Table of contents
In this issue
p87 | doi:10.1038/nrd1970
News and Analysis
Drug approval triggers debate on future direction for cancer treatments | PDF (647 KB)
p91 | doi:10.1038/nrd1972
2005 approvals: Safety first | PDF (188 KB)
p92 | doi:10.1038/nrd1973
News in Brief
Patent watch
To prevent, or treat? | PDF (48 KB)
p96 | doi:10.1038/nrd1976
Patent watch
Heart drug double trouble for AZ | PDF (30 KB)
p96 | doi:10.1038/nrd1977
Patent watch
Look-alike not too alike | PDF (62 KB)
p96 | doi:10.1038/nrd1978
Patent watch
More court rulings safeguard Lipitor | PDF (31 KB)
p96 | doi:10.1038/nrd1979
Patent primer
Patenting antibodies | PDF (72 KB)
p97 | doi:10.1038/nrd1963
An Audience With
Steven Nissen | PDF (63 KB)
p98 | doi:10.1038/nrd1971
From the analyst's couch
The IBS market | PDF (219 KB)
p99 | doi:10.1038/nrd1961
Fresh from the Pipeline
Galsulfase | PDF (112 KB)
p101 | doi:10.1038/nrd1962
Research Highlights
Neurological disorders: Harnessing the beneficial effects of cannabis | PDF (118 KB)
p103 | doi:10.1038/nrd1967
Biomarkers: Taking out the trash | PDF (236 KB)
p104 | doi:10.1038/nrd1966
Kinases: New route to kinase inhibition | PDF (236 KB)
p104 | doi:10.1038/nrd1968
G-Protein-coupled receptors: Bridging the GPCR gap | PDF (198 KB)
p105 | doi:10.1038/nrd1965
In brief
Mood disorders | Informatics | Structure-based drug design | Cancer | PDF (120 KB)
p106 | doi:10.1038/nrd1964
Infectious disease: Antisense PMOs protect against Ebola virus | PDF (120 KB)
p106 | doi:10.1038/nrd1969
Perspectives
Outlook
Success in translational research: lessons from the development of bortezomib
Ibis Sánchez-Serrano
p107 | doi:10.1038/nrd1959
Sánchez-Serrano discusses the story of the innovative anticancer drug bortezomib to dissect the key public-sector-private sector interactions that made the development of this drug successful despite many barriers, and considers the implications for improving translational research in general.
Innovation
Artificial viruses: a nanotechnological approach to gene delivery
Enrico Mastrobattista, Marieke A. E. M. van der Aa, Wim E. Hennink & Daan J. A. Crommelin
p115 | doi:10.1038/nrd1960
Although the prospects of gene therapy have not been fully realised, there is hope that nanotechnologies will have great impact on this field. Crommelin and colleagues describe such approaches to gene therapy. Nucleic acid delivery systems are being developed that incorporate virus-like functions in a single nanoparticle.
Reviews
Article series: Case Histories
Pegaptanib, a targeted anti-VEGF aptamer for ocular vascular disease
Eugene W. M. Ng, David T. Shima, Perry Calias, Emmett T. Cunningham, Jr., David R. Guyer & Anthony P. Adamis
p123 | doi:10.1038/nrd1955
Pegaptanib, an RNA aptamer that binds to vascular endothelial growth factor, was approved for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration in December 2004, becoming both the first approved aptamer therapeutic and the first anti-angiogenic agent for treating ocular disease.
Clinical trials for antipsychotic drugs: design conventions, dilemmas and innovations
T. Scott Stroup, Wayne M. Alves, Robert M. Hamer & Jeffrey A. Lieberman
p133 | doi:10.1038/nrd1956
Schizophrenia trials are subject to multiple endpoint comparison problems, the risk of false-positives, patient non-compliance, high drop-out rates and missing data. Stroup and colleagues discuss current trial limitations and how these might be addressed by innovations in trial design and statistics.
Antibody targeted drugs as cancer therapeutics
David Schrama, Ralph A. Reisfeld & Jürgen C. Becker
p147 | doi:10.1038/nrd1957
Targeting drugs specifically to tumour cells to improve efficacy and reduce toxicity is paramount to the future development of anti-cancer agents. Schrama and colleagues critically review current approaches to achieving this and the status of targeted treatments in development.
Paradigm shift in neuroprotection by NMDA receptor blockade: Memantine and beyond
Stuart A. Lipton
p160 | doi:10.1038/nrd1958
Excessive glutamate receptor activity, principally of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) subtype, contributes to neuronal damage in a large number of neurologic disorders, including dementia. Until recently, however, NMDA receptor antagonists had all failed in clinical trials. Stuart Lipton reviews the mechanism of action that led to the clinical approval of the first NMDA receptor antagonist, memantine, which has become the newest and one of the best-selling drugs for Alzheimer's disease.
Erratum: Epigenetic therapy of cancer: past, present and future
Christine B. Yoo & Peter A. Jones
| doi:10.1038/nrd1981
