5 New Drugs for Cancer, Blood Clots, Diabetes, and Hepatitis

http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2...l#previouspost

April 16, 2008
5 New Drugs for Cancer, Blood Clots, Diabetes, and Hepatitis

Drug companies like to keep a tight lid on their research, but every
spring the American Chemical Society talks several of them into disclosing
their secrets. This year, the event took place in a ballroom at the Morial
Convention Center in New Orleans.

In front of a huge audience, scientists revealed the identities of
experimental drugs that are ready for testing on humans. Each researcher
told a long story about how they were discovered.

Merck developed a new Hepatitis C medication which may make painful
interferon treatments unnecessary. It works by gumming up a protease,
which the virus uses to activate some of its building blocks by separating
them from one another. The same strategy has been used to fight HIV for
years, but every subtype of virus has a slightly different enzyme, so each
requires a unique drug. Link

Bristol-Myers Squibb has concocted a drug that works by blocking androgen
receptors on prostate cancer cells. In the absence of that hormonal
message, they have less drive to reproduce uncontrollably. Unfortunately,
during their project, the researchers lost one of their teammates to the
deadly disease. Link

Arena Pharmaceuticals has developed a drug that may prevent deadly blood
clots -- the kind that cause heart attacks and strokes. It works by
blocking a serotonin receptor, which seems like a rather roundabout way to
accomplish that goal. When a reporter from Chemical and Engineering News,
asked if it can affect the nervous system too, the speaker was very
evasive. Perhaps his company plans to test the drug as a treatment for
psychological disorders if it fails as a cardiovascular medication. Link

Novartis relied heavily on computer models to design a molecule which can
treat diabetes and obesity. Unlike many other drugs, which halt the
actions of enzymes, Cevoglitazar stimulates proteins called PPAR alpha and
gamma -- nudging the body to manage fats and sugars properly.

Metabasis Therapeutics unveiled another diabetes treatment. This one cuts
down on glucose production by the liver. It works by inhibiting an enzyme
called Fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase. Metformin, a standard drug for
diabetes patients, also cuts down on glucose production in the liver, but
how it works is a mystery. Link

The prostate cancer clinical trial is here
http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00326586
A Phase I Dose-Escalation Study of BMS-641988 in Patients With
Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer
Drug: AR Antagonist (BMS-641988)
Tablets, Oral, 6 Patients will be randomized in a 1:1 ratio and in a
double-blinded fashion to achieve a single dose of the study drug or
Placebo on C1D1. Once daily, at least 3 cycles until the disease
progresses