Vertex And Genomics Plc Join Hands To Develop Precision Medicines

Precision Medicines on Drugdu.com

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated and Genomics plc have become alliances for three years and might extend to a five-year collaboration to enhance the search for targets in precision medicines. Grave diseases with no or little treatment options are a focus of these two companies which are planning to work on the clinical effects of genetic mutations and stratification of patients. 

Vertex and Genomics researchers will come together to bring their individual expertise in human genetics and carry out studies incorporating searching and testing of targets in specific diseases.

A novel analysis engine is designed by Genomics, which studies human biology via genetics and can gauge the effectiveness and safety of new drugs. The Genomics engine comprises of 100 billion data points which make it the largest in the world. Human genetic variation is connected to more than 14 million positions in the human genome to alterations in 7,000 physiological, cellular and molecular parameters and resultants of illnesses by the engine.

“Human biology and genetics are a foundation of drug discovery at Vertex and the team at Genomics bring together a unique combination of sophisticated data science and human genetics,” said Dr. David Altshuler, Executive Vice President Global Research, and Chief Scientific Officer, Vertex. “This partnership will pioneer new uses of genomic tools and technologies to advance Vertex’s ongoing work and investment at our Oxford Research Site and globally to bring new medicines to the patients that need them.”

“Human genetics has already been shown to have a substantial impact on the success of novel drug targets. Our next generation of data and algorithms promises to be transformative, not just for target discovery but in biomarker selection and patient stratification,” commented Professor Peter Donnelly FRS, Founder, and Chief Executive Officer, Genomics plc. “We are delighted to be partnering with one of the most innovative and successful companies.”

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Fluoroscopy and Natural Color Vision brought together to create Surgical Microscope by Leica

Vascular neurosurgery sees a new light in the form of the Leica Microsystem’s GLOW800 augmented reality surgical fluorescence system which recently received approval from the FDA. This new system is able to create a simultaneous vision of the surgical field in its natural colors along with flow in the vessels in real-time. It gives complete depth view and is devoid of any misalignments among the two pictures.

Fluoroscopy and Natural Color Vision

Surgeons no longer need to look at two different microscopic images and memorize one image to look at another, they can get access to a combined natural image of the anatomy of the parts being operated upon, with the help of the Aveo digital augmented reality microscope from Leica.

“For the past decade Leica Microsystems has been pioneering new fluorescence imaging technologies in partnership with surgeons to advance surgical practices,” said Markus Lusser, President of Leica Microsystems, in a statement. “GLOW800 and future modalities based on the GLOW AR platform will allow surgeons to perform life-changing neurosurgical interventions with the confidence that they have the best possible visual information right in the field of view.”

The aim of Leica is to enhance the precision in surgeries, reduce the operating time and produce better results by presenting this technology to varied products.

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New chemical compounds to stop cancer metastasis

A team of researchers at the University of California, Riverside, under the leadership of Maurizio Pellecchia, a professor of biomedical sciences at UCR's School of Medicine, unearthed a path through which the chemotherapeutic medicine paclitaxel can hit at cancer cells on the move which cause metastases.

They designed a chemical compound called as 123B9 which target ephrin type-A receptor 2 (EphA2), an oncogene. They fastened paclitaxel on the surface of 123B9 to hit at EphA2 which is responsible for cancer metastases by enabling cancer cells to enter circulation from the primary tumor site.

The study findings are published in ACS Chemical Biology.

Pellecchia said, "But the exact mechanism by which 123B9 binds to its target remained elusive, which hampered the design of even more potent and effective agents."

A more potent and effective chemical agent to target EphA2 was then developed to tackle this issue and then, the exact combined structure of the chemical agent and the receptor bounded by ligands was visualized in three dimensions with the help of an associate professor of biochemistry at UCR, Jikui Song. This gave a clear picture of how the newly developed chemical binds with EphA2. Hence, chemical agents stronger than 123B9 were developed.

"The structural studies gave important clues to us on how our agents interact with the EphA2 at the atomic level," said Pellecchia, who holds the Daniel Hays Chair in Cancer Research. "We were thus able to modify 123B9 extensively, which resulted in several intermediary agents, and ultimately in the novel, potent, and selective agents 135H11 and 135H12."

