Drug Discovery@nature.com 8 March 2013

TABLE OF CONTENTS 8 March 2013 News Analysis Research Highlights Research & Reviews Careers Nature Reviews Drug Discovery is on Twitter Advertisement Statins Downregulate K6a Promoter Activity: A Possible Therapeutic Avenue for Pachyonychia Congenita Journal of Investigative Dermatology | doi:10.1038/jid.2011.41 The authors found that simvastatin and other statins inhibit K6a promoter activity and K6a protein expression. Read the JID article here.   News Top European Lead Factory opens for business doi:10.1038/nrd3956 Seven pharmaceutical companies and the Innovative Medicines Initiative have launched a 196 million project in a bid to boost academic and industry lead discovery. Full Text Tuberculosis success doi:10.1038/nrd3957 First approval for new tuberculosis drugs paves the way for better combinations of new and old agents. Full Text Trial watch: Pioneering RNAi therapy shows antitumour activity in humans doi:10.1038/nrd3962 Alnylam Pharmaceuticals and collaborators have published encouraging Phase I results for their lipid nanoparticle-formulated RNAi therapeutic in the treatment of advanced solid tumours with liver involvement. Full Text Regulatory watch: Antisense approval provides boost to the field doi:10.1038/nrd3963 Mipomersen (Kynamro; Isis Pharmaceuticals/Genzyme), an antisense oligonucleotide that inhibits apolipoprotein B100, has been approved by the US FDA for homozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia. Full Text Analysis Top Targeting viral capsid assembly doi:10.1038/scibx.2013.180 Researchers at Prosetta Antiviral have used an in vitro screen to identify small molecules targeting the host-catalyzed capsid assembly pathway for the rabies virus. Full Text Stem cell therapy market doi:10.1038/nrd3953 Products based on stem cells show promise in diverse therapeutic areas, including cardiovascular and autoimmune diseases. This article analyses the late-stage pipeline of stem cell therapies and provides a market overview. Full Text Research Highlights Top Cancer: Double-pronged approach to combat mutant KRAS doi:10.1038/nrd3969 KRAS-mutated tumour cells treated with MEK inhibitors are particularly sensitive to the simultaneous inhibition of the anti-apoptotic protein B cell lymphoma XL. Full Text Regenerative disorders: Notching up hearing doi:10.1038/nrd3964 Pharmacological inhibition of Notch signalling can partially restore hearing in mice exposed to acoustic trauma. Full Text Peptides: Activating autophagy doi:10.1038/nrd3970 A potent autophagy-inducing peptide shows promising efficacy in several infectious diseases and in the clearance of protein aggregates in neurodegenerative diseases. Full Text Research & Reviews Top The role of tumour–stromal interactions in modifying drug response: challenges and opportunities doi:10.1038/nrd3870 This review discusses the impact of the tumour microenvironment on tumour cell signalling, survival and drug response, and describes preclinical models to help account for this impact in anticancer drug discovery. Full Text The placebo response in medicine: minimize, maximize or personalize? doi:10.1038/nrd3923 This perspective discusses how the placebo response could be used in drug development and clinical practice to help allow the most desirable outcome to be attained in each setting. Full Text Inhibition of α-helix-mediated protein–protein interactions using designed molecules doi:10.1038/nchem.1568 This review discusses the relevance of protein–protein interactions, particularly those medicated by α-helices, to chemical biology and drug discovery, with a focus on designing inhibitors. Full Text Identification of human epididymis protein-4 as a fibroblast-derived mediator of fibrosis doi:10.1038/nm.2989 Inhibiting human epididymis protein-4 reduced fibrosis in three different mouse models of renal disease, suggesting that it is a new therapeutic target. Full Text Drug Discovery JOBS of the week Postdoctoral Positions in Drug Discovery Research (1-2) Shanghai Jiaotong University More Science jobs from Drug Discovery EVENT Resources for Computational Drug Discovery 09.12.13 Cambridge - UK More science events from Careers Top Career snapshots archive Career snapshots feature people associated with drug discovery and drug development, with the aim of providing expert insights and advice on a wide range of positions and career paths in this field. Full Text Advertisement SciBX: Science-Business eXchange is a weekly publication that identifies and analyzes the most important translational research articles from over 40 journals. Find out which papers have real scientific and commercial potential, and why. Recommend SciBX to your library today.   Natureevents is a fully searchable, multi-disciplinary database designed to maximise exposure for events organisers. The contents of the Natureevents Directory are now live. The digital version is available here. Find the latest scientific conferences, courses, meetings and symposia on natureevents.com. For event advertising opportunities across the Nature Publishing Group portfolio please contact natureevents@nature.com More Nature Events

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