Month: June 2020

The targeted protein degradation approach is believed to possess the potential to unlock the undruggable proteome, which was traditionally considered to be inaccessible. Compared to conventional inhibition strategies, degradation offers several benefits, which include the opportunity to completely remove aberrant proteins and associated systemic malfunctions. As a result, targeted protein degradation-based therapeutics have generated enthusiasm

Cancer is considered to be the second leading cause of mortality, after cardiovascular diseases, accounting for every sixth reported death in the world. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) states that the number of new cancer cases is expected to grow to 27.5 million across the globe, by 2040. Experimental evidence has shown

With the success of first vaccine to reach phase I clinical trial and turning out to be safe, well-tolerated, and capable of generating an immune response against the virus in humans, a lot of hope has been created with this vaccine. However, the research is still ongoing to develop novel therapeutic treatments that could aid

The concept of targeted protein degradation presents revolutionary drug development opportunities and is anticipated to bring about a paradigm shift in modern healthcare. While conventional medicines, such as small molecule inhibitors and monoclonal antibodies, address fewer than 20% of the proteome, targeted protein degradation offers a unique means to tap into the rest of the

Over time, the complexities associated with drug discovery have increased, especially in case of large molecule drugs, which are inherently more complex than conventional small molecules. As a result, an increase in the overall research and development (R&D) expenditure in the pharmaceutical / biotechnology sector has been witnessed. In addition to the complexities involved, the

The COVID-19 pandemic is predicted to throw the global economy into recession, with loss of trillions of dollars. The pharmaceutical industry cannot escape the brunt of the circumstances as well. In fact, according to a survey, 95% of healthcare industry professionals are worried about the impact the pandemic is likely to have on the industry. So far,

Cancer is known to be one of the leading causes of death worldwide. In 2019, 0.6 million deaths due to cancer are estimated in the US alone.  Moreover, the World Health Organization has estimated the number of new cancer cases to rise by 70% over the next 20 years. One of the primary reasons for

There is an urgent unmet need for developing innovative and effective cancer therapeutics for the treatment of patients with late-stage and refractory cancer. Amidst the widespread initiatives to develop more targeted anti-cancer therapies, immune checkpoint inhibitors emerged as a highly specific and potent option to eradicate tumor cells with minimal side effects. Once the body

In the past two decades, advances in optometry, along with an increased understanding of human eye and vision care, have led scientists to develop innovative treatment methods in order to treat eye disorders and to overcome the limitations offered by conventional medical practices. The current ophthalmic diseases treatment landscape is characterized by a number of

Owing to various reasons, such as growing manufacturing demand, need for specialized facilities, equipment and operational expertise, and high costs of development associated with certain drugs / therapies, a number of innovator companies have demonstrated a preference to outsource certain aspects of ophthalmic drug development and production operations to contract service providers. Over 240 companies

What is the current development pipeline of microbiome-based live biotherapeutics? With over 85 products under preclinical and clinical development, the current development pipeline of microbiome-based live biotherapeutics has several promising candidates, which are anticipated to get commercialized over the next few years. Hence, the demand for R&D and manufacturing services for such products is anticipated

Antibody-Drug Conjugates (ADCs) have captured the attention of both large and small pharmaceutical companies, and academic / research institutions, for more than a decade. For the past few years, several failures of clinical trials were blamed for the lack of interest of some companies in this therapeutic approach. However, after a decade-long dribble of antibody-drug

The apocalyptic images of the COVID-19 induced locked-down world are heart wrenching. All healthcare related domains are being created at a rapid rate. Around the world, the coronavirus pandemic is overstretching health services and reportedly more than 40 companies have boosted their R&D efforts to hit the bulls eye and deliver the much awaited vaccines

As we know, COVID-19 is causing large scale loss of life and severe human suffering. With the pandemic spreading across the globe, researchers are racing against the clock to develop diagnostic tools, vaccines and treatments. Recently, WHO has launched a Solidarity clinical trial to assess relative effectiveness of four potential drugs against COVID-19. Further, there

While the ASCO 2020 presentation was virtual this year, the phase III results from AstraZeneca’s drug Tagrisso, in lung cancer patients, were as real as they could get. 89% of patients treated with Tagrisso were alive and cancer-free after two years, compared to 53% of patients treated with the placebo. Oncology Dominance AstraZeneca started with

Live biotherapeutics are fragile bacteria, which require ideal conditions of heat, moisture and pH of products, to survive and prevent premature germination. In fact, manufacturing is presently one of the biggest bottlenecks in this domain; manufacturing such products is both technically challenging and financially demanding. One of the biggest challenges in the development of a