The metabotropic glutamate receptors, or mGluRs, are a type of glutamate receptor that are active through an indirect metabotropic process. They are members of the group C family of G-protein-coupled receptors, or GPCRs. Like all glutamate receptors, mGluRs bind with glutamate, an amino acid that functions as an excitatory neurotransmitter.
Drug development is the process of bringing a new pharmaceutical drug to the market once a lead compound has been identified through the process of drug discovery. It includes preclinical research on microorganisms and animals, filing for regulatory status, such as via the United States Food and Drug Administration for an investigational new drug to initiate clinical trials on humans, and may include the step of obtaining regulatory approval with a new drug application to market the drug. The entire process – from concept through preclinical testing in the laboratory to clinical trial development, including Phase I–III trials – to approved vaccine or drug typically takes more than a decade.
The C3a receptor also known as complement component 3a receptor 1 (C3AR1) is a G protein-coupled receptor protein involved in the complement system.
Drug delivery refers to approaches, formulations, manufacturing techniques, storage systems, and technologies involved in transporting a pharmaceutical compound to its target site to achieve a desired therapeutic effect. Principles related to drug preparation, route of administration, site-specific targeting, metabolism, and toxicity are used to optimize efficacy and safety, and to improve patient convenience and compliance. Drug delivery is aimed at altering a drug's pharmacokinetics and specificity by formulating it with different excipients, drug carriers, and medical devices. There is additional emphasis on increasing the bioavailability and duration of action of a drug to improve therapeutic outcomes. Some research has also been focused on improving safety for the person administering the medication. For example, several types of microneedle patches have been developed for administering vaccines and other medications to reduce the risk of needlestick injury.
Ormeloxifene, also known as centchroman, is one of the selective estrogen receptor modulators, or SERMs, a class of medication which acts on the estrogen receptor. It is best known as a nonsteroidal oral contraceptive which is taken once per week. In India, ormeloxifene has been available as birth control since the early 1990s, and it was marketed there under the trade name Saheli, currently available free-of-cost for the women in India as Chhaya (Centchroman). Ormeloxifene has also been licensed under the trade names Novex-DS, Centron, and Sevista.
Metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 is an excitatory Gq-coupled G protein-coupled receptor predominantly expressed on the postsynaptic sites of neurons. In humans, it is encoded by the GRM5 gene.
Adenosine kinase is an enzyme that catalyzes the transfer of gamma-phosphate from Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to adenosine (Ado) leading to formation of Adenosine monophosphate (AMP). In addition to its well-studied role in controlling the cellular concentration of Ado, AdK also plays an important role in the maintenance of methylation reactions. All S-adenosylmethionine-dependent transmethylation reactions in cells lead to production of S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH), which is cleaved by SAH hydrolase into Ado and homocysteine. The failure to efficiently remove these end products can result in buildup of SAH, which is a potent inhibitor of all transmethylation reactions. The disruption of AdK gene (-/-) in mice causes neonatal hepatic steatosis, a fatal condition characterized by rapid microvesicular fat infiltration, leading to early postnatal death. The liver was the main organ affected in these animals and in it the levels of adenine nucleotides were decreased, while those of SAH were elevated. Recently, missense mutations in the AdK gene in humans which result in AdK deficiency have also been shown to cause hypermethioninemia, encephalopathy and abnormal liver function.
Sulfotransferase 1A1 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the SULT1A1 gene.
lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), are nanoparticles composed of lipids. They are a novel pharmaceutical drug delivery system, and a novel pharmaceutical formulation. LNPs as a drug delivery vehicle were first approved in 2018 for the siRNA drug Onpattro. LNPs became more widely known in late 2020, as some COVID-19 vaccines that use RNA vaccine technology coat the fragile mRNA strands with PEGylated lipid nanoparticles as their delivery vehicle.
CSIR Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (CSIR-IGIB) is a scientific research institute devoted primarily to biological research. It is a part of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), India.
