Published in Drug discovery today
In this review, we present the potential of nasal dry powders to deliver stable bioactive compounds and their manufacture using spray-drying (SD) techniques to achieve encapsulation. We also review currently approved and experimental excipients used for powder manufacturing for specific target drugs. Polymers, sugars, and amino acids are recommende...
Published in Drug discovery today
For emerging and re-emerging epidemic infections, researchers face challenges to develop broad-spectrum antivirals as well as reducing development time and costs, and drug resistance. Drug repurposing is a reliable strategy for rapidly discovering potent new antiviral agents, reducing the need for clinical trials. In this review, we outline antivir...
Published in Drug discovery today
The diverse pharmacological activities of organoselenium compounds are closely correlated to their ability to scavenge and induce reactive oxygen species (ROS), their intrinsic oxidative properties, and their Se(0) release property. The incorporation of selenium into small molecules, and particularly into heterocycles and natural products, has show...
Published in Drug discovery today
The emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in bacterial pathogens represents a global health threat. The metabolic state of bacteria is associated with a range of genetic and phenotypic resistance mechanisms. This review provides an overview of the roles of metabolic processes that are associated with AMR mechanisms, including energy productio...
Published in Drug discovery today
A growing number and diversity of complex medicines is in development and reaching the market, with many of these medicines utilising innovative delivery technology to achieve appropriate biodistribution and exposure. Accurate assessment of biodistribution, cell penetration, internalised form, cargo release and efficacy are essential for the develo...
Published in Drug discovery today
Scars affect millions of patients worldwide, yet their treatment efficacy and options clinically remain limited. In recent years, increased understanding of scar formation pathways leading to developments in nanotechnology have opened many opportunities for scar detection, prevention, and treatment due to the nanoscale features and therapeutic deli...
Published in Drug discovery today
Osteogenic small molecules have been adapted as one of the encouraging approaches to regenerate bone tissue. Small molecules used long term will usually result in adverse effects. A novel approach is short-term treatment with osteogenic small molecules. Demonstrating effectiveness for regenerating bone with a short-term treatment or a single-dose a...
Published in Drug discovery today
The blockchain and smart contract technologies have increasingly been introduced in several industrial markets. The blockchain can also effectively and potentially be used as a disruptive method to significantly improve the drug life cycle management. The cycle includes drug discovery, development, manufacturing, distribution, use, and finally disp...
Published in Drug discovery today
Biological drugs or biopharmaceuticals off patent open a large market for biosimilars and biobetters, follow-on biologics. Biobetters, in particular, are new drugs designed from existing ones with improved properties such as higher selectivity, stability, half-life and/or lower toxicity/immunogenicity. Glycosylation is one of the most used strategi...
Published in Drug discovery today
Positron emission tomography (PET) is an extensively used nuclear functional imaging technique, especially for central nervous system (CNS) and oncological disorders. Currently, drug development is a lengthy and costly pursuit. Imaging with PET radiotracers could be an effective way to hasten drug discovery and advancement, because it facilitates t...
