New Method Of Research Using Algorithms Could Shave Off Time In Drug Development Process
The approach could be used to more carefully personalize a patient’s drug regimen.
Stat:
Bin Chen: Cutting To The Chase With Computational Biology
The in silico approach to drug development just got a taste of validation, thanks to some intriguing new research from University of San Francisco, California. A drug cherry-picked with algorithms has behaved as expected: It’s helped shrink tumors in animal models. The UCSF researchers have created a computational method to delve through enormous amounts of open-access data to find novel drugs — and also discover new ways to repurpose existing drugs. The work was just published in Nature Communications. (Keshavan, 7/13)
In other news —
The New York Times:
F.D.A. Panel Recommends Approval For Gene-Altering Leukemia Treatment
A Food and Drug Administration panel opened a new era in medicine on Wednesday, unanimously recommending that the agency approve the first-ever treatment that genetically alters a patient’s own cells to fight cancer, transforming them into what scientists call “a living drug” that powerfully bolsters the immune system to shut down the disease. (Grady, 7/12)