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Cairns-Smith S, Jaffe HK, Speidel JJ. Contraceptive technology is failing to meet the needs of people in the United States because of underinvestment in new methods. Contraception 2024; 138:110518. [PMID: 38897432 DOI: 10.1016/j.contraception.2024.110518] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2024] [Revised: 06/10/2024] [Accepted: 06/11/2024] [Indexed: 06/21/2024]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Helen K Jaffe
- NewGen Contraception Project Incorporated, Stamford, CT, United States
| | - J Joseph Speidel
- NewGen Contraception Project Incorporated, Stamford, CT, United States; University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States.
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2
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Rollins ZA, Widatalla T, Cheng AC, Metwally E. AbMelt: Learning antibody thermostability from molecular dynamics. Biophys J 2024; 123:2921-2933. [PMID: 38851888 PMCID: PMC11393704 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2024.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2023] [Revised: 03/16/2024] [Accepted: 06/04/2024] [Indexed: 06/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Antibody thermostability is challenging to predict from sequence and/or structure. This difficulty is likely due to the absence of direct entropic information. Herein, we present AbMelt where we model the inherent flexibility of homologous antibody structures using molecular dynamics simulations at three temperatures and learn the relevant descriptors to predict the temperatures of aggregation (Tagg), melt onset (Tm,on), and melt (Tm). We observed that the radius of gyration deviation of the complementarity determining regions at 400 K is the highest Pearson correlated descriptor with aggregation temperature (rp = -0.68 ± 0.23) and the deviation of internal molecular contacts at 350 K is the highest correlated descriptor with both Tm,on (rp = -0.74 ± 0.04) as well as Tm (rp = -0.69 ± 0.03). Moreover, after descriptor selection and machine learning regression, we predict on a held-out test set containing both internal and public data and achieve robust performance for all endpoints compared with baseline models (Tagg R2 = 0.57 ± 0.11, Tm,on R2 = 0.56 ± 0.01, and Tm R2 = 0.60 ± 0.06). In addition, the robustness of the AbMelt molecular dynamics methodology is demonstrated by only training on <5% of the data and outperforming more traditional machine learning models trained on the entire data set of more than 500 internal antibodies. Users can predict thermostability measurements for antibody variable fragments by collecting descriptors and using AbMelt, which has been made available.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zachary A Rollins
- Modeling and Informatics, Merck & Co., Inc., South San Francisco, California
| | - Talal Widatalla
- Modeling and Informatics, Merck & Co., Inc., South San Francisco, California
| | - Alan C Cheng
- Modeling and Informatics, Merck & Co., Inc., South San Francisco, California
| | - Essam Metwally
- Modeling and Informatics, Merck & Co., Inc., South San Francisco, California.
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3
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Loeffler HH, Wan S, Klähn M, Bhati AP, Coveney PV. Optimal Molecular Design: Generative Active Learning Combining REINVENT with Precise Binding Free Energy Ranking Simulations. J Chem Theory Comput 2024. [PMID: 39225482 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.4c00576] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/04/2024]
Abstract
Active learning (AL) is a specific instance of sequential experimental design and uses machine learning to intelligently choose the next data point or batch of molecular structures to be evaluated. In this sense, it closely mimics the iterative design-make-test-analysis cycle of laboratory experiments to find optimized compounds for a given design task. Here, we describe an AL protocol which combines generative molecular AI, using REINVENT, and physics-based absolute binding free energy molecular dynamics simulation, using ESMACS, to discover new ligands for two different target proteins, 3CLpro and TNKS2. We have deployed our generative active learning (GAL) protocol on Frontier, the world's only exa-scale machine. We show that the protocol can find higher-scoring molecules compared to the baseline, a surrogate ML docking model for 3CLpro and compounds with experimentally determined binding affinities for TNKS2. The ligands found are also chemically diverse and occupy a different chemical space than the baseline. We vary the batch sizes that are put forward for free energy assessment in each GAL cycle to assess the impact on their efficiency on the GAL protocol and recommend their optimal values in different scenarios. Overall, we demonstrate a powerful capability of the combination of physics-based and AI methods which yields effective chemical space sampling at an unprecedented scale and is of immediate and direct relevance to modern, data-driven drug discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannes H Loeffler
- Molecular AI, Discovery Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, Mölndal 431 83, Sweden
| | - Shunzhou Wan
- Centre for Computational Science, Department of Chemistry, University College London, London WC1H 0AJ, U.K
| | - Marco Klähn
- Molecular AI, Discovery Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, Mölndal 431 83, Sweden
| | - Agastya P Bhati
- Centre for Computational Science, Department of Chemistry, University College London, London WC1H 0AJ, U.K
| | - Peter V Coveney
- Centre for Computational Science, Department of Chemistry, University College London, London WC1H 0AJ, U.K
- Advanced Research Computing Centre, University College London, London WC1H 0AJ, U.K
- Institute for Informatics, Faculty of Science, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam 1098XH, The Netherlands
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Das V, Miller JH, Alladi CG, Annadurai N, De Sanctis JB, Hrubá L, Hajdúch M. Antineoplastics for treating Alzheimer's disease and dementia: Evidence from preclinical and observational studies. Med Res Rev 2024; 44:2078-2111. [PMID: 38530106 DOI: 10.1002/med.22033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2023] [Revised: 02/15/2024] [Accepted: 03/04/2024] [Indexed: 03/27/2024]
Abstract
As the world population ages, there will be an increasing need for effective therapies for aging-associated neurodegenerative disorders, which remain untreatable. Dementia due to Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the leading neurological diseases in the aging population. Current therapeutic approaches to treat this disorder are solely symptomatic, making the need for new molecular entities acting on the causes of the disease extremely urgent. One of the potential solutions is to use compounds that are already in the market. The structures have known pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, toxicity profiles, and patient data available in several countries. Several drugs have been used successfully to treat diseases different from their original purposes, such as autoimmunity and peripheral inflammation. Herein, we divulge the repurposing of drugs in the area of neurodegenerative diseases, focusing on the therapeutic potential of antineoplastics to treat dementia due to AD and dementia. We briefly touch upon the shared pathological mechanism between AD and cancer and drug repurposing strategies, with a focus on artificial intelligence. Next, we bring out the current status of research on the development of drugs, provide supporting evidence from retrospective, clinical, and preclinical studies on antineoplastic use, and bring in new areas, such as repurposing drugs for the prion-like spreading of pathologies in treating AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Viswanath Das
- Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacký University and University Hospital Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic
- Czech Advanced Technologies and Research Institute (CATRIN), Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine, Palacký University Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - John H Miller
- School of Biological Sciences and Centre for Biodiscovery, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand
| | - Charanraj Goud Alladi
- Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacký University and University Hospital Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Narendran Annadurai
- Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacký University and University Hospital Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Juan Bautista De Sanctis
- Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacký University and University Hospital Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic
- Czech Advanced Technologies and Research Institute (CATRIN), Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine, Palacký University Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Lenka Hrubá
- Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacký University and University Hospital Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic
- Czech Advanced Technologies and Research Institute (CATRIN), Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine, Palacký University Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Marián Hajdúch
- Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacký University and University Hospital Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic
- Czech Advanced Technologies and Research Institute (CATRIN), Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine, Palacký University Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic
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5
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McDonnell EE, Ní Néill T, Wilson N, Darwish SL, Butler JS, Buckley CT. In silico modeling the potential clinical effect of growth factor treatment on the metabolism of human nucleus pulposus cells. JOR Spine 2024; 7:e1352. [PMID: 39092165 PMCID: PMC11291302 DOI: 10.1002/jsp2.1352] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2024] [Revised: 06/14/2024] [Accepted: 07/01/2024] [Indexed: 08/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Background While growth factors have the potential to halt degeneration and decrease inflammation in animal models, the literature investigating the effect of dosage on human cells is lacking. Moreover, despite the completion of clinical trials using growth differentiation factor-5 (GDF-5), no results have been publicly released. Aims The overall objective was to quantitatively assess the effect of three clinically relevant concentrations of GDF-5 (0.25, 1, and 2 mg) as a therapeutic for disc regeneration. Materials and methods Firstly, this work experimentally determined the effects of GDF-5 concentration on the metabolic and matrix synthesis rates of human nucleus pulposus (NP) cells. Secondly, in silico modeling was employed to predict the subsequent regenerative effect of different GDF-5 treatments (± cells). Results This study suggests a trend of increased matrix synthesis with 0.25 and 1 mg of GDF-5. However, 2 mg of GDF-5 significantly upregulates oxygen consumption. Despite this, in silico models highlight the potential of growth factors in promoting matrix synthesis compared to cell-only treatments, without significantly perturbing the nutrient microenvironment. Discussion This work elucidates the potential of GDF-5 on human NP cells. Although the results did not reveal statistical differences across all doses, the variability and response among donors is an interesting finding. It highlights the complexity of human response to biological treatments and reinforces the need for further human research and personalized approaches. Furthermore, this study raises a crucial question about whether these potential biologics are more regenerative in nature or better suited as prophylactic therapies for younger patient groups. Conclusion Biological agents exhibit unique characteristics and features, demanding tailored development strategies and individualized assessments rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. Therefore, the journey to realizing the full potential of biological therapies is long and costly. Nonetheless, it holds the promise of revolutionizing spinal healthcare and improving the quality of life for patients suffering from discogenic back pain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily E. McDonnell
- Trinity Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College DublinThe University of DublinDublinIreland
- Discipline of Mechanical, Manufacturing and Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering, Trinity College DublinThe University of DublinDublinIreland
| | - Tara Ní Néill
- Trinity Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College DublinThe University of DublinDublinIreland
- Discipline of Mechanical, Manufacturing and Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering, Trinity College DublinThe University of DublinDublinIreland
| | - Niamh Wilson
- Trinity Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College DublinThe University of DublinDublinIreland
- Discipline of Mechanical, Manufacturing and Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering, Trinity College DublinThe University of DublinDublinIreland
| | - Stacey L. Darwish
- National Spinal Injuries UnitMater Misericordiae University HospitalDublinIreland
- School of MedicineUniversity College DublinDublinIreland
- Department of Trauma and OrthopaedicsNational Orthopaedic Hospital, CappaghDublinIreland
- Department of OrthopaedicsSt Vincent's University HospitalDublinIreland
| | - Joseph S. Butler
- Trinity Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College DublinThe University of DublinDublinIreland
- National Spinal Injuries UnitMater Misericordiae University HospitalDublinIreland
- School of MedicineUniversity College DublinDublinIreland
| | - Conor T. Buckley
- Trinity Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College DublinThe University of DublinDublinIreland
- Discipline of Mechanical, Manufacturing and Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering, Trinity College DublinThe University of DublinDublinIreland
- Advanced Materials and Bioengineering Research (AMBER) Centre, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Trinity College DublinThe University of DublinDublinIreland
- Tissue Engineering Research Group, Department of Anatomy and Regenerative MedicineRoyal College of Surgeons in IrelandDublinIreland
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6
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Borges BA, Reis KDS, Pinto CB, Ellena J, Doriguetto AC, Bonfilio R. A new ciprofibrate calcium salt with improved solubility and intrinsic dissolution rate. J Pharm Sci 2024:S0022-3549(24)00353-8. [PMID: 39216539 DOI: 10.1016/j.xphs.2024.08.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2024] [Revised: 08/23/2024] [Accepted: 08/23/2024] [Indexed: 09/04/2024]
Abstract
Ciprofibrate (CIP) is an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) classified as class II on the basis of biopharmaceutical classification system (BCS), what indicates that it has low solubility in aqueous solvents. The use of API salts has attracted attention due to their improvements in solubility, tolerability, higher rate and extent of absorption, and faster onset of the therapeutic effect. In this work, a new crystalline CIP monohydrated calcium salt (Ca(CIP)2.H2O) was successfully obtained and its crystal structure determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis (SCXRD). Additionally, Ca(CIP)2.H2O was widely characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and submitted to solubility, intrinsic dissolution and accelerated stability studies. Ca(CIP)2.H2O exhibited higher solubility and dissolution rate than CIP-free form and was stable up to 6 months at 40°C (75%RH). Therefore, Ca(CIP)2.H2O may be a viable alternative for use in solid dosage forms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bruno Arantes Borges
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Federal University of Alfenas (UNIFAL-MG), Alfenas, Minas Gerais, 37130-001, Brazil
| | - Kassius de Souza Reis
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Federal University of Alfenas (UNIFAL-MG), Alfenas, Minas Gerais, 37130-001, Brazil
| | - Camila Batista Pinto
- São Carlos Institute of Physics, University of São Paulo (IFSC-USP), São Carlos, São Paulo, 13566-590, Brazil
| | - Javier Ellena
- São Carlos Institute of Physics, University of São Paulo (IFSC-USP), São Carlos, São Paulo, 13566-590, Brazil
| | - Antônio Carlos Doriguetto
- Institute of Chemistry, Federal University of Alfenas (UNIFAL-MG), Alfenas, Minas Gerais, 37130-001, Brazil
| | - Rudy Bonfilio
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Federal University of Alfenas (UNIFAL-MG), Alfenas, Minas Gerais, 37130-001, Brazil..