Candocuronium iodide is an aminosteroid neuromuscular-blocking drug. Its use in anesthesia for endotracheal intubation and to provide skeletal muscle relaxation during surgery or mechanical ventilation was briefly evaluated in clinical studies in India. However, further development was discontinued due to attendant cardiovascular effects, primarily tachycardia that was about the same as the clinically established pancuronium bromide. Candocuronium demonstrated a short duration in the body, but a rapid onset of action. It had little to no ganglion blocking activity, with a greater potency than pancuronium.
NSI-189 is an experimental, potential antidepressant that was developed by Neuralstem, Inc. for the treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD), as well as for cognitive impairment and neurodegeneration.
Favipiravir, sold under the brand name Avigan among others, is an antiviral medication used to treat influenza in Japan. It is also being studied to treat a number of other viral infections, including SARS-CoV-2. Like the experimental antiviral drugs T-1105 and T-1106, it is a pyrazinecarboxamide derivative.
Virander Singh Chauhan is an Indian scientist and a Rhodes Scholar working in the fields of genetic engineering and biotechnology and known for his contributions to the development of a recombinant vaccine for malaria. He was honored by the Government of India in 2012 with the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri. He is the present Chancellor of Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management.
Open Source Drug Discovery is a Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India (CSIR)-led Team India Consortium with global participation. offering a collaborative drug discovery platform for neglected tropical diseases like leishmaniasis, which draw limited attention of research-based pharmaceutical enterprises. This program has a global community with over 7500 participants from 130 countries comprising researchers, academia, students, industries, educational institutions and so on. Anyone who is committed to the discovery of drugs for neglected diseases in an open source mode can participate in the program. OSDD functions by bringing together experts from diverse backgrounds to focus on discovering and developing affordable drugs for tropical infections.
Arketamine (developmental code names PCN-101, HR-071603), also known as (R)-ketamine or (R)-(−)-ketamine, is the (R)-(−) enantiomer of ketamine. Similarly to racemic ketamine and esketamine, the S(+) enantiomer of ketamine, arketamine is biologically active; however, it is less potent as an NMDA receptor antagonist and anesthetic and thus has never been approved or marketed for clinical use as an enantiopure drug. Arketamine is currently in clinical development as a novel antidepressant.
Sheila K. Singh MD, PhD, FRCSC is a chief pediatric neurosurgeon at McMaster Children's Hospital in Ontario, Canada. She is also Professor of Surgery and Biochemistry, the Division Head of Neurosurgery at Hamilton Health Sciences, the Research Director for McMaster's Division of Neurosurgery, and a scientist/principal investigator appointed to the Stem Cell and Cancer Research Institute at McMaster University.
Brequinar (DuP-785) is a drug that acts as a potent and selective inhibitor of the enzyme dihydroorotate dehydrogenase. It blocks synthesis of pyrimidine based nucleotides in the body and so inhibits cell growth. Brequinar was invented by DuPont Pharmaceuticals in the 1980s. In 2001, Bristol-Myers Squibb acquired DuPont, and in 2017, Clear Creek Bio acquired the rights to brequinar from BMS.
An mRNAvaccine is a type of vaccine that uses a copy of a molecule called messenger RNA (mRNA) to produce an immune response. The vaccine delivers molecules of antigen-encoding mRNA into immune cells, which use the designed mRNA as a blueprint to build foreign protein that would normally be produced by a pathogen or by a cancer cell. These protein molecules stimulate an adaptive immune response that teaches the body to identify and destroy the corresponding pathogen or cancer cells. The mRNA is delivered by a co-formulation of the RNA encapsulated in lipid nanoparticles that protect the RNA strands and help their absorption into the cells.
Toreforant (JNJ-38518168) is an orally-dosed selective antagonist of the histamine H4 receptor that has been studied for various health conditions. It is the successor of a number of H4-selective compounds developed by Johnson & Johnson. Phase IIa clinical trials completed as recently as November 2018 continue to suggest that toreforant is safe.