"These agents can still carry a chemotherapy drug to the cancer cell, but they don't need to, being anti-metastatic and potent agents themselves," said Pellecchia, who is also the founding director of the Center for Molecular and Translational Medicine at UCR. "When they bind to EphA2, they cause internalization and degradation of the receptor inside the cell, thus preventing cancer cells from entering circulation and metastasizing."

The new chemical derivatives 135H 11/ H12 were then tested on pancreatic cancer cells which confirmed their metastases preventing function. This validated Pellecchia's hypothesis which suggested that these chemicals could be administered to combat metastases in cancer.

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Discovery of Rosehip Neurons in Humans

Have you ever wondered why scientists conduct experiments on rodents during clinical trials? Scientists claim that rodents resemble humans in terms of genetics. Scientists from the Allen Institute for Brain Science were focussing their research work to find out which specific brain cells are present in humans but not in rodents. The motive behind this discovery is to find a clue which might further lead to the treatment for neurological disorders.

The research team along with a team from the University of Szeged in Hungary used brain samples from two dead men who donated their bodies for research work. It’s emotions and consciousness that differentiate humans from other animals. Considering this point, the team focussed their work on the outer part of the brain, the cortex region, which controls the consciousness.  

The scientists discovered particular cells in the human brain which is absent in other animals. These specific cells are called ‘rosehip neurons’, otherwise termed as inhibitory neurons, since they inhibit the activity of other neurons. This study was published in the journal named Nature Neuroscience.

Scientists are yet to discover the function of rosehip neurons in humans but they claim that since they are interconnected with other neurons, the rosehip neurons should be involved in the flow of information. The next step is to check whether rosehip neurons are present in any other region. Next, the scientists are eager to detect the role of these inhibitory neurons in neurological diseases.

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Discovery of blood test to predict heart disease & stroke

The scientists from the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute have devised a quick blood test have identified plasma lipid biomarkers which could easily predict the risk of oncoming secondary heart attack and stroke. These research findings were published in the journal named JCI Insight.

This invention is currently under development. But the team had proposed to conduct the trial in Australia as a customized precision health program during the next 2-3 years. In this trial work, the physician would order this test to detect the risk of heart disease.

Professor Peter Meikle, the lead investigator of this research work, said "While there are thousands of lipids in the blood, our challenge is to identify which ones best predict disease outcomes."

At first, a trial was conducted in America with the limited information based on only two lipid markers. This trial was not yet conducted anywhere.

Professor Peter Meikle said, "Our test will use up to ten lipid markers to better diagnose heart disease. It's a challenging, yet very exciting time. We effectively have the information and are in the process of refining the technology."

Professor Peter Meikle further added, "Once the protocols for a diagnostic heart disease blood test are in place; it will be possible to additional markers for the test to also be used in predicting diabetes and potentially Alzheimer's disease as well. The test will reclassify a patient's risk of heart attack and stroke. It will better identify who within the 'intermediate' risk category are in fact, at higher risk, and help guide physicians in the appropriate treatment of patients."

This blood test is similar to a cholesterol test, but it could be operated out of labs and hospitals.

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Discovery of new toolkit to detect musculoskeletal condition

Ageing is a normal process where the body parts especially joints, muscles and bones would become weaker. The bone density and muscle strength would deteriorate. But what is the exact benchmark that differentiates between normal condition and the diseased condition of musculoskeletal system?

The scientists from the Medical Research Council-Arthrit

is UK Centre for Integrated Research into Musculoskeletal Ageing (CIMA) – a collaboration between Newcastle, Liverpool and Sheffield universities, have proposed a toolkit to detect the condition of joints, bones and muscles. These findings were published in the journal named Age and Ageing.

Two biomarkers named CTX and PINP are the indicators of bone health condition. The bone loss or the risk of fractures can be predicted, if the levels of these biomarkers go higher especially in older females. Even the body composition, muscle mass, cartilage damage, and functional ability could be assessed.

Professor John Mathers, from Newcastle University's Institute for Ageing, said "We know that when older people have limited mobility or stop being active altogether it can have a significant, negative impact on their cardio-vascular health, their neurological health and their quality of life overall, increasing the risk of disease. This new toolkit will help us better understand how well the whole musculoskeletal system functions as we age so that we can help people stay physically active and healthy for longer."

Professor Graham Kemp, from the Institute of Ageing and Chronic Disease in University of Liverpool, said "This toolkit is the first systematic effort to evaluate methods for assessing the effects of ageing in the bone, muscle, tendons and cartilage, and to make recommendations for practical use."

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