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7
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Razavi Z, Soltani M, Pazoki-Toroudi H, Dabagh M. Microfluidic systems for modeling digestive cancer: a review of recent progress. Biomed Phys Eng Express 2024; 10:052002. [PMID: 39142294 DOI: 10.1088/2057-1976/ad6f15] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2024] [Accepted: 08/14/2024] [Indexed: 08/16/2024]
Abstract
Purpose. This review aims to highlight current improvements in microfluidic devices designed for digestive cancer simulation. The review emphasizes the use of multicellular 3D tissue engineering models to understand the complicated biology of the tumor microenvironment (TME) and cancer progression. The purpose is to develop oncology research and improve digestive cancer patients' lives.Methods. This review analyzes recent research on microfluidic devices for mimicking digestive cancer. It uses tissue-engineered microfluidic devices, notably organs on a chip (OOC), to simulate human organ function in the lab. Cell cultivation on modern three-dimensional hydrogel platforms allows precise geometry, biological components, and physiological qualities. The review analyzes novel methodologies, key findings, and technical progress to explain this field's advances.Results. This study discusses current advances in microfluidic devices for mimicking digestive cancer. Micro physiological systems with multicellular 3D tissue engineering models are emphasized. These systems capture complex biochemical gradients, niche variables, and dynamic cell-cell interactions in the tumor microenvironment (TME). These models reveal stomach cancer biology and progression by duplicating the TME. Recent discoveries and technology advances have improved our understanding of gut cancer biology, as shown in the review.Conclusion. Microfluidic systems play a crucial role in modeling digestive cancer and furthering oncology research. These platforms could transform drug development and treatment by revealing the complex biology of the tumor microenvironment and cancer progression. The review provides a complete summary of recent advances and suggests future research for field professionals. The review's major goal is to further medical research and improve digestive cancer patients' lives.
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Affiliation(s)
- ZahraSadat Razavi
- Physiology Research Center, Iran University Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
- Biochemistry Research Center, Iran University Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Madjid Soltani
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, K N Toosi University of Technology, Tehran, Iran
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada
- Centre for Biotechnology and Bioengineering (CBB), University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada
- Department of Integrative Oncology, BC Cancer Research Institute, Vancouver, Canada
- Centre for Sustainable Business, International Business University, Toronto, Canada
| | | | - Mahsa Dabagh
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, WI 53211, United States of America
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8
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Lavecchia A. Advancing drug discovery with deep attention neural networks. Drug Discov Today 2024; 29:104067. [PMID: 38925473 DOI: 10.1016/j.drudis.2024.104067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2024] [Revised: 06/10/2024] [Accepted: 06/19/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024]
Abstract
In the dynamic field of drug discovery, deep attention neural networks are revolutionizing our approach to complex data. This review explores the attention mechanism and its extended architectures, including graph attention networks (GATs), transformers, bidirectional encoder representations from transformers (BERT), generative pre-trained transformers (GPTs) and bidirectional and auto-regressive transformers (BART). Delving into their core principles and multifaceted applications, we uncover their pivotal roles in catalyzing de novo drug design, predicting intricate molecular properties and deciphering elusive drug-target interactions. Despite challenges, these attention-based architectures hold unparalleled promise to drive transformative breakthroughs and accelerate progress in pharmaceutical research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Lavecchia
- Drug Discovery Laboratory, Department of Pharmacy, University of Napoli Federico II, I-80131 Naples, Italy.
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9
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Öeren M, Hunt PA, Wharrick CE, Tabatabaei Ghomi H, Segall MD. Predicting routes of phase I and II metabolism based on quantum mechanics and machine learning. Xenobiotica 2024; 54:379-393. [PMID: 37966132 DOI: 10.1080/00498254.2023.2284251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2023] [Accepted: 11/13/2023] [Indexed: 11/16/2023]
Abstract
Unexpected metabolism could lead to the failure of many late-stage drug candidates or even the withdrawal of approved drugs. Thus, it is critical to predict and study the dominant routes of metabolism in the early stages of research.We describe the development and validation of a 'WhichEnzyme' model that accurately predicts the enzyme families most likely to be responsible for a drug-like molecule's metabolism. Furthermore, we combine this model with our previously published regioselectivity models for Cytochromes P450, Aldehyde Oxidases, Flavin-containing Monooxygenases, UDP-glucuronosyltransferases and Sulfotransferases - the most important Phase I and Phase II drug metabolising enzymes - and a 'WhichP450' model that predicts the Cytochrome P450 isoform(s) responsible for a compound's metabolism.The regioselectivity models are based on a mechanistic understanding of these enzymes' actions and use quantum mechanical simulations with machine learning methods to accurately predict sites of metabolism and the resulting metabolites. We train heuristics based on the outputs of the 'WhichEnzyme', 'WhichP450', and regioselectivity models to determine the most likely routes of metabolism and metabolites to be observed experimentally.Finally, we demonstrate that this combination delivers high sensitivity in identifying experimentally reported metabolites and higher precision than other methods for predicting in vivo metabolite profiles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mario Öeren
- Optibrium Limited, Cambridge Innovation Park, Cambridge, UK
| | - Peter A Hunt
- Optibrium Limited, Cambridge Innovation Park, Cambridge, UK
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10
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Kucinska M, Pospieszna J, Tang J, Lisiak N, Toton E, Rubis B, Murias M. The combination therapy using tyrosine kinase receptors inhibitors and repurposed drugs to target patient-derived glioblastoma stem cells. Biomed Pharmacother 2024; 176:116892. [PMID: 38876048 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2024.116892] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2024] [Revised: 05/20/2024] [Accepted: 06/05/2024] [Indexed: 06/16/2024] Open
Abstract
The lesson from many studies investigating the efficacy of targeted therapy in glioblastoma (GBM) showed that a future perspective should be focused on combining multiple target treatments. Our research aimed to assess the efficacy of drug combinations against glioblastoma stem cells (GSCs). Patient-derived cells U3042, U3009, and U3039 were obtained from the Human Glioblastoma Cell Culture resource. Additionally, the study was conducted on a GBM commercial U251 cell line. Gene expression analysis related to receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs), stem cell markers and genes associated with significant molecular targets was performed, and selected proteins encoded by these genes were assessed using the immunofluorescence and flow cytometry methods. The cytotoxicity studies were preceded by analyzing the expression of specific proteins that serve as targets for selected drugs. The cytotoxicity study using the MTS assay was conducted to evaluate the effects of selected drugs/candidates in monotherapy and combinations. The most cytotoxic compounds for U3042 cells were Disulfiram combined with Copper gluconate (DSF/Cu), Dacomitinib, and Foretinib with IC50 values of 52.37 nM, 4.38 µM, and 4.54 µM after 24 h incubation, respectively. Interactions were assessed using SynergyFinder Plus software. The analysis enabled the identification of the most effective drug combinations against patient-derived GSCs. Our findings indicate that the most promising drug combinations are Dacomitinib and Foretinib, Dacomitinib and DSF/Cu, and Foretinib and AZD3759. Since most tested combinations have not been previously examined against glioblastoma stem-like cells, these results can shed new light on designing the therapeutic approach to target the GSC population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Malgorzata Kucinska
- Department of Toxicology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences 3 Rokietnicka Street, Poznan 60-806, Poland.
| | - Julia Pospieszna
- Department of Toxicology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences 3 Rokietnicka Street, Poznan 60-806, Poland.
| | - Jing Tang
- Research Program in Systems Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki 00290, Finland.
| | - Natalia Lisiak
- Department of Clinical Chemistry and Molecular Diagnostics, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 3 Rokietnicka Street, Poznan 60-806, Poland.
| | - Ewa Toton
- Department of Clinical Chemistry and Molecular Diagnostics, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 3 Rokietnicka Street, Poznan 60-806, Poland.
| | - Blazej Rubis
- Department of Clinical Chemistry and Molecular Diagnostics, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 3 Rokietnicka Street, Poznan 60-806, Poland.
| | - Marek Murias
- Department of Toxicology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences 3 Rokietnicka Street, Poznan 60-806, Poland.
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11
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Wossnig L, Furtmann N, Buchanan A, Kumar S, Greiff V. Best practices for machine learning in antibody discovery and development. Drug Discov Today 2024; 29:104025. [PMID: 38762089 DOI: 10.1016/j.drudis.2024.104025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2023] [Revised: 04/25/2024] [Accepted: 05/13/2024] [Indexed: 05/20/2024]
Abstract
In the past 40 years, therapeutic antibody discovery and development have advanced considerably, with machine learning (ML) offering a promising way to speed up the process by reducing costs and the number of experiments required. Recent progress in ML-guided antibody design and development (D&D) has been hindered by the diversity of data sets and evaluation methods, which makes it difficult to conduct comparisons and assess utility. Establishing standards and guidelines will be crucial for the wider adoption of ML and the advancement of the field. This perspective critically reviews current practices, highlights common pitfalls and proposes method development and evaluation guidelines for various ML-based techniques in therapeutic antibody D&D. Addressing challenges across the ML process, best practices are recommended for each stage to enhance reproducibility and progress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonard Wossnig
- LabGenius Ltd, The Biscuit Factory, 100 Drummond Road, London SE16 4DG, UK; Department of Computer Science, University College London, 66-72 Gower St, London WC1E 6EA, UK.
| | - Norbert Furtmann
- R&D Large Molecules Research Platform, Sanofi Deutschland GmbH, Industriepark Höchst, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
| | - Andrew Buchanan
- Biologics Engineering, R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge CB2 0AA, UK
| | - Sandeep Kumar
- Computational Protein Design and Modeling Group, Computational Science, Moderna Therapeutics, 200 Technology Square, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Victor Greiff
- Department of Immunology and Oslo University Hospital, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
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12
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Lalagkas PN, Melamed RD. Shared genetics between breast cancer and predisposing diseases identifies novel breast cancer treatment candidates. RESEARCH SQUARE 2024:rs.3.rs-4536370. [PMID: 38947022 PMCID: PMC11213186 DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4536370/v1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/02/2024]
Abstract
Background Current effective breast cancer treatment options have severe side effects, highlighting a need for new therapies. Drug repurposing can accelerate improvements to care, as FDA-approved drugs have known safety and pharmacological profiles. Some drugs for other conditions, such as metformin, an antidiabetic, have been tested in clinical trials for repurposing for breast cancer. Here, we exploit the genetics of breast cancer and linked predisposing diseases to propose novel drug repurposing. We hypothesize that if a predisposing disease contributes to breast cancer pathology, identifying the pleiotropic genes related to the risk of cancer could prioritize drug targets, among all drugs treating a predisposing disease. We aim to develop a method to not only prioritize drug repurposing, but also to highlight shared etiology explaining repurposing. Methods We compile breast cancer's predisposing diseases from literature. For each predisposing disease, we use GWAS summary statistics to identify genes in loci showing genetic correlation with breast cancer. Then, we use a network approach to link these shared genes to canonical pathways, and similarly for all drugs treating the predisposing disease, we link their targets to pathways. In this manner, we are able to prioritize a list of drugs based on each predisposing disease, with each drug linked to a set of implicating pathways. Finally, we evaluate our recommendations against drugs currently under investigation for breast cancer. Results We identify 84 loci harboring mutations with positively correlated effects between breast cancer and its predisposing diseases; these contain 194 identified shared genes. Out of the 112 drugs indicated for the predisposing diseases, 76 drugs can be linked to shared genes via pathways (candidate drugs for repurposing). Fifteen out of these candidate drugs are already in advanced clinical trial phases or approved for breast cancer (OR = 9.28, p = 7.99e-03, one-sided Fisher's exact test), highlighting the ability of our approach to identify likely successful candidate drugs for repurposing. Conclusions Our novel approach accelerates drug repurposing for breast cancer by leveraging shared genetics with its known risk factors. The result provides 59 novel candidate drugs alongside biological insights supporting each recommendation.
