Table of contents
In this issue
p683 | doi:10.1038/nrd2412
Editorial: A delicate balancing act
p685 | doi:10.1038/nrd2413
News and Analysis
Novel diabetes drugs to face higher hurdles? | PDF (837 KB)
p687 | doi:10.1038/nrd2415
Major patent reform moves closer | PDF (837 KB)
p688 | doi:10.1038/nrd2416
News in Brief
First oral HIV drug in new class in over a decade | FDA to implement Nanotechnology Task Force recommendations | NICE decision upheld in UK High Court | Gene-therapy trial on hold | No access to experimental drugs for terminally ill | China to invest US$1.16 billion in drug safety | PDF (844 KB)
p690 | doi:10.1038/nrd2417
Patent watch
An Audience With
Rino Rappuoli | PDF (132 KB)
p694 | doi:10.1038/nrd2419
From the analyst's couch
Respiratory drug market dynamics | PDF (251 KB)
p695 | doi:10.1038/nrd2401
Fresh from the Pipeline
Ambrisentan | PDF (198 KB)
p697 | doi:10.1038/nrd2402
Research Highlights
Neurological disease: Rescuing from toxicity | PDF (181 KB)
p699 | doi:10.1038/nrd2407
Antimicrobials: Fighting resistance | PDF (639 KB)
p700 | doi:10.1038/nrd2404
Cardiovascular diseases: Periostin regenerates broken heart | PDF (407 KB)
p700 | doi:10.1038/nrd2406
Obesity: Stress and obesity connect at NPY | PDF (302 KB)
p701 | doi:10.1038/nrd2408
Therapeutics: Promoting a mixed message | PDF (691 KB)
p702 | doi:10.1038/nrd2405
In brief
Prion diseases | Inflammatory disorders | Protein structure | PDF (152 KB)
p702 | doi:10.1038/nrd2409
Perspectives
Outlook
Stimulating the development of mechanism-based, individualized pain therapies
Janet Woodcock, James Witter & Raymond A. Dionne
p703 | doi:10.1038/nrd2335
Despite increased pharmaceutical investment, few novel molecular entities that address new pain mechanisms have entered the clinic. Dionne and colleagues discuss factors contributing to this lack of innovation and highlight strategies to translate new knowledge into more efficacious and safer treatments.
Outlook
Minimizing leakage of value from R&D alliances
Andrew Jones
p711 | doi:10.1038/nrd2357
Alliances are now a key component of the research and development strategies of most major pharmaceutical companies. Jones summarizes recent trends in alliance formation and discuss approaches to minimize risk in alliances, which are growing in importance as alliance activity increases.
Reviews
Muscarinic acetylcholine receptors: mutant mice provide new insights for drug development
Jürgen Wess, Richard M. Eglen & Dinesh Gautam
p721 | doi:10.1038/nrd2379
Altered muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChR) activity is implicated in many disorders including Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, pain, obesity and diabetes, but lack of knowledge of the precise functional roles of the individual mAChR subtypes has hampered drug development. Wess and colleagues review recent insights gained from mAChR-knockout mice that are helping to address this issue and discuss the therapeutic potential of subtype-selective mAChR modulation.
See also: Correspondence by Dragunow
Article series: Case Histories
Case history
Molecular basis for sunitinib efficacy and future clinical development
Sandrine Faivre, George Demetri, William Sargent & Eric Raymond
p734 | doi:10.1038/nrd2380
Sunitinib is a multitargeted kinase inhibitor that has recently been approved for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma and gastrointestinal stromal tumours. Raymond and colleagues summarize the discovery and development of sunitinib, and discuss key issues for the multitargeted approach in cancer treatment, such as markers of response and development of resistance.
Translational research in medication development for nicotine dependence
Caryn Lerman, Mark G. LeSage, Kenneth A. Perkins, Stephanie S. O'Malley, Steven J. Siegel, Neal L. Benowitz & William A. Corrigall
p746 | doi:10.1038/nrd2361
In their Review, the authors describe animal and human laboratory paradigms used to investigate the pathophysiology of nicotine dependence, and propose how their predictive clinical validity might be improved, thereby enhancing the development of new medications for smoking cessation.
