Seoochre

Drugs as small- or medium-sized molecules (1-2 nanometer in diameter) typically possess both lipophilic and hydrophilic properties. For a drug molecule to reach its intracellular target, it usually needs to cross several barriers including mucus gel layer, intestinal epithelial cells, capillary endothelium, and finally membrane of target cells. In all those interfaces, lipoidal diffusion and protein-mediated passive transport across lipid bilayers play an important role in its molecular entry. Thus, understanding the mechanism of drug transport at biological membranes provides us with a theor

Menarini Asia-Pacific is just over a decade old, having established its regional headquarters in Singapore back in November 2011. Over the past decade, the island-nation’s positioning has changed from just a pharmaceutical manufacturing outpost to an international biomedical hub that encompasses the entire innovation and manufacturing value chain.

Globally, there remains an unmet need for advanced research in healthcare biotechnology and diagnostics. Singapore’s reputation for quality research and development (R&D), supportive operating environment, and talent pool made it an easy decision

More than one billion people are impacted by chronic and acute lung diseases globally Infact, non-communicable diseases, such as chronic respiratory diseases are among the biggest reasons for fatality (WHO). Despite the growing health and wellness centricity across countries, respiratory conditions have not received the attention they need. If at all they do then it’s more for infectious conditions like Tuberculosis. But when wellness is looked at holistically, healthy lungs and lung health is paramount for overall health and wellbeing. According to WHO, respiratory illnesses lead to over 10p

Vaccines have been a necessary fixture in modern society for the promotion and perpetuation of public and personal health. Vaccines achieve this by inducing an adaptive immune response (via an antigen and adjuvant combination) that will recognize, target, and eliminate invading pathogens in the infected host [1]. This discovery was made by Edward Jenner in the late 1700s when trying to treat smallpox, and these fundamental principles are still being used to treat a wide array of diseases with known pathogenic etiologies [1,2]. Nowadays, vaccines have proved their significance in battling agai

Clinical trial project management is a complex and multifaceted process that involves the coordination of various activities and stakeholders to ensure the successful planning, execution, and completion of clinical trials. Effective project management is essential to ensure that clinical trials are conducted efficiently, safely, and within budget. The 5 stages of project management can be applied to clinical trials and be formed into an effective clinical project lifecycle.

Patient data is at the centre of the clinical drug development process. Data diversity is too. Drug developers and pharmacologists have always looked at collecting datasets from diverse patient groups to assess the efficacy and safety of medications in clinical trials. However, acquiring diverse patient data is exceedingly challenging due to a wide range of social and physical barriers that prove to limit trial participation. Fortunately, technical innovation, as well as general public access to the cloud, are helping pharma’s researchers raise trial participation rates, increase patient dive

Personalised medicine for cancer is a treatment module tailored to individual patients based on various factors including biomarkers. Different types of biomarkers are measured from the tumour, blood or urine using molecular, biochemical, physiological, anatomical, or imaging method before treatment or during the course of treatment. Observed biomarkers can be used for the selection of personalised treatment for cancer patients. For example, predictive biomarkers are used to predict the response to a specific treatment and prognostic biomarkers are used to measure the aggressiveness of a dise

Recently, a Drug Information Association / American Statistical Association-sponsored Interdisciplinary Safety Evaluation working group published a recommended approach to the aggregate assessment of clinical trial safety data. The proposed Aggregate Safety Assessment Plan (ASAP) has several components including identification of the safety topics of interest, how the safety data will be pooled across clinical studies and the data analysis standards that will be employed. In addition, the ASAP delineates how the safety data will be reviewed in aggregate to enable earlier signal detection as w

Traumatic events such as date rape, drowning or death of loved ones in accidents often necessitate the use of antidepressants for a short treatment course. Unfortunately, many antidepressant use is plagued by antidepressant discontinuation syndrome (ADS). ADS is a common problem in patients following the interruption, dose reduction, or discontinuation of antidepressant drugs. Typical symptoms of antidepressant discontinuation syndrome include extreme insomnia, nausea, gait instability, sensory disturbances, dizziness, increased suicidal thoughts and hyperarousal. These symptoms can be disabl

As is the case in most scientific disciplines, the most common way to determine how something works is to break it down, identify and quantify its component parts and then see how they work together to function as a whole. This is true for understanding the metabolism of a cell, for understanding the synthesis of a chemical, and in the pharmaceutical industry, for understanding the formulation and function of reference listed drugs (RLDs).

The reverse engineering of an RLD—product deformulation—is a critical step in the development of more accessible and less expensive generic versions. De

Nearly 300 million people worldwide are affected by asthma, which, left untreated or uncontrolled, decreases quality of life and increases the risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). More than half of these asthma cases originate from childhood. Shortness of breath, tightness, and wheezing are just a few of the symptoms caused by asthma. Although robust evidence supports the efficacy of current treatment options, approximately 100 million additional asthma cases are expected by 2025. Despite recommendations by the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) guidelines, up to

Despite all recent advances of molecular biology and imaging techniques, treatment designs based on pharmaceuticals still need enhancement to improve prognostics of patients while reducing the severity of side effects. The development of DNA sequencing techniques enabled an unprecedented increase of our understanding of genetic diseases such as cancer [1]. Cancer sub-types classification based on specific mutations, such as the mutation of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) gene related to lung cancer, increased prognostic accuracy while providing the opportunity for early interventions.