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Yoo S, Kim J. Adapt-cMolGPT: A Conditional Generative Pre-Trained Transformer with Adapter-Based Fine-Tuning for Target-Specific Molecular Generation. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:6641. [PMID: 38928346 PMCID: PMC11203498 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25126641] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2024] [Revised: 06/09/2024] [Accepted: 06/14/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Small-molecule drug design aims to generate compounds that target specific proteins, playing a crucial role in the early stages of drug discovery. Recently, research has emerged that utilizes the GPT model, which has achieved significant success in various fields to generate molecular compounds. However, due to the persistent challenge of small datasets in the pharmaceutical field, there has been some degradation in the performance of generating target-specific compounds. To address this issue, we propose an enhanced target-specific drug generation model, Adapt-cMolGPT, which modifies molecular representation and optimizes the fine-tuning process. In particular, we introduce a new fine-tuning method that incorporates an adapter module into a pre-trained base model and alternates weight updates by sections. We evaluated the proposed model through multiple experiments and demonstrated performance improvements compared to previous models. In the experimental results, Adapt-cMolGPT generated a greater number of novel and valid compounds compared to other models, with these generated compounds exhibiting properties similar to those of real molecular data. These results indicate that our proposed method is highly effective in designing drugs targeting specific proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Soyoung Yoo
- Department of Artificial Intelligence, Sejong University, Seoul 05006, Republic of Korea;
| | - Junghyun Kim
- Department of Artificial Intelligence, Sejong University, Seoul 05006, Republic of Korea;
- Deep Learning Architecture Research Center, Sejong University, Seoul 05006, Republic of Korea
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14
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Mihaylova A, Shopova D, Parahuleva N, Yaneva A, Bakova D. (3D) Bioprinting-Next Dimension of the Pharmaceutical Sector. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2024; 17:797. [PMID: 38931464 PMCID: PMC11206453 DOI: 10.3390/ph17060797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2024] [Revised: 05/26/2024] [Accepted: 06/13/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024] Open
Abstract
To create a review of the published scientific literature on the benefits and potential perspectives of the use of 3D bio-nitrification in the field of pharmaceutics. This work was performed in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines for reporting meta-analyses and systematic reviews. The scientific databases PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, and ScienceDirect were used to search and extract data using the following keywords: 3D bioprinting, drug research and development, personalized medicine, pharmaceutical companies, clinical trials, drug testing. The data points to several aspects of the application of bioprinting in pharmaceutics were reviewed. The main applications of bioprinting are in the development of new drug molecules as well as in the preparation of personalized drugs, but the greatest benefits are in terms of drug screening and testing. Growth in the field of 3D printing has facilitated pharmaceutical applications, enabling the development of personalized drug screening and drug delivery systems for individual patients. Bioprinting presents the opportunity to print drugs on demand according to the individual needs of the patient, making the shape, structure, and dosage suitable for each of the patient's physical conditions, i.e., print specific drugs for controlled release rates; print porous tablets to reduce swallowing difficulties; make transdermal microneedle patches to reduce patient pain; and so on. On the other hand, bioprinting can precisely control the distribution of cells and biomaterials to build organoids, or an Organ-on-a-Chip, for the testing of drugs on printed organs mimicking specified disease characteristics instead of animal testing and clinical trials. The development of bioprinting has the potential to offer customized drug screening platforms and drug delivery systems meeting a range of individualized needs, as well as prospects at different stages of drug development and patient therapy. The role of bioprinting in preclinical and clinical testing of drugs is also of significant importance in terms of shortening the time to launch a medicinal product on the market.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Mihaylova
- Department of Healthcare Management, Faculty of Public Health, Medical University of Plovdiv, 4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria;
| | - Dobromira Shopova
- Department of Prosthetic Dentistry, Faculty of Dental Medicine, Medical University of Plovdiv, 4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria;
| | - Nikoleta Parahuleva
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Medical University of Plovdiv, 4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria;
| | - Antoniya Yaneva
- Department of Medical Informatics, Biostatistics and eLearning, Faculty of Public Health, Medical University of Plovdiv, 4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria;
| | - Desislava Bakova
- Department of Healthcare Management, Faculty of Public Health, Medical University of Plovdiv, 4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria;
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15
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Čužić S, Antolić M, Ognjenović A, Milutinović V, Iviš SV, Glojnarić I, Bosnar M, Požgaj L, Prenc E, Haber VE. Translational pathology in drug discovery. Front Pharmacol 2024; 15:1409092. [PMID: 38915468 PMCID: PMC11194691 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2024.1409092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2024] [Accepted: 05/23/2024] [Indexed: 06/26/2024] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Snježana Čužić
- In vivo Pharmacology and Toxicology, Selvita, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Maja Antolić
- In vivo Pharmacology and Toxicology, Selvita, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Anja Ognjenović
- In vivo Pharmacology and Toxicology, Selvita, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Vuk Milutinović
- In vivo Pharmacology and Toxicology, Selvita, Zagreb, Croatia
| | | | - Ines Glojnarić
- In vivo Pharmacology and Toxicology, Selvita, Zagreb, Croatia
| | | | - Lidija Požgaj
- Pharmacology and Translational Research, Selvita, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Ema Prenc
- Pharmacology and Translational Research, Selvita, Zagreb, Croatia
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16
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Crouzet A, Lopez N, Riss Yaw B, Lepelletier Y, Demange L. The Millennia-Long Development of Drugs Associated with the 80-Year-Old Artificial Intelligence Story: The Therapeutic Big Bang? Molecules 2024; 29:2716. [PMID: 38930784 PMCID: PMC11206022 DOI: 10.3390/molecules29122716] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2024] [Revised: 05/30/2024] [Accepted: 05/31/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024] Open
Abstract
The journey of drug discovery (DD) has evolved from ancient practices to modern technology-driven approaches, with Artificial Intelligence (AI) emerging as a pivotal force in streamlining and accelerating the process. Despite the vital importance of DD, it faces challenges such as high costs and lengthy timelines. This review examines the historical progression and current market of DD alongside the development and integration of AI technologies. We analyse the challenges encountered in applying AI to DD, focusing on drug design and protein-protein interactions. The discussion is enriched by presenting models that put forward the application of AI in DD. Three case studies are highlighted to demonstrate the successful application of AI in DD, including the discovery of a novel class of antibiotics and a small-molecule inhibitor that has progressed to phase II clinical trials. These cases underscore the potential of AI to identify new drug candidates and optimise the development process. The convergence of DD and AI embodies a transformative shift in the field, offering a path to overcome traditional obstacles. By leveraging AI, the future of DD promises enhanced efficiency and novel breakthroughs, heralding a new era of medical innovation even though there is still a long way to go.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aurore Crouzet
- UMR 8038 CNRS CiTCoM, Team PNAS, Faculté de Pharmacie, Université Paris Cité, 4 Avenue de l’Observatoire, 75006 Paris, France
- W-MedPhys, 128 Rue la Boétie, 75008 Paris, France
| | - Nicolas Lopez
- W-MedPhys, 128 Rue la Boétie, 75008 Paris, France
- ENOES, 62 Rue de Miromesnil, 75008 Paris, France
- Unité Mixte de Recherche «Institut de Physique Théorique (IPhT)» CEA-CNRS, UMR 3681, Bat 774, Route de l’Orme des Merisiers, 91191 St Aubin-Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Benjamin Riss Yaw
- UMR 8038 CNRS CiTCoM, Team PNAS, Faculté de Pharmacie, Université Paris Cité, 4 Avenue de l’Observatoire, 75006 Paris, France
| | - Yves Lepelletier
- W-MedPhys, 128 Rue la Boétie, 75008 Paris, France
- Université Paris Cité, Imagine Institute, 24 Boulevard Montparnasse, 75015 Paris, France
- INSERM UMR 1163, Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Basis of Normal Hematopoiesis and Hematological Disorders: Therapeutical Implications, 24 Boulevard Montparnasse, 75015 Paris, France
| | - Luc Demange
- UMR 8038 CNRS CiTCoM, Team PNAS, Faculté de Pharmacie, Université Paris Cité, 4 Avenue de l’Observatoire, 75006 Paris, France
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17
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Allen AM, Younossi ZM, Diehl AM, Charlton MR, Lazarus JV. Envisioning how to advance the MASH field. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol 2024:10.1038/s41575-024-00938-9. [PMID: 38834817 DOI: 10.1038/s41575-024-00938-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/02/2024] [Indexed: 06/06/2024]
Abstract
Since 1980, the cumulative effort of scientists and health-care stakeholders has advanced the prerequisites to address metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), a prevalent chronic non-communicable liver disease. This effort has led to, among others, the approval of the first drug specific for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH; formerly known as nonalcoholic steatohepatitis). Despite substantial progress, MASLD is still a leading cause of advanced chronic liver disease, including primary liver cancer. This Perspective contextualizes the nomenclature change from nonalcoholic fatty liver disease to MASLD and proposes important considerations to accelerate further progress in the field, optimize patient-centric multidisciplinary care pathways, advance pharmacological, behavioural and diagnostic research, and address health disparities. Key regulatory and other steps necessary to optimize the approval and access to upcoming additional pharmacological therapeutic agents for MASH are also outlined. We conclude by calling for increased education and awareness, enhanced health system preparedness, and concerted action by policy-makers to further the public health and policy agenda to achieve at least parity with other non-communicable diseases and to aid in growing the community of practice to reduce the human and economic burden and end the public health threat of MASLD and MASH by 2030.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alina M Allen
- Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
| | - Zobair M Younossi
- Beatty Liver and Obesity Research Program, Inova Health System, Falls Church, VA, USA
- The Global NASH Council, Washington DC, USA
| | | | - Michael R Charlton
- Center for Liver Diseases, Department of Medicine, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Jeffrey V Lazarus
- The Global NASH Council, Washington DC, USA.
- CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy (CUNY SPH), New York, NY, USA.
- Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), Hospital Clínic, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
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18
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Sertkaya A, Beleche T, Jessup A, Sommers BD. Costs of Drug Development and Research and Development Intensity in the US, 2000-2018. JAMA Netw Open 2024; 7:e2415445. [PMID: 38941099 PMCID: PMC11214120 DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.15445] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2023] [Accepted: 03/23/2024] [Indexed: 06/29/2024] Open
Abstract
Importance Understanding the cost of drug development can help inform the development of policies to reduce costs, encourage innovation, and improve patient access to drugs. Objective To estimate the cost of drug development by therapeutic class and trends in pharmaceutical research and development (R&D) intensity over time. Design, Setting, and Participants In this economic evaluation study, an analytical model of drug development constructed using public and proprietary sources that collectively cover data from 2000 to 2018 was used to estimate the cost of bringing a drug to market, overall and for specific therapeutic classes. The analysis for the study was completed in October 2020. Main Outcomes and Measures Three measures of development cost from nonclinical through postmarketing stages were estimated: mean out-of-pocket cost or cash outlay, mean expected cost, and mean expected capitalized cost. Pharmaceutical R&D intensity, defined as the ratio of R&D spending to total sales, from 2008 to 2019, based on the time frame for available data, was also analyzed. Results The estimated mean cost of developing a new drug was approximately $172.7 million (2018 dollars) (range, $72.5 million for genitourinary to $297.2 million for pain and anesthesia), inclusive of postmarketing studies. The cost increased to $515.8 million when cost of failures was included. When the costs of failures and capital were included, the mean expected capitalized cost of drug development increased to $879.3 million (range, $378.7 million for anti-infectives to $1756.2 million for pain and anesthesia); results varied widely by therapeutic class. The pharmaceutical industry as a whole experienced a decline of 15.6% in sales but increased R&D intensity from 11.9% to 17.7% from 2008 to 2019. By contrast, R&D intensity of large pharmaceutical companies increased from 16.6% to 19.3%, whereas sales increased by 10.0% (from $380.0 to $418.0 billion) over the same 2008 to 2019 period, even though the cost of drug development remained relatively stable or may have even decreased. Conclusions and Relevance In this economic evaluation of new drug development costs, even though the cost of drug development appears to have remained stable, R&D intensity of large pharmaceutical companies remained relatively unchanged, despite substantial growth in revenues during this period. These findings can inform the design of drug-related policies and their potential impacts on innovation and competition.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Trinidad Beleche
- Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, Office of Science and Data Policy, US Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC
| | - Amber Jessup
- Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, Office of Science and Data Policy, US Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC
- Now with Office of Inspector General, US Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC
| | - Benjamin D. Sommers
- US Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC
- Now with Department of Health Policy and Management, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts
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19
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Arnold CR, Mangesius J, Portnaia I, Ganswindt U, Wolff HA. Innovative therapeutic strategies to overcome radioresistance in breast cancer. Front Oncol 2024; 14:1379986. [PMID: 38873260 PMCID: PMC11169591 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2024.1379986] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2024] [Accepted: 05/10/2024] [Indexed: 06/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Despite a comparatively favorable prognosis relative to other malignancies, breast cancer continues to significantly impact women's health globally, partly due to its high incidence rate. A critical factor in treatment failure is radiation resistance - the capacity of tumor cells to withstand high doses of ionizing radiation. Advancements in understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying radioresistance, coupled with enhanced characterization of radioresistant cell clones, are paving the way for the development of novel treatment modalities that hold potential for future clinical application. In the context of combating radioresistance in breast cancer, potential targets of interest include long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), micro RNAs (miRNAs), and their associated signaling pathways, along with other signal transduction routes amenable to pharmacological intervention. Furthermore, technical, and methodological innovations, such as the integration of hyperthermia or nanoparticles with radiotherapy, have the potential to enhance treatment responses in patients with radioresistant breast cancer. This review endeavors to provide a comprehensive survey of the current scientific landscape, focusing on novel therapeutic advancements specifically addressing radioresistant breast cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Julian Mangesius
- Department of Radiation-Oncology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Iana Portnaia
- Department of Internal Medicine II, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Ute Ganswindt
- Department of Radiation-Oncology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Hendrik Andreas Wolff
- Department of Radiology, Nuclear Medicine, and Radiotherapy, Radiology Munich, Munich, Germany
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20
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Barabássy Á, Dombi ZB, Németh G. D3 Receptor-Targeted Cariprazine: Insights from Lab to Bedside. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:5682. [PMID: 38891871 PMCID: PMC11172134 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25115682] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2024] [Revised: 05/17/2024] [Accepted: 05/18/2024] [Indexed: 06/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Until the late 1800s, drug development was a chance finding based on observations and repeated trials and errors. Today, drug development must go through many iterations and tests to ensure it is safe, potent, and effective. This process is a long and costly endeavor, with many pitfalls and hurdles. The aim of the present review article is to explore what is needed for a molecule to move from the researcher bench to the patients' bedside, presented from an industry perspective through the development program of cariprazine. Cariprazine is a relatively novel antipsychotic medication, approved for the treatment of schizophrenia, bipolar mania, bipolar depression, and major depression as an add-on. It is a D3-preferring D3-D2 partial agonist with the highest binding to the D3 receptors compared to all other antipsychotics. Based on the example of cariprazine, there are several key factors that are needed for a molecule to move from the researcher bench to the patients' bedside, such as targeting an unmet medical need, having a novel mechanism of action, and a smart implementation of development plans.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - György Németh
- Medical Division, Gedeon Richter Plc., 1103 Budapest, Hungary; (Á.B.)
