Drug Discovery + Development

A recent outbreak of the Andes (ANDV) strain of the hantavirus aboard a cruise ship has increased public interest in efforts towards a vaccine. However, a publicly available vaccine is likely still several years away. ANDV causes Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS), which has a 30% to 50% fatality rate. Some research also indicated that the…

As clinical trials expand globally, their complexity has intensified, with a recent study indicating average complexity scores have risen by more than 10 percentage points in the last decade. This growing intricacy, compounded by exponential data growth and rapidly evolving regulations, reveals the limitations of traditional, manual pharmacovigilance systems and the urgent need for innovation.…

Bioptimus, a global AI company building models for biology, announced the launch of its Spatial Tissue Embedding Learning Atlas (STELA), a multinational spatial data generation initiative in partnership with 10x Genomics and Broad Clinical Labs. The company aims to solve issues in drug discovery and development, improving efficiency and decreasing costs.  Building foundation models for…

iDEL Therapeutics is developing a new method to deliver drug payloads directly into the cytosol, bypassing traditional cellular degradation pathways. The company is launching with a €9 million seed financing round led by BiomedVC to advance its Direct Cytosolic Transfer (DCT) technology.  Many current therapies that bind to receptors are internalized but become stuck in…

At least 1 in 10 medicines in low- and middle-income countries are substandard or falsified. A 2023 UNODC assessment estimated 267,000 deaths per year from falsified antimalarials alone in sub-Saharan Africa, with nearly 170,000 more from counterfeit antibiotics. In the U.S., the problem is smaller in scale but growing: the CDC has warned about counterfeit…

Quintessence Biotech is reinventing the bio-separation process with a biological reagent capable of reproducing natural processes while simplifying industrial workflows. The company’s technology improves therapeutic efficacy, reduces manufacturing costs while working with existing cell culture hardware, Quintessence said.  Cell therapies are based on the idea of using living cells as medicine instead of treating diseases…

The 3 mm Multi-Nuclear Inverse (MNI) CryoProbe is a Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) detector “combining the highest sensitivity and versatility,” according to the R&D 100 2025 team at Bruker who developed it.  The Ultra-Sensitive 3 mm MNI CryoProbe Scientists working in discovery and development were having difficulties characterizing lead compounds and their related substances considering…

Thermo Fisher is entering a collaboration with OpenAI to “help to improve the speed and success of drug development,” the company announced today. Thermo Fisher is embedding OpenAI Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) into product development, service delivery, customer engagement and operational efficiency, the company said.  Thermo Fisher said the collaboration will shorten the cycle time…

AstraZeneca broke ground today on a massive manufacturing complex near Charlottesville, Virginia, which stands to be its largest facility worldwide and a pillar of the company’s $50 billion U.S. R&D and manufacturing plan through 2030. The company intends to ramp up investment and scope of the facility to $4.5 billion, which would eventually create 3,600…

The Lasker Awards were recently granted to scientists studying cell biology and cystic fibrosis. Dick Gӧrlich and Steven L. McKnight won the Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award for their work studying low-complexity domains in protein sequences. Michael Welsh, Jesús González and Paul Negulescu were awarded the Lasker-DeBackey Clinical Medical Research Award for their roles…

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is increasingly built into oncology trials as more therapies hinge on biomarker tests. Thermo Fisher Scientific reports 24-hour specimen-to-report turnaround on its Ion Torrent Genexus System versus multi-week central-lab workflows. Faster readouts can help reduce screen failures when sites are searching for rare mutations and have limited tissue, a challenge when screen…

AI isn’t some shiny new kid on the drug discovery block. In one way or another, it’s been lurking in labs for decades under aliases like computational chemistry and cheminformatics. The term ‘artificial intelligence’ itself dates back to the 1950s. Alister Campbell, vice president and global head of science and technology at Dotmatics, chuckles at…

Phase 3 clinical trials are lengthy and expensive processes that could result in hundreds of millions of dollars in losses if they fail, enough to tank a mid-sized or small company. Direct costs alone tend to be in the tens of millions of dollars, yet failures are common. A study by researchers at MIT found…

Chemists at the Ohio State University developed a new way to synthesize carbenes, essential components of drug synthesis and materials development. They published their findings in Science.  Their new method works by using iron as a metal catalyst with dichloride compounds that easily generate free radicals. These substrates form carbenes with various substituents. Then, the…

Researchers at MIT and the University of California, Santa Barbara, have identified compounds that activate a defense pathway inside cells infected by a virus. They believe these compounds could be used as antiviral drugs that will work against any virus. They published their findings in the journal Cell.  The compounds activate a defense system called…

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania used a deep-learning system called APEX to screen a database of over 40 million venom-encrypted peptides (VEPs), proteins employed by animals for attack or defense, in search of potential antibiotics. In just hours, APEX flagged 368 compounds as potential antibiotics. The team published a study in Nature Communications.  From…

SandboxAQ, the Alphabet spinoff whose name reflects its work at the intersection of AI and quantum techniques, thinks testing drugs on animals is already passé. “It’s not so much that we’re going to somehow move a mouse model into computers,” said Nadia Harhen, general manager of AI simulation at the company. “It’s that we hope…

When a famously cautious, methodical regulator like the FDA deploys generative AI as the agency recently did with “Elsa,” the industry sits up and takes notice. While there are signs that the tool itself has received something of a mixed response from staff, it also serves as a signpost:  AI has begun an official transition…

Historically, animal testing has been something of a necessary evil in drug discovery, but a growing number of efforts are underway to do without them. The latest case in point is a newly patented system that integrates 3D cell cultures. These cultures grow human cells on supportive silk scaffolds. This setup better mimics real body…

You’ve just seen your favorite rock band in a packed arena — and as the excitement fades, the worry sets in. Was this a “super spreader” event? When was your last booster? In that moment, wouldn’t it be a relief to know you could just take a pill to protect yourself? A recent study presented…

The R&D World Index (RDWI) for the week ending March 7, 2025, closed at 4,106.42 for the 25 companies in the RDWI. The Index dipped –1.37% (or -56.96 basis points). Seventeen RDWI members gained value last week from 0.08% (Stellantis NV) to 12.51% (Volkswagen AG). Eight RDWI members lost value the previous week from -0.25%…

The R&D World Index saw a slight gain of 0.22% last week, closing at 4,163.38 points. Corporate actions focused heavily on new manufacturing investments, with Apple doubling its Advanced Manufacturing Fund and Eli Lilly announcing plans for four new U.S. drug manufacturing plants. Technology companies continued their push in advanced computing, with Amazon and Google…

The R&D World Index saw a slight gain last week amidst a landscape of innovation and cost-cutting within global industries. Pharma giants Eli Lilly and Merck announced a partnership with Purdue University to launch the Young Institute Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Consortium, aimed at bolstering domestic pharmaceutical production. However, automotive supplier Continental AG revealed further job cuts…

The R&D World Index saw gains this week, driven partly by a surge in Intel’s value amid significant developments across various sectors. Honda and Nissan have ended their merger talks, citing concerns over autonomy and decision-making, while GlaxoSmithKline consolidates its vaccine R&D in Cambridge, MA. Novartis is set to reacquire rights to a blood clot…

Ericsson has introduced Cognitive Labs, a virtual research initiative dedicated to advancing artificial intelligence (AI) technologies such as Graph Neural Networks (GNNs), Active Learning, and Large-Scale Language Models (LLMs). The program operates with teams in Madrid, Málaga, and Cairo. Focus areas include enhancing mobile communications and exploring emerging technology applications in sectors like healthcare. The…