While great strides have been achieved in cancer treatment, scientists are looking for the new targets and next generation of therapeutics to stop this second leading cause of death nationwide. A new platform for drug discovery has been developed through a collaborative effort linking chemists at NYU and pharmacologists at USC.

An assistant professor with the Virginia Tech - Wake Forest School of Biomedical Engineering has developed a flexible microneedle patch that allows drugs to be delivered directly and fully through the skin. The new patch can quicken drug delivery time while cutting waste, and can likely minimize side-effects in some cases, notable in vaccinations and cancer therapy.

Uncertainty persists regarding whether drugs that lower sugar reduce the risk of heart attack, with some concerns that diabetes drugs may actually raise the risks. The