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21
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Chua HM, Moshawih S, Kifli N, Goh HP, Ming LC. Insights into the computer-aided drug design and discovery based on anthraquinone scaffold for cancer treatment: A systematic review. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0301396. [PMID: 38776291 PMCID: PMC11111074 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0301396] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2023] [Accepted: 03/14/2024] [Indexed: 05/24/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In the search for better anticancer drugs, computer-aided drug design (CADD) techniques play an indispensable role in facilitating the lengthy and costly drug discovery process especially when natural products are involved. Anthraquinone is one of the most widely-recognized natural products with anticancer properties. This review aimed to systematically assess and synthesize evidence on the utilization of CADD techniques centered on the anthraquinone scaffold for cancer treatment. METHODS The conduct and reporting of this review were done in accordance to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) 2020 guideline. The protocol was registered in the "International prospective register of systematic reviews" database (PROSPERO: CRD42023432904) and also published recently. The search strategy was designed based on the combination of concept 1 "CADD or virtual screening", concept 2 "anthraquinone" and concept 3 "cancer". The search was executed in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and MedRxiv on 30 June 2023. RESULTS Databases searching retrieved a total of 317 records. After deduplication and applying the eligibility criteria, the final review ended up with 32 articles in which 3 articles were found by citation searching. The CADD methods used in the studies were either structure-based alone (69%) or combined with ligand-based methods via parallel (9%) or sequential (22%) approaches. Molecular docking was performed in all studies, with Glide and AutoDock being the most popular commercial and public software used respectively. Protein data bank was used in most studies to retrieve the crystal structure of the targets of interest while the main ligand databases were PubChem and Zinc. The utilization of in-silico techniques has enabled a deeper dive into the structural, biological and pharmacological properties of anthraquinone derivatives, revealing their remarkable anticancer properties in an all-rounded fashion. CONCLUSION By harnessing the power of computational tools and leveraging the natural diversity of anthraquinone compounds, researchers can expedite the development of better drugs to address the unmet medical needs in cancer treatment by improving the treatment outcome for cancer patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hui Ming Chua
- PAP Rashidah Sa’adatul Bolkiah Institute of Health Sciences, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Gadong, Brunei Darussalam
| | - Said Moshawih
- PAP Rashidah Sa’adatul Bolkiah Institute of Health Sciences, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Gadong, Brunei Darussalam
| | - Nurolaini Kifli
- PAP Rashidah Sa’adatul Bolkiah Institute of Health Sciences, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Gadong, Brunei Darussalam
| | - Hui Poh Goh
- PAP Rashidah Sa’adatul Bolkiah Institute of Health Sciences, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Gadong, Brunei Darussalam
| | - Long Chiau Ming
- PAP Rashidah Sa’adatul Bolkiah Institute of Health Sciences, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Gadong, Brunei Darussalam
- School of Medical and Life Sciences, Sunway University, Bandar Sunway, Malaysia
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22
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Qiao F, Binknowski TA, Broughan I, Chen W, Natarajan A, Schiltz GE, Scheidt KA, Anderson WF, Bergan R. Protein Structure Inspired Drug Discovery. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.05.17.594634. [PMID: 38826221 PMCID: PMC11142055 DOI: 10.1101/2024.05.17.594634] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2024]
Abstract
Drug discovery starts with known function, either of a compound or a protein, in-turn prompting investigations to probe 3D structure of the compound-protein interface. As protein structure determines function, we hypothesized that unique 3D structural motifs represent primary information denoting unique function that can drive discovery of novel agents. Using a physics-based protein structure analysis platform developed by us, designed to conduct computationally intensive analysis at supercomputing speeds, we probed a high-resolution protein x-ray crystallographic library developed by us. We selected 3D structural motifs whose function was not otherwise established, that offered environments supporting binding of drug-like chemicals and were present on proteins that were not established therapeutic targets. For each of eight potential binding pockets on six different proteins we accessed a 60 million compound library and used our analysis platform to evaluate binding. Using eight-day colony formation assays acquired compounds were screened for efficacy against human breast, prostate, colon and lung cancer cells and toxicity against human bone marrow stem cells. Compounds selectively inhibiting cancer growth segregated to two pockets on separate proteins. The compound, Dxr2-017, exhibited selective activity against human melanoma cells in the NCI-60 cell line screen, had an IC50 of 19 nM against human melanoma M14 cells in our eight-day assay, while over 2100-fold higher concentrations inhibited stem cells by less than 30%. We show that Dxr2-017 induces anoikis, a unique form of programmed cell death in need of targeted therapeutics. The predicted target protein for Dxr2-017 is expressed in bacteria, not in humans. This supports our strategy of focusing on unique 3D structural motifs. It is known that functionally important 3D structures are evolutionarily conserved. Here we demonstrate proof-of-concept that protein structure represents high value primary data to support discovery of novel therapeutics. This approach is widely applicable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fangfang Qiao
- Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68105, USA
| | | | - Irene Broughan
- Department of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | - Weining Chen
- Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68105, USA
| | - Amarnath Natarajan
- Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68105, USA
| | - Gary E. Schiltz
- Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Karl A. Scheidt
- Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Wayne F. Anderson
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | - Raymond Bergan
- Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68105, USA
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23
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Stribbling SM, Beach C, Ryan AJ. Orthotopic and metastatic tumour models in preclinical cancer research. Pharmacol Ther 2024; 257:108631. [PMID: 38467308 DOI: 10.1016/j.pharmthera.2024.108631] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2023] [Revised: 02/27/2024] [Accepted: 03/08/2024] [Indexed: 03/13/2024]
Abstract
Mouse models of disease play a pivotal role at all stages of cancer drug development. Cell-line derived subcutaneous tumour models are predominant in early drug discovery, but there is growing recognition of the importance of the more complex orthotopic and metastatic tumour models for understanding both target biology in the correct tissue context, and the impact of the tumour microenvironment and the immune system in responses to treatment. The aim of this review is to highlight the value that orthotopic and metastatic models bring to the study of tumour biology and drug development while pointing out those models that are most likely to be encountered in the literature. Important developments in orthotopic models, such as the increasing use of early passage patient material (PDXs, organoids) and humanised mouse models are discussed, as these approaches have the potential to increase the predictive value of preclinical studies, and ultimately improve the success rate of anticancer drugs in clinical trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen M Stribbling
- Department of Chemistry, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
| | - Callum Beach
- Department of Oncology, University of Oxford, ORCRB, Roosevelt Drive, Oxford OX3 7DQ, UK
| | - Anderson J Ryan
- Department of Oncology, University of Oxford, ORCRB, Roosevelt Drive, Oxford OX3 7DQ, UK; Fast Biopharma, Aston Rowant, Oxfordshire, OX49 5SW, UK.
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24
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Stewart DJ, Bradford JP, Sehdev S, Ramsay T, Navani V, Rawson NSB, Jiang DM, Gotfrit J, Wheatley-Price P, Liu G, Kaplan A, Spadafora S, Goodman SG, Auer RAC, Batist G. New Anticancer Drugs: Reliably Assessing "Value" While Addressing High Prices. Curr Oncol 2024; 31:2453-2480. [PMID: 38785465 PMCID: PMC11119944 DOI: 10.3390/curroncol31050184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2024] [Revised: 04/24/2024] [Accepted: 04/26/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Countries face challenges in paying for new drugs. High prices are driven in part by exploding drug development costs, which, in turn, are driven by essential but excessive regulation. Burdensome regulation also delays drug development, and this can translate into thousands of life-years lost. We need system-wide reform that will enable less expensive, faster drug development. The speed with which COVID-19 vaccines and AIDS therapies were developed indicates this is possible if governments prioritize it. Countries also differ in how they value drugs, and generally, those willing to pay more have better, faster access. Canada is used as an example to illustrate how "incremental cost-effectiveness ratios" (ICERs) based on measures such as gains in "quality-adjusted life-years" (QALYs) may be used to determine a drug's value but are often problematic, imprecise assessments. Generally, ICER/QALY estimates inadequately consider the impact of patient crossover or long post-progression survival, therapy benefits in distinct subpopulations, positive impacts of the therapy on other healthcare or societal costs, how much governments willingly might pay for other things, etc. Furthermore, a QALY value should be higher for a lethal or uncommon disease than for a common, nonlethal disease. Compared to international comparators, Canada is particularly ineffective in initiating public funding for essential new medications. Addressing these disparities demands urgent reform.
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Affiliation(s)
- David J. Stewart
- Division of Medical Oncology, University of Ottawa, 501 Smyth Road, Ottawa, ON K1H 8L6, Canada (J.G.); (P.W.-P.)
- Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON K1H 8L6, Canada; (T.R.); (R.A.C.A.)
- Life Saving Therapies Network, Ottawa, ON K1H 5E6, Canada; (J.-P.B.); (G.B.)
| | - John-Peter Bradford
- Life Saving Therapies Network, Ottawa, ON K1H 5E6, Canada; (J.-P.B.); (G.B.)
| | - Sandeep Sehdev
- Division of Medical Oncology, University of Ottawa, 501 Smyth Road, Ottawa, ON K1H 8L6, Canada (J.G.); (P.W.-P.)
- Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON K1H 8L6, Canada; (T.R.); (R.A.C.A.)
- Life Saving Therapies Network, Ottawa, ON K1H 5E6, Canada; (J.-P.B.); (G.B.)
| | - Tim Ramsay
- Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON K1H 8L6, Canada; (T.R.); (R.A.C.A.)
| | - Vishal Navani
- Division of Medical Oncology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada;
| | - Nigel S. B. Rawson
- Canadian Health Policy Institute, Toronto, ON M5V 0A4, Canada;
- Macdonald-Laurier Institute, Ottawa, ON K1N 7Z2, Canada
| | - Di Maria Jiang
- University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3H2, Canada; (D.M.J.); (G.L.); (A.K.); (S.G.G.)
- Princess Margaret Cancer Center, Toronto, ON M5G 2M9, Canada
| | - Joanna Gotfrit
- Division of Medical Oncology, University of Ottawa, 501 Smyth Road, Ottawa, ON K1H 8L6, Canada (J.G.); (P.W.-P.)
- Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON K1H 8L6, Canada; (T.R.); (R.A.C.A.)
| | - Paul Wheatley-Price
- Division of Medical Oncology, University of Ottawa, 501 Smyth Road, Ottawa, ON K1H 8L6, Canada (J.G.); (P.W.-P.)
- Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON K1H 8L6, Canada; (T.R.); (R.A.C.A.)
- Life Saving Therapies Network, Ottawa, ON K1H 5E6, Canada; (J.-P.B.); (G.B.)
| | - Geoffrey Liu
- University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3H2, Canada; (D.M.J.); (G.L.); (A.K.); (S.G.G.)
- Princess Margaret Cancer Center, Toronto, ON M5G 2M9, Canada
| | - Alan Kaplan
- University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3H2, Canada; (D.M.J.); (G.L.); (A.K.); (S.G.G.)
- Family Physicians Airway Group of Canada, Markham, ON L3R 9X9, Canada
| | - Silvana Spadafora
- Algoma District Cancer Program, Sault Ste Marie, ON P6B 0A8, Canada;
| | - Shaun G. Goodman
- University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3H2, Canada; (D.M.J.); (G.L.); (A.K.); (S.G.G.)
- St. Michael’s Hospital, Unity Health Toronto, and Peter Munk Cardiac Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, ON M5B 1W8, Canada
| | - Rebecca A. C. Auer
- Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON K1H 8L6, Canada; (T.R.); (R.A.C.A.)
- Department of Surgery, University of Ottawa, 501 Smyth Road, Ottawa, ON K1H 8L6, Canada
| | - Gerald Batist
- Life Saving Therapies Network, Ottawa, ON K1H 5E6, Canada; (J.-P.B.); (G.B.)
