Current influenza vaccines are effective but require reformulation each year and do not protect against pandemic influenza strains. Here, Krammer and Palese discuss the advances in the design and production of seasonal and pandemic influenza virus vaccines, including novel vaccine constructs and adjuvants. Advances in the design of universal influenza vaccines are also presented.
Members of the family of kallikrein (KLK)-related proteases are found in various tissues — including the airway, prostate and brain — and have a wide range of functions. The authors describe the roles of KLKs in health and disease, and highlight the small-molecule, peptide-based, protein-based, antibody-based and immunotherapeutic strategies that are being used to target KLKs in certain diseases.
One strategy for treating cancer while limiting off-target effects on healthy cells is to conjugate cytotoxic agents to small-molecule ligands for receptors that are upregulated in tumours. Low and colleagues explain the key aspects to be considered when designing ligand–drug conjugates, and summarize the ligand–drug and ligand–imaging agent conjugates that are currently in clinical trials.