- Centre for Translational Research, Jewish General Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3T 1E2, Canada
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25
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Bernacchia L, Paris A, Gupta A, Charman RJ, McGreig J, Wass MN, Kad NM. Identification of a novel DNA repair inhibitor using an in silico driven approach shows effective combinatorial activity with genotoxic agents against multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli. Protein Sci 2024; 33:e4948. [PMID: 38501485 PMCID: PMC10949335 DOI: 10.1002/pro.4948] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2023] [Revised: 01/30/2024] [Accepted: 02/12/2024] [Indexed: 03/20/2024]
Abstract
Increasing antimicrobial drug resistance represents a global existential threat. Infection is a particular problem in immunocompromised individuals, such as patients undergoing cancer chemotherapy, due to the targeting of rapidly dividing cells by antineoplastic agents. We recently developed a strategy that targets bacterial nucleotide excision DNA repair (NER) to identify compounds that act as antimicrobial sensitizers specific for patients undergoing cancer chemotherapy. Building on this, we performed a virtual drug screening of a ~120,000 compound library against the key NER protein UvrA. From this, numerous target compounds were identified and of those a candidate compound, Bemcentinib (R428), showed a strong affinity toward UvrA. This NER protein possesses four ATPase sites in its dimeric state, and we found that Bemcentinib could inhibit UvrA's ATPase activity by ~90% and also impair its ability to bind DNA. As a result, Bemcentinib strongly diminishes NER's ability to repair DNA in vitro. To provide a measure of in vivo activity we discovered that the growth of Escherichia coli MG1655 was significantly inhibited when Bemcentinib was combined with the DNA damaging agent 4-NQO, which is analogous to UV. Using the clinically relevant DNA-damaging antineoplastic cisplatin in combination with Bemcentinib against the urological sepsis-causing E. coli strain EC958 caused complete growth inhibition. This study offers a novel approach for the potential development of new compounds for use as adjuvants in antineoplastic therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Antoine Paris
- School of Biological SciencesUniversity of KentCanterburyUK
| | - Arya Gupta
- School of Biological SciencesUniversity of KentCanterburyUK
| | | | - Jake McGreig
- School of Biological SciencesUniversity of KentCanterburyUK
| | - Mark N. Wass
- School of Biological SciencesUniversity of KentCanterburyUK
| | - Neil M. Kad
- School of Biological SciencesUniversity of KentCanterburyUK
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26
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Liu C, Xiao K, Yu C, Lei Y, Lyu K, Tian T, Zhao D, Zhou F, Tang H, Zeng J. A probabilistic knowledge graph for target identification. PLoS Comput Biol 2024; 20:e1011945. [PMID: 38578805 PMCID: PMC11034645 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011945] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2023] [Revised: 04/22/2024] [Accepted: 02/24/2024] [Indexed: 04/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Early identification of safe and efficacious disease targets is crucial to alleviating the tremendous cost of drug discovery projects. However, existing experimental methods for identifying new targets are generally labor-intensive and failure-prone. On the other hand, computational approaches, especially machine learning-based frameworks, have shown remarkable application potential in drug discovery. In this work, we propose Progeni, a novel machine learning-based framework for target identification. In addition to fully exploiting the known heterogeneous biological networks from various sources, Progeni integrates literature evidence about the relations between biological entities to construct a probabilistic knowledge graph. Graph neural networks are then employed in Progeni to learn the feature embeddings of biological entities to facilitate the identification of biologically relevant target candidates. A comprehensive evaluation of Progeni demonstrated its superior predictive power over the baseline methods on the target identification task. In addition, our extensive tests showed that Progeni exhibited high robustness to the negative effect of exposure bias, a common phenomenon in recommendation systems, and effectively identified new targets that can be strongly supported by the literature. Moreover, our wet lab experiments successfully validated the biological significance of the top target candidates predicted by Progeni for melanoma and colorectal cancer. All these results suggested that Progeni can identify biologically effective targets and thus provide a powerful and useful tool for advancing the drug discovery process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chang Liu
- Institute for Interdisciplinary Information Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Kaimin Xiao
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
- Joint Graduate Program of Peking-Tsinghua-NIBS, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Cuinan Yu
- Machine Learning Department, Silexon AI Technology Co., Ltd., Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Yipin Lei
- Institute for Interdisciplinary Information Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Kangbo Lyu
- Institute for Interdisciplinary Information Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Tingzhong Tian
- Institute for Interdisciplinary Information Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Dan Zhao
- Institute for Interdisciplinary Information Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Fengfeng Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Symbolic Computation and Knowledge Engineering of Ministry of Education, College of Computer Science and Technology, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin Province, China
| | - Haidong Tang
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Jianyang Zeng
- School of Engineering, Westlake University, Hangzhou, China
- Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Hangzhou, China
- Research Center for Industries of the Future and School of Engineering, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China
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27
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Ghinea N. The increasing costs of medicines and their implications for patients, physicians and the health system. Intern Med J 2024; 54:545-550. [PMID: 38572698 DOI: 10.1111/imj.16370] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2023] [Accepted: 02/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/05/2024]
Abstract
Most new medicines entering the market are high-cost speciality drugs. These drugs can cost tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars per course of treatment and in some cases millions of dollars per dose. Approximately half of all spending on medicines is projected to target only 2-3% of patients, raising important questions about resource allocation. While there is no doubt that breakthrough innovations have transformed clinical care in some disciplines, it is also true that cost is becoming one of the primary barriers to treatment access and that many new medicines do not provide value commensurate with their prices. This article examines pricing trends, the reasons for high prices and their implications for access and clinical practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Narcyz Ghinea
- Department of Philosophy, Ethics and Agency Research Centre, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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28
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Nelen J, Carmena-Bargueño M, Martínez-Cortés C, Rodríguez-Martínez A, Villalgordo-Soto JM, Pérez-Sánchez H. ESSENCE-Dock: A Consensus-Based Approach to Enhance Virtual Screening Enrichment in Drug Discovery. J Chem Inf Model 2024; 64:1605-1614. [PMID: 38416513 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.3c01982] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/29/2024]
Abstract
Drug development is a complex, costly, and time-consuming endeavor. While high-throughput screening (HTS) plays a critical role in the discovery stage, it is one of many factors contributing to these challenges. In certain contexts, virtual screening can complement the HTS, potentially offering a more streamlined approach in the initial stages of drug discovery. Molecular docking is an example of a popular virtual screening technique that is often used for this purpose; however, its effectiveness can vary greatly. This has led to the use of consensus docking approaches that combine results from different docking methods to improve the identification of active compounds and reduce the occurrence of false positives. However, many of these methods do not fully leverage the latest advancements in molecular docking. In response, we present ESSENCE-Dock (Effective Structural Screening ENrichment ConsEnsus Dock), a new consensus docking workflow aimed at decreasing false positives and increasing the discovery of active compounds. By utilizing a combination of novel docking algorithms, we improve the selection process for potential active compounds. ESSENCE-Dock has been made to be user-friendly, requiring only a few simple commands to perform a complete screening while also being designed for use in high-performance computing (HPC) environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jochem Nelen
- Structural Bioinformatics and High Performance Computing Research Group (BIO-HPC), HiTech Innovation Hub, UCAM Universidad Católica de Murcia, Murcia 30107, Spain
- Health Sciences PhD Program, Universidad Católica de Murcia UCAM, Campus de los Jerónimos n°135, Guadalupe, Murcia 30107, Spain
| | - Miguel Carmena-Bargueño
- Structural Bioinformatics and High Performance Computing Research Group (BIO-HPC), HiTech Innovation Hub, UCAM Universidad Católica de Murcia, Murcia 30107, Spain
- Health Sciences PhD Program, Universidad Católica de Murcia UCAM, Campus de los Jerónimos n°135, Guadalupe, Murcia 30107, Spain
| | - Carlos Martínez-Cortés
- Structural Bioinformatics and High Performance Computing Research Group (BIO-HPC), HiTech Innovation Hub, UCAM Universidad Católica de Murcia, Murcia 30107, Spain
| | - Alejandro Rodríguez-Martínez
- Structural Bioinformatics and High Performance Computing Research Group (BIO-HPC), HiTech Innovation Hub, UCAM Universidad Católica de Murcia, Murcia 30107, Spain
- Health Sciences PhD Program, Universidad Católica de Murcia UCAM, Campus de los Jerónimos n°135, Guadalupe, Murcia 30107, Spain
| | | | - Horacio Pérez-Sánchez
- Structural Bioinformatics and High Performance Computing Research Group (BIO-HPC), HiTech Innovation Hub, UCAM Universidad Católica de Murcia, Murcia 30107, Spain
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29
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Sinha SD, Chary Sriramadasu S, Raphael R, Roy S. Decentralisation in Clinical Trials and Patient Centricity: Benefits and Challenges. Pharmaceut Med 2024; 38:109-120. [PMID: 38453755 DOI: 10.1007/s40290-024-00518-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/15/2024] [Indexed: 03/09/2024]
Abstract
Decentralised clinical trials (DCTs) encompass various terms such as virtual, home-based, remote and siteless trials. The objectives of DCTs are to enhance the ease of participation for patients in clinical trials by minimising or removing the necessity for trial subjects to travel to the trial sites. This approach has been shown to reduce drop-out rates, increase study effectiveness and ultimately get life-altering drugs to market faster-saving sponsors billions. At the outset, DCTs deploy a wide range of digital technologies to collect safety and efficacy data from study participants, providing study treatments and performing investigations from the comfort of the patient's own home. The aim of decentralised trials includes patient centricity, enhanced efficacy in clinical trial conduct and generating real-world data. This is done by not only making it convenient for the patient to participate in the trial execution, but also involving them from the planning stage and taking their inputs during designing of trials and consenting documentation, understanding their treatment requirements and designing the studies accordingly. Various regulatory authorities have published guidelines governing DCT principles, especially after the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) experience of undertaking multicentric clinical trials. Both United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) and European Medicines Agency (EMA) have newer, recently updated guidelines to capture this growing reality to undertake clinical trials using patient technology or patient-centric technologies. Other regulatory agencies are accepting data generated using decentralised and patient-centric technologies and making an effort to include elements of decentralised trials in their regulatory guidelines. Decentralised trials follow a hybrid approach to have a balanced mix of remote and in-person data collection and trial procedures. Decentralised and patient-centric approaches are the future of any organisation for the conduct of clinical trials. Globally, all sponsor pharmaceutical companies must start undertaking drug development and clinical trials using a decentralised approach while keeping patient centricity in mind.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shubhadeep D Sinha
- Department of Clinical Development and Medical Affairs, Hetero Labs Limited, Hetero Corporate, 7-2-A2, Industrial Estates, Sanath Nagar, Hyderabad, Telangana, 500018, India.
| | - Sreenivasa Chary Sriramadasu
- Department of Clinical Development and Medical Affairs, Hetero Labs Limited, Hetero Corporate, 7-2-A2, Industrial Estates, Sanath Nagar, Hyderabad, Telangana, 500018, India
| | - Ruby Raphael
- Department of Clinical Development and Medical Affairs, Hetero Labs Limited, Hetero Corporate, 7-2-A2, Industrial Estates, Sanath Nagar, Hyderabad, Telangana, 500018, India
| | - Sudeshna Roy
- Department of Clinical Development and Medical Affairs, Hetero Labs Limited, Hetero Corporate, 7-2-A2, Industrial Estates, Sanath Nagar, Hyderabad, Telangana, 500018, India
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30
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Paulden M. A Framework for the Fair Pricing of Medicines. PHARMACOECONOMICS 2024; 42:145-164. [PMID: 38066357 PMCID: PMC10810971 DOI: 10.1007/s40273-023-01325-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/05/2023] [Indexed: 01/26/2024]
Abstract
As high-cost medicines put increasing pressure on public health care budgets, the need to identify 'fair' prices for medicines has never been greater. This paper proposes a framework, built upon fundamental economic principles, that allows for the consideration of 'fair' prices for medicines. The framework incorporates key considerations from conventional supply-side and demand-side approaches for specifying a cost-effectiveness 'threshold', including the health opportunity cost borne by other patients ([Formula: see text]) and society's willingness to pay for marginal improvements in population health ([Formula: see text]). The costs incurred by manufacturers in developing and supplying new medicines are also considered, as are the incentives for manufacturers to strategically price up to any common price per unit of benefit (cost-effectiveness 'threshold') specified by the payer. The framework finds that, at any 'fair' price, a medicine's dynamically calculated incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) lies below [Formula: see text]. When pricing medicines collectively, the framework finds that a common price below [Formula: see text] is required to maximize population health (consumer surplus) or to maximize total welfare (consumer and producer surplus). This framework has important policy implications for payers who wish to improve population health outcomes from constrained health care budgets. In particular, existing approaches to 'value-based pricing' should be reconsidered to ensure that patients receive a 'fair' share of the resulting economic surplus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mike Paulden
- School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
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31
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Hutchinson N, Bicer S, Feldhake E, Carlisle BG, Gonen M, Del Paggio J, Kimmelman J. Probability of Regulatory Approval Over Time: A Cohort Study of Cancer Therapies. JCO Oncol Pract 2024; 20:247-253. [PMID: 38109682 DOI: 10.1200/op.23.00363] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2023] [Revised: 10/04/2023] [Accepted: 10/23/2023] [Indexed: 12/20/2023] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE New cancer therapies are frequently evaluated in multiple disease indications. We evaluated whether the probability of achieving US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for a new cancer therapy changes with time. METHODS We identified a cohort of anticancer drugs with a first registered efficacy trial from 2007 to 2011 on ClinicalTrials.gov. We downloaded all clinical trials for each included drug from the initiation of efficacy testing to January 11, 2021. Each trial was categorized by cancer indication and assigned to investigational trajectories on the basis of unique drug-indication pairings. We performed a univariate Cox's proportional hazards regression to assess the probability of a trajectory leading to regulatory approval over time since initiation of the first efficacy trial for a given drug. RESULTS We included 213 drugs in our cohort, of which 37 (17.4%) received FDA approval in at least one oncology indication. In our primary analysis, we found a 15% decrease in the probability of approval for every year since initiation of the first efficacy trial (hazard ratio [HR], 0.85 [95% CI, 0.73 to 0.99]; P = .032). We found a 45% increase in the probability of approval for the first trajectory launched for a given drug in comparison with all others (HR, 0.55 [95% CI, 0.33 to 0.91]; P = .021). CONCLUSION Drug-indication pairings pursued years after initial testing for efficacy have lowered probability of affecting care. Clinical trial investigators, sponsors, and regulatory bodies may benefit from awareness of this trend when considering both early and late trajectory trials in a drug's development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nora Hutchinson
- Division of Hospital Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA
| | - Selin Bicer
- Studies of Translation, Ethics and Medicine (STREAM), Department of Equity, Ethics and Policy, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Emma Feldhake
- Studies of Translation, Ethics and Medicine (STREAM), Department of Equity, Ethics and Policy, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Benjamin G Carlisle
- Studies of Translation, Ethics and Medicine (STREAM), Department of Equity, Ethics and Policy, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Mithat Gonen
- Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY
| | - Joseph Del Paggio
- Department of Medical Oncology, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre and NOSM University, Thunder Bay, ON, Canada
| | - Jonathan Kimmelman
- Studies of Translation, Ethics and Medicine (STREAM), Department of Equity, Ethics and Policy, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
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32
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Kaló Z, Niewada M, Bereczky T, Goettsch W, Vreman RA, Xoxi E, Trusheim M, Callenbach MHE, Nagy L, Simoens S. Importance of aligning the implementation of new payment models for innovative pharmaceuticals in European countries. Expert Rev Pharmacoecon Outcomes Res 2024; 24:181-187. [PMID: 37970637 DOI: 10.1080/14737167.2023.2282680] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2023] [Accepted: 11/08/2023] [Indexed: 11/17/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The uptake of complex technologies and platforms has resulted in several challenges in the pricing and reimbursement of innovative pharmaceuticals. To address these challenges, plenty of concepts have already been described in the scientific literature about innovative value judgment or payment models, which are either (1) remaining theoretical; or (2) applied only in pilots with limited impact on patient access; or (3) applied so heterogeneously in many different countries that it prevents the health care industry from meeting expectations of HTA bodies and health care payers in the evidence requirements or offerings in different jurisdictions. AREAS COVERED This paper provides perspectives on how to reduce the heterogeneity of pharmaceutical payment models across European countries in five areas, including 1) extended evaluation frameworks, 2) performance-based risk-sharing agreements, 3) pooled procurement for low volume or urgent technologies, 4) alternative access schemes, and 5) delayed payment models for technologies with high upfront costs. EXPERT OPINION Whilst pricing and reimbursement decisions will remain a competence of EU member states, there is a need for alignment of European pharmaceutical payment model components in critical areas with the ultimate objective of improving the equitable access of European patients to increasingly complex pharmaceutical technologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zoltán Kaló
- Center for Health Technology Assessment, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
- Syreon Research Institute, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Maciej Niewada
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
| | | | - Wim Goettsch
- Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Clinical Pharmacology, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences (UIPS), Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- National Health Care Institute (ZIN), Diemen, The Netherlands
| | - Rick A Vreman
- Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Clinical Pharmacology, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences (UIPS), Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Entela Xoxi
- Postgraduate School of Health Economics and Management (ALTEMS), Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Roma, Italy
| | - Mark Trusheim
- Center for Biomedical System Design, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Marcelien H E Callenbach
- Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Clinical Pharmacology, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences (UIPS), Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - László Nagy
- Syreon Research Institute, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Steven Simoens
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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Li H, Sun X, Cui W, Xu M, Dong J, Ekundayo BE, Ni D, Rao Z, Guo L, Stahlberg H, Yuan S, Vogel H. Computational drug development for membrane protein targets. Nat Biotechnol 2024; 42:229-242. [PMID: 38361054 DOI: 10.1038/s41587-023-01987-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2023] [Accepted: 09/13/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2024]
Abstract
The application of computational biology in drug development for membrane protein targets has experienced a boost from recent developments in deep learning-driven structure prediction, increased speed and resolution of structure elucidation, machine learning structure-based design and the evaluation of big data. Recent protein structure predictions based on machine learning tools have delivered surprisingly reliable results for water-soluble and membrane proteins but have limitations for development of drugs that target membrane proteins. Structural transitions of membrane proteins have a central role during transmembrane signaling and are often influenced by therapeutic compounds. Resolving the structural and functional basis of dynamic transmembrane signaling networks, especially within the native membrane or cellular environment, remains a central challenge for drug development. Tackling this challenge will require an interplay between experimental and computational tools, such as super-resolution optical microscopy for quantification of the molecular interactions of cellular signaling networks and their modulation by potential drugs, cryo-electron microscopy for determination of the structural transitions of proteins in native cell membranes and entire cells, and computational tools for data analysis and prediction of the structure and function of cellular signaling networks, as well as generation of promising drug candidates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haijian Li
- Center for Computer-Aided Drug Discovery, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology/Chinese Academy of Sciences (SIAT/CAS), Shenzhen, China
| | - Xiaolin Sun
- Center for Computer-Aided Drug Discovery, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology/Chinese Academy of Sciences (SIAT/CAS), Shenzhen, China
| | - Wenqiang Cui
- Center for Computer-Aided Drug Discovery, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology/Chinese Academy of Sciences (SIAT/CAS), Shenzhen, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Marc Xu
- Center for Computer-Aided Drug Discovery, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology/Chinese Academy of Sciences (SIAT/CAS), Shenzhen, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Junlin Dong
- Center for Computer-Aided Drug Discovery, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology/Chinese Academy of Sciences (SIAT/CAS), Shenzhen, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Babatunde Edukpe Ekundayo
- Laboratory of Biological Electron Microscopy, IPHYS, SB, EPFL and Department of Fundamental Microbiology, Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Dongchun Ni
- Laboratory of Biological Electron Microscopy, IPHYS, SB, EPFL and Department of Fundamental Microbiology, Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Zhili Rao
- Center for Computer-Aided Drug Discovery, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology/Chinese Academy of Sciences (SIAT/CAS), Shenzhen, China
| | - Liwei Guo
- Center for Computer-Aided Drug Discovery, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology/Chinese Academy of Sciences (SIAT/CAS), Shenzhen, China
| | - Henning Stahlberg
- Laboratory of Biological Electron Microscopy, IPHYS, SB, EPFL and Department of Fundamental Microbiology, Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
| | - Shuguang Yuan
- Center for Computer-Aided Drug Discovery, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology/Chinese Academy of Sciences (SIAT/CAS), Shenzhen, China.
| | - Horst Vogel
- Center for Computer-Aided Drug Discovery, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology/Chinese Academy of Sciences (SIAT/CAS), Shenzhen, China.
- Institut des Sciences et Ingénierie Chimiques (ISIC), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
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Sayin AZ, Abali Z, Senyuz S, Cankara F, Gursoy A, Keskin O. Conformational diversity and protein-protein interfaces in drug repurposing in Ras signaling pathway. Sci Rep 2024; 14:1239. [PMID: 38216592 PMCID: PMC10786864 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-50913-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2023] [Accepted: 12/27/2023] [Indexed: 01/14/2024] Open
Abstract
We focus on drug repurposing in the Ras signaling pathway, considering structural similarities of protein-protein interfaces. The interfaces formed by physically interacting proteins are found from PDB if available and via PRISM (PRotein Interaction by Structural Matching) otherwise. The structural coverage of these interactions has been increased from 21 to 92% using PRISM. Multiple conformations of each protein are used to include protein dynamics and diversity. Next, we find FDA-approved drugs bound to structurally similar protein-protein interfaces. The results suggest that HIV protease inhibitors tipranavir, indinavir, and saquinavir may bind to EGFR and ERBB3/HER3 interface. Tipranavir and indinavir may also bind to EGFR and ERBB2/HER2 interface. Additionally, a drug used in Alzheimer's disease can bind to RAF1 and BRAF interface. Hence, we propose a methodology to find drugs to be potentially used for cancer using a dataset of structurally similar protein-protein interface clusters rather than pockets in a systematic way.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahenk Zeynep Sayin
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, College of Engineering, Koc University, Rumeli Feneri Yolu Sariyer, 34450, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Zeynep Abali
- Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Computational Sciences and Engineering, Koc University, 34450, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Simge Senyuz
- Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Computational Sciences and Engineering, Koc University, 34450, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Fatma Cankara
- Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Computational Sciences and Engineering, Koc University, 34450, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Attila Gursoy
- Department of Computer Engineering, Koc University, 34450, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Ozlem Keskin
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, College of Engineering, Koc University, Rumeli Feneri Yolu Sariyer, 34450, Istanbul, Turkey.
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35
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Gu Y, Wang Y, Zhu K, Li W, Liu G, Tang Y. DBPP-Predictor: a novel strategy for prediction of chemical drug-likeness based on property profiles. J Cheminform 2024; 16:4. [PMID: 38183072 PMCID: PMC10771006 DOI: 10.1186/s13321-024-00800-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 01/03/2024] [Indexed: 01/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Evaluation of chemical drug-likeness is essential for the discovery of high-quality drug candidates while avoiding unwarranted biological and clinical trial costs. A high-quality drug candidate should have promising drug-like properties, including pharmacological activity, suitable physicochemical and ADMET properties. Hence, in silico prediction of chemical drug-likeness has been proposed while being a challenging task. Although several prediction models have been developed to assess chemical drug-likeness, they have such drawbacks as sample dependence and poor interpretability. In this study, we developed a novel strategy, named DBPP-Predictor, to predict chemical drug-likeness based on property profile representation by integrating physicochemical and ADMET properties. The results demonstrated that DBPP-Predictor exhibited considerable generalization capability with AUC (area under the curve) values from 0.817 to 0.913 on external validation sets. In terms of application feasibility analysis, the results indicated that DBPP-Predictor not only demonstrated consistent and reasonable scoring performance on different data sets, but also was able to guide structural optimization. Moreover, it offered a new drug-likeness assessment perspective, without significant linear correlation with existing methods. We also developed a free standalone software for users to make drug-likeness prediction and property profile visualization for their compounds of interest. In summary, our DBPP-Predictor provided a valuable tool for the prediction of chemical drug-likeness, helping to identify appropriate drug candidates for further development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yaxin Gu
- Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Optogenetic Techniques for Cell Metabolism, Shanghai Key Laboratory of New Drug Design, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200237, China
| | - Yimeng Wang
- Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Optogenetic Techniques for Cell Metabolism, Shanghai Key Laboratory of New Drug Design, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200237, China
| | - Keyun Zhu
- Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Optogenetic Techniques for Cell Metabolism, Shanghai Key Laboratory of New Drug Design, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200237, China
| | - Weihua Li
- Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Optogenetic Techniques for Cell Metabolism, Shanghai Key Laboratory of New Drug Design, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200237, China
| | - Guixia Liu
- Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Optogenetic Techniques for Cell Metabolism, Shanghai Key Laboratory of New Drug Design, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200237, China
| | - Yun Tang
- Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Optogenetic Techniques for Cell Metabolism, Shanghai Key Laboratory of New Drug Design, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200237, China.
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Vogel M, Zhao O, Feldman WB, Chandra A, Kesselheim AS, Rome BN. Cost of Exempting Sole Orphan Drugs From Medicare Negotiation. JAMA Intern Med 2024; 184:63-69. [PMID: 38010643 PMCID: PMC10682941 DOI: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2023.6293] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2023] [Accepted: 10/02/2023] [Indexed: 11/29/2023]
Abstract
Importance The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) requires Medicare to negotiate prices for some high-spending drugs but exempts drugs approved solely for the treatment of a single rare disease. Objective To estimate Medicare spending and global revenues for drugs that might have been exempt from negotiation from 2012 to 2021. Design, Setting, and Participants This cross-sectional study analyzed drugs that met the IRA threshold for price negotiation (Medicare spending >$200 million/y) in any year from 2012 to 2021 and had an Orphan Drug Act designation. We stratified drugs into 4 mutually exclusive categories: approved for a single rare disease (sole orphan), approved for multiple rare diseases (multiorphan), initially approved for a rare disease and subsequently approved for a nonrare disease (orphan first), and initially approved for a nonrare disease and subsequently approved for a rare disease (non-orphan first). Outcomes The primary outcomes were the number of sole orphan drugs, estimated Medicare spending on those drugs from 2012 to 2021, and global revenue since launch. Results Among 282 drugs, 95 (34%) were approved to treat at least 1 rare disease, including 25 sole orphan drugs (26%), 20 multiorphan drugs (21%), 13 orphan first drugs (14%), and 37 non-orphan first drugs (39%). From 2012 to 2021, Medicare spending on sole orphan drugs increased from $3.4 billion to $10.0 billion. Each year, a median (IQR) of $2.5 ($1.9-$2.6) billion in Medicare spending would have been excluded from price negotiation because of the sole orphan exemption. The cumulative global revenue of the median (IQR) sole orphan drug was $11 ($6.6-$19.2) billion. Conclusions and Relevance The sole orphan exemption will exclude billions of dollars of Medicare drug spending from price negotiation. The high level of global revenues achieved by these drugs, however, suggests that special exemption is unnecessary for them to achieve financial success. Congress could consider removing the sole orphan exemption to obtain additional savings for patients and taxpayers and to eliminate any potential disincentive for developing additional indications for these drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Vogel
- John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
| | - Olivia Zhao
- Harvard Business School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - William B. Feldman
- Program On Regulation, Therapeutics, And Law (PORTAL), Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Amitabh Chandra
- John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
- Harvard Business School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Aaron S. Kesselheim
- Program On Regulation, Therapeutics, And Law (PORTAL), Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Benjamin N. Rome
- Program On Regulation, Therapeutics, And Law (PORTAL), Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
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Jommi C, Patarnello F, Bianchi C, Buzzetti G. Valutazione dell’innovatività e negoziazione di prezzi e rimborso dei farmaci: raccomandazioni da un panel di esperti. GLOBAL & REGIONAL HEALTH TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT 2024; 11:169-174. [PMID: 39015812 PMCID: PMC11250006 DOI: 10.33393/grhta.2024.3107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2024] [Accepted: 06/14/2024] [Indexed: 07/18/2024] Open
Abstract
This paper illustrates the recommendations of a Working Group (WG) on the assessment of drugs innovativeness and the negotiation of price and reimbursement. The WG included researchers, institutions, clinicians, patient representatives and pharmaceutical companies. The first part of the contribution summarizes the literature on drug pricing models, which was considered in the WG, and, in particular, the pricing criteria, the evaluation and negotiation processes, the management of the uncertainty of the evidence, the use of cross-reference pricing and price negotiation for new indications of existing drugs. The second part illustrates the results of the WG with a focus on innovativeness assessment, value framework and price negotiation. The main recommendations of the WG are: to define more specific criteria for the identification of comparators and endpoints for macro therapeutic areas/settings; to produce guidelines on the use of indirect comparisons and studies supporting this evidence; to consider the drug value as the main driver of price and reimbursement negotiation; to maintain flexibility in the negotiation process, but, at the same time, to give greater structure and predictability in the assessment of value for money, with a more qualified role of cost-effectiveness and a range of threshold values for the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio; to selectively reintroduce Managed Entry Agreements and the Indication-based pricing model; to implement an early dialogue between the Italian Medicine Agency and the pharmaceutical companies in order to optimize the negotiation process, and a structured involvement of scientific societies and patient representatives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudio Jommi
- Dipartimento di Scienze del Farmaco, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Novara - Italy
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Xiao Z, Lin H, Drake HF, Diaz J, Zhou HC, Pellois JP. Investigating the Cell Entry Mechanism, Disassembly, and Toxicity of the Nanocage PCC-1: Insights into Its Potential as a Drug Delivery Vehicle. J Am Chem Soc 2023; 145:27690-27701. [PMID: 38069810 PMCID: PMC10863074 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.3c09918] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2023] [Revised: 11/27/2023] [Accepted: 11/29/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023]
Abstract
The porous coordination cage PCC-1 represents a new platform potentially useful for the cellular delivery of drugs with poor cell permeability and solubility. PCC-1 is a metal-organic polyhedron constructed from zinc metal ions and organic ligands through coordination bonds. PCC-1 possesses an internal cavity that is suitable for drug encapsulation. To better understand the biocompatibility of PCC-1 with human cells, the cell entry mechanism, disassembly, and toxicity of the nanocage were investigated. PCC-1 localizes in the nuclei and cytoplasm within minutes upon incubation with cells, independent of endocytosis and cargo, suggesting direct plasma membrane translocation of the nanocage carrying its guest in its internal cavity. Furthermore, the rates of cell entry correlate to extracellular concentrations, indicating that PCC-1 is likely diffusing passively through the membrane despite its relatively large size. Once inside cells, PCC-1 disintegrates into zinc metal ions and ligands over a period of several hours, each component being cleared from cells within 1 day. PCC-1 is relatively safe for cells at low micromolar concentrations but becomes inhibitory to cell proliferation and toxic above a concentration or incubation time threshold. However, cells surviving these conditions can return to homeostasis 3-5 days after exposure. Overall, these findings demonstrate that PCC-1 enters live cells by crossing biological membranes spontaneously. This should prove useful to deliver drugs that lack this capacity on their own, provided that the dosage and exposure time are controlled to avoid toxicity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhifeng Xiao
- Department
of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, United States
| | - Hengyu Lin
- Department
of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, United States
| | - Hannah F. Drake
- Department
of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, United States
| | - Joshua Diaz
- Department
of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M
University, College
Station, Texas 77843, United States
| | - Hong-Cai Zhou
- Department
of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, United States
| | - Jean-Philippe Pellois
- Department
of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M
University, College
Station, Texas 77843, United States
- Department
of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, United States
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Miljković MD, Tuia J, Olivier T, Haslam A, Prasad V. Cancer Drug Price and Novelty in Mechanism of Action. JAMA Netw Open 2023; 6:e2347006. [PMID: 38079171 PMCID: PMC10714245 DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.47006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2023] [Accepted: 10/26/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Importance Many economic theories point to regulatory issues and subsidization of research and development costs as the primary factor in the high cancer drug prices in the US. Even so, the association between the median annual cost and novelty of cancer drugs approved in the US remains unclear. Objective To evaluate the association between the median annual cost and novelty of cancer drugs approved in the US over a 6-year period. Design, Setting, and Participants This cross-sectional study included all cancer drugs approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from January 1, 2015, to December 31, 2020. Drug names, indications, manufacturer, dosage, and measures of activity/efficacy were extracted from the FDA announcement. The search was performed in December 2021. Data were analyzed from January 2022 until April 2022. Main Outcomes and Measures Annual cost of treatment was calculated based on average wholesale price collected from the 2021 Micromedex Red Book database. Mechanism of action was inferred from trial publication or its references. Results There were 224 cancer drug approvals across 119 individual drugs, with a median annual cost of $196 000 (IQR, $170 000-$277 000). Gene and viral therapies were the most expensive (median, $448 000 [IQR, $448 000-$479 000]), followed by small molecule therapy (median, $244 000 [IQR, $203 000-$321 000), and biologics (median, $185 000 [IQR, $148 000-$195 000]). There was no significant difference in cost between first-in-class, next-in-class, and subsequent approvals of an already approved drug. Conclusions and Relevance Findings of this study indicate that the median annual price of anticancer drugs in the US is not associated with the novelty of their mechanism of action.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jordan Tuia
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco
| | - Timothée Olivier
- Department of Oncology, Geneva University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Alyson Haslam
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco
| | - Vinay Prasad
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco
- Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco
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Chernyavska M, Masoudnia M, Valerius T, Verdurmen WPR. Organ-on-a-chip models for development of cancer immunotherapies. Cancer Immunol Immunother 2023; 72:3971-3983. [PMID: 37923890 DOI: 10.1007/s00262-023-03572-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2023] [Accepted: 10/23/2023] [Indexed: 11/06/2023]
Abstract
Cancer immunotherapy has emerged as a promising approach in the treatment of diverse cancer types. However, the development of novel immunotherapeutic agents faces persistent challenges due to poor translation from preclinical to clinical stages. To address these challenges, the integration of microfluidic models in research efforts has recently gained traction, bridging the gap between in vitro and in vivo systems. This approach enables modeling of the complex human tumor microenvironment and interrogation of cancer-immune interactions. In this review, we analyze the current and potential applications of microfluidic tumor models in cancer immunotherapy development. We will first highlight current trends in the immunooncology landscape. Subsequently, we will discuss recent examples of microfluidic models applied to investigate mechanisms of immune-cancer interactions and for developing and screening cancer immunotherapies in vitro. First steps toward their validation for predicting human in vivo outcomes are discussed. Finally, promising opportunities that microfluidic tumor models offer are highlighted considering their advantages and current limitations, and we suggest possible next steps toward their implementation and integration into the immunooncology drug development process.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Chernyavska
- Department of Medical BioSciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Geert Grooteplein 28, 6525 GA, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - M Masoudnia
- Department of Medical BioSciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Geert Grooteplein 28, 6525 GA, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - T Valerius
- Division of Stem Cell Transplantation and Immunotherapy, Department of Medicine II, Christian-Albrechts-University, Christian-Albrechts-Platz 4, 24118, Kiel, Germany
| | - W P R Verdurmen
- Department of Medical BioSciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Geert Grooteplein 28, 6525 GA, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
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Mustali J, Yasuda I, Hirano Y, Yasuoka K, Gautieri A, Arai N. Unsupervised deep learning for molecular dynamics simulations: a novel analysis of protein-ligand interactions in SARS-CoV-2 M pro. RSC Adv 2023; 13:34249-34261. [PMID: 38019981 PMCID: PMC10663885 DOI: 10.1039/d3ra06375e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2023] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, which are central to drug discovery, offer detailed insights into protein-ligand interactions. However, analyzing large MD datasets remains a challenge. Current machine-learning solutions are predominantly supervised and have data labelling and standardisation issues. In this study, we adopted an unsupervised deep-learning framework, previously benchmarked for rigid proteins, to study the more flexible SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro). We ran MD simulations of Mpro with various ligands and refined the data by focusing on binding-site residues and time frames in stable protein conformations. The optimal descriptor chosen was the distance between the residues and the center of the binding pocket. Using this approach, a local dynamic ensemble was generated and fed into our neural network to compute Wasserstein distances across system pairs, revealing ligand-induced conformational differences in Mpro. Dimensionality reduction yielded an embedding map that correlated ligand-induced dynamics and binding affinity. Notably, the high-affinity compounds showed pronounced effects on the protein's conformations. We also identified the key residues that contributed to these differences. Our findings emphasize the potential of combining unsupervised deep learning with MD simulations to extract valuable information and accelerate drug discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica Mustali
- Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering, Politecnico di Milano Italy
| | - Ikki Yasuda
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Keio University Japan
| | | | - Kenji Yasuoka
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Keio University Japan
| | - Alfonso Gautieri
- Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering, Politecnico di Milano Italy
| | - Noriyoshi Arai
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Keio University Japan
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Pirnay JP, Verbeken G. Magistral Phage Preparations: Is This the Model for Everyone? Clin Infect Dis 2023; 77:S360-S369. [PMID: 37932120 DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciad481] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Phage therapy is increasingly put forward as a promising additional tool to help curb the global antimicrobial resistance crisis. However, industrially manufactured phage medicinal products are currently not available on the European Union and United States markets. In addition, it is expected that the business purpose-driven phage products that are supposed to be marketed in the future would mainly target commercially viable bacterial species and clinical indications, using fixed phage cocktails. hospitals or phage therapy centers aiming to help all patients with difficult-to-treat infections urgently need adequate phage preparations. We believe that national solutions based on the magistral preparation of personalized (preadapted) phage products by hospital and academic facilities could bring an immediate solution and could complement future industrially manufactured products. Moreover, these unlicensed phage preparations are presumed to be more efficient and to elicit less bacterial phage resistance issues than fixed phage cocktails, claims that need to be scientifically substantiated as soon as possible. Just like Belgium, other (European) countries could develop a magistral phage preparation framework that would exist next to the conventional medicinal product development and licensing pathways. However, it is important that the current producers of personalized phage products are provided with pragmatic quality and safety assurance requirements, which are preferably standardized (at least at the European level), and are tiered based on benefit-risk assessments at the individual patient level. Pro bono phage therapy providers should be supported and not stopped by the imposition of industry standards such as Good Manufacturing Practice requirements. Keywords: antimicrobial resistance; antibiotic resistance; bacterial infection; bacteriophage therapy; magistral preparation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Paul Pirnay
- Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Technology, Queen Astrid Military Hospital, Brussels, Belgium
- European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) Study Group for Non-traditional Antibacterial Therapy (ESGNTA), Basel, Switzerland
| | - Gilbert Verbeken
- Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Technology, Queen Astrid Military Hospital, Brussels, Belgium
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Yadav S, Rawal G, Jeyaraman M. India's Decision to Deny an Extension of Patent for Bedaquiline: A Public Health Imperative. Cureus 2023; 15:e49542. [PMID: 38156185 PMCID: PMC10753402 DOI: 10.7759/cureus.49542] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/28/2023] [Indexed: 12/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major global public health concern, which has become worse in low- and middle-income nations due to the rise of drug-resistant strains of the disease. Bedaquiline, a groundbreaking anti-TB drug, shows great promise for addressing multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB). However, the recent decision by India to reject the application for a patent extension on bedaquiline raises crucial questions regarding access to essential medicines and public health requirements. This article examines the significance of India's rejection of the patent extension for bedaquiline, outlining the global implications of this decision and its impact on intellectual property rights, access to medicines, and the future of drug development. India's stance serves as a model for other countries to prioritize public health in their patent-related decisions, underlining the need for a balanced approach to intellectual property rights, innovation, and affordability in the pharmaceutical sector. In the context of the ongoing battle against drug-resistant TB, India's decision on bedaquiline signifies the evolving landscape of pharmaceutical patent practices in the service of global public health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sankalp Yadav
- Medicine, Shri Madan Lal Khurana Chest Clinic, Moti Nagar, New Delhi, IND
| | - Gautam Rawal
- Respiratory Medical Critical Care, Max Super Speciality Hospital, New Delhi, IND
| | - Madhan Jeyaraman
- Orthopaedics, ACS Medical College and Hospital, Dr. MGR Educational and Research Institute, Chennai, IND
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Liu J, Xu L, Guo W, Li Z, Khan MKH, Ge W, Patterson TA, Hong H. Developing a SARS-CoV-2 main protease binding prediction random forest model for drug repurposing for COVID-19 treatment. Exp Biol Med (Maywood) 2023; 248:1927-1936. [PMID: 37997891 PMCID: PMC10798185 DOI: 10.1177/15353702231209413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2023] [Accepted: 09/26/2023] [Indexed: 11/25/2023] Open
Abstract
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic resulted in millions of people becoming infected with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus and close to seven million deaths worldwide. It is essential to further explore and design effective COVID-19 treatment drugs that target the main protease of SARS-CoV-2, a major target for COVID-19 drugs. In this study, machine learning was applied for predicting the SARS-CoV-2 main protease binding of Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drugs to assist in the identification of potential repurposing candidates for COVID-19 treatment. Ligands bound to the SARS-CoV-2 main protease in the Protein Data Bank and compounds experimentally tested in SARS-CoV-2 main protease binding assays in the literature were curated. These chemicals were divided into training (516 chemicals) and testing (360 chemicals) data sets. To identify SARS-CoV-2 main protease binders as potential candidates for repurposing to treat COVID-19, 1188 FDA-approved drugs from the Liver Toxicity Knowledge Base were obtained. A random forest algorithm was used for constructing predictive models based on molecular descriptors calculated using Mold2 software. Model performance was evaluated using 100 iterations of fivefold cross-validations which resulted in 78.8% balanced accuracy. The random forest model that was constructed from the whole training dataset was used to predict SARS-CoV-2 main protease binding on the testing set and the FDA-approved drugs. Model applicability domain and prediction confidence on drugs predicted as the main protease binders discovered 10 FDA-approved drugs as potential candidates for repurposing to treat COVID-19. Our results demonstrate that machine learning is an efficient method for drug repurposing and, thus, may accelerate drug development targeting SARS-CoV-2.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Wenjing Guo
- National Center for Toxicological Research, U.S. Food & Drug Administration, Jefferson, AR 72079, USA
| | - Zoe Li
- National Center for Toxicological Research, U.S. Food & Drug Administration, Jefferson, AR 72079, USA
| | - Md Kamrul Hasan Khan
- National Center for Toxicological Research, U.S. Food & Drug Administration, Jefferson, AR 72079, USA
| | - Weigong Ge
- National Center for Toxicological Research, U.S. Food & Drug Administration, Jefferson, AR 72079, USA
| | - Tucker A Patterson
- National Center for Toxicological Research, U.S. Food & Drug Administration, Jefferson, AR 72079, USA
| | - Huixiao Hong
- National Center for Toxicological Research, U.S. Food & Drug Administration, Jefferson, AR 72079, USA
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Tran TTV, Tayara H, Chong KT. Recent Studies of Artificial Intelligence on In Silico Drug Absorption. J Chem Inf Model 2023; 63:6198-6211. [PMID: 37819031 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.3c00960] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/13/2023]
Abstract
Absorption is an important area of research in pharmacochemistry and drug development, because the drug has to be absorbed before any drug effects can occur. Furthermore, the ADMET (Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion, and Toxicity) profile of drugs can be directly and considerably altered by modulating factors affecting absorption. Many drugs in development fail because of poor absorption. The research and continuous efforts of researchers in recent years have brought many successes and promises in drug absorption property prediction, especially in silico, which helps to reduce the time and cost significantly for screening undesirable drug candidates. In this report, we explicitly provide an overview of recent in silico studies on predicting absorption properties, especially from 2019 to the present, using artificial intelligence. Additionally, we have collected and investigated public databases that support absorption prediction research. On those grounds, we also proposed the challenges and development directions of absorption prediction in the future. We hope this review can provide researchers with valuable guidelines on absorption prediction to facilitate the development of newer approaches in drug discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thi Tuyet Van Tran
- Department of Electronics and Information Engineering, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju 54896, Republic of Korea
- Faculty of Information Technology, An Giang University, Long Xuyen 880000, Vietnam
- Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh 700000, Vietnam
| | - Hilal Tayara
- School of International Engineering and Science, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju 54896, Republic of Korea
| | - Kil To Chong
- Advances Electronics and Information Research Center, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju 54896, Republic of Korea
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Schuhmacher A, Hinder M, von Stegmann Und Stein A, Hartl D, Gassmann O. Analysis of pharma R&D productivity - a new perspective needed. Drug Discov Today 2023; 28:103726. [PMID: 37506762 DOI: 10.1016/j.drudis.2023.103726] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2023] [Revised: 07/12/2023] [Accepted: 07/21/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023]
Abstract
R&D productivity continues to be the industry's grand challenge. We analyzed the R&D input, output, and outcome of 16 leading research-based pharmaceutical companies over 20 years (2001-2020). Our analysis shows that pharma companies increased their R&D spending at a compound annual growth rate of 6% (2001-2020) to an average R&D expenditure per company of $6.7 billion (2020). The companies in our investigation launched 251 new drugs representing 46% of all CDER-related FDA approvals in the past 20 years. The average R&D efficiency of big pharma was $6.16 billion total R&D expenditures per new drug. Almost half of the leading companies needed to compensate for their negative R&D productivity through mergers and acquisitions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Schuhmacher
- Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt, THI Business School, Esplanade 10, DE-85049 Ingolstadt, Germany; University of St. Gallen, Institute of Technology Management, Dufourstrasse 40a, CH-9000 St. Gallen, Switzerland.
| | - Markus Hinder
- Novartis, Global Drug Development Patient Safety, Forum 1, CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland
| | | | - Dominik Hartl
- University of Tübingen, Hoppe-Seyler-Strasse 1, 72076 Tübingen, Germany; Granite Bio, Aeschenvorstadt 36, 4051 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Oliver Gassmann
- University of St. Gallen, Institute of Technology Management, Dufourstrasse 40a, CH-9000 St. Gallen, Switzerland
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Pinto L, Shastry RP, Alva S, Rao RSP, Ghate SD. Functional network analysis identifies multiple virulence and antibiotic resistance targets in Stenotrophomonas maltophilia. Microb Pathog 2023; 183:106314. [PMID: 37619913 DOI: 10.1016/j.micpath.2023.106314] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2023] [Revised: 07/26/2023] [Accepted: 08/20/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023]
Abstract
Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, an emerging multidrug-resistant opportunistic bacterium in humans is of major concern for immunocompromised individuals for causing pneumonia and bloodborne infections. This bacterial pathogen is associated with a considerable fatality/case ratio, with up to 100%, when presented as hemorrhagic fever. It is resistant to commonly used drugs as well as to antibiotic combinations. In-silico based functional network analysis is a key approach to get novel insights into virulence and resistance in pathogenic organisms. This study included the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis of 150 specific genes identified for antibiotic resistance mechanism and virulence pathways. Eight proteins, namely, PilL, FliA, Smlt2260, Smlt2267, CheW, Smlt2318, CheZ, and FliM were identified as hub proteins. Further docking studies of 58 selected phytochemicals were performed against the identified hub proteins. Deoxytubulosine and corosolic acid were found to be potent inhibitors of hub proteins of pathogenic S. maltophilia based on protein-ligand interactive study. Further pharmacophore studies are warranted with these molecules to develop them as novel antibiotics against S. maltophilia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Larina Pinto
- Center for Bioinformatics, NITTE Deemed to be University, Mangaluru, 575018, India
| | - Rajesh P Shastry
- Division of Microbiology and Biotechnology, Yenepoya Research Centre, Yenepoya (Deemed to Be University), University Road, Deralakatte, Mangalore, 575018, India
| | - Shivakiran Alva
- Center for Bioinformatics, NITTE Deemed to be University, Mangaluru, 575018, India
| | - R Shyama Prasad Rao
- Center for Bioinformatics, NITTE Deemed to be University, Mangaluru, 575018, India; Central Research Laboratory, KS Hegde Medical Academy, NITTE Deemed to Be University, Mangaluru, 575018, India.
| | - Sudeep D Ghate
- Center for Bioinformatics, NITTE Deemed to be University, Mangaluru, 575018, India; Central Research Laboratory, KS Hegde Medical Academy, NITTE Deemed to Be University, Mangaluru, 575018, India.
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Frankowski J, Kurzątkowska M, Sobczak M, Piotrowska U. Utilization of 3D bioprinting technology in creating human tissue and organoid models for preclinical drug research - State-of-the-art. Int J Pharm 2023; 644:123313. [PMID: 37579828 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2023.123313] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2023] [Revised: 07/28/2023] [Accepted: 08/11/2023] [Indexed: 08/16/2023]
Abstract
Rapid development of tissue engineering in recent years has increased the importance of three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting technology as novel strategy for fabrication functional 3D tissue and organoid models for pharmaceutical research. 3D bioprinting technology gives hope for eliminating many problems associated with traditional cell culture methods during drug screening. However, there is a still long way to wider clinical application of this technology due to the numerous difficulties associated with development of bioinks, advanced printers and in-depth understanding of human tissue architecture. In this review, the work associated with relatively well-known extrusion-based bioprinting (EBB), jetting-based bioprinting (JBB), and vat photopolymerization bioprinting (VPB) is presented and discussed with the latest advances and limitations in this field. Next we discuss state-of-the-art research of 3D bioprinted in vitro models including liver, kidney, lung, heart, intestines, eye, skin as well as neural and bone tissue that have potential applications in the development of new drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joachim Frankowski
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Biomaterials, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Warsaw, 1 Banacha Str., 02-097 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Matylda Kurzątkowska
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Biomaterials, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Warsaw, 1 Banacha Str., 02-097 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Marcin Sobczak
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Biomaterials, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Warsaw, 1 Banacha Str., 02-097 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Urszula Piotrowska
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Biomaterials, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Warsaw, 1 Banacha Str., 02-097 Warsaw, Poland.
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Hellemann E, Durrant JD. Worth the Weight: Sub-Pocket EXplorer (SubPEx), a Weighted Ensemble Method to Enhance Binding-Pocket Conformational Sampling. J Chem Theory Comput 2023; 19:5677-5689. [PMID: 37585617 PMCID: PMC10500992 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.3c00478] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2023] [Indexed: 08/18/2023]
Abstract
Structure-based virtual screening (VS) is an effective method for identifying potential small-molecule ligands, but traditional VS approaches consider only a single binding-pocket conformation. Consequently, they struggle to identify ligands that bind to alternate conformations. Ensemble docking helps address this issue by incorporating multiple conformations into the docking process, but it depends on methods that can thoroughly explore pocket flexibility. We here introduce Sub-Pocket EXplorer (SubPEx), an approach that uses weighted ensemble (WE) path sampling to accelerate binding-pocket sampling. As proof of principle, we apply SubPEx to three proteins relevant to drug discovery: heat shock protein 90, influenza neuraminidase, and yeast hexokinase 2. SubPEx is available free of charge without registration under the terms of the open-source MIT license: http://durrantlab.com/subpex/.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erich Hellemann
- Department of Biological
Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, United States
| | - Jacob D. Durrant
- Department of Biological
Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, United States
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Ugurel E, Turgut-Balik D. Synergistic combination of carvedilol, amlodipine, amitriptyline, and antibiotics as an alternative treatment approach for the susceptible and multidrug-resistant A. baumannii infections via drug repurposing. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 2023; 42:1063-1072. [PMID: 37428238 DOI: 10.1007/s10096-023-04634-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2023] [Accepted: 05/15/2023] [Indexed: 07/11/2023]
Abstract
We evaluated in vitro activity of 13 drugs used in the treatment of some non-communicable diseases via repurposing to determine their potential use in the treatment of Acinetobacter baumannii infections caused by susceptible and multidrug-resistant strains. A. baumannii is a multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria causing nosocomial infections, especially in intensive care units. It has been identified in the WHO critical pathogen list and this emphasises urgent need for new treatment options. As the development of new therapeutics is expensive and time consuming, finding new uses of existing drugs via drug repositioning has been favoured. Antimicrobial susceptibility tests were conducted on all 13 drugs according to CLSI. Drugs with MIC values below 128 μg/mL and control antibiotics were further subjected to synergetic effect and bacterial time-kill analysis. Carvedilol-gentamicin (FICI 0.2813) and carvedilol-amlodipine (FICI 0.5625) were determined to have synergetic and additive effect, respectively, on the susceptible A. baumannii strain, and amlodipine-tetracycline (FICI 0.75) and amitriptyline-tetracycline (FICI 0.75) to have additive effect on the multidrug-resistant A. baumannii strain. Most remarkably, both amlodipine and amitriptyline reduced the MIC of multidrug-resistant, including some carbapenems, A. baumannii reference antibiotic tetracycline from 2 to 0.5 μg/mL, for 4-folds. All these results were further supported by bacterial time-kill assay and all combinations showed bactericidal activity, at certain hours, at 4XMIC. Combinations proposed in this study may provide treatment options for both susceptible and multidrug-resistant A. baumannii infections but requires further pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics analyses and in vivo re-evaluations using appropriate models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erennur Ugurel
- Faculty of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, Department of Bioengineering, Yildiz Technical University, Davutpasa Campus, 34210, Esenler, Istanbul, Türkiye
| | - Dilek Turgut-Balik
- Faculty of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, Department of Bioengineering, Yildiz Technical University, Davutpasa Campus, 34210, Esenler, Istanbul, Türkiye.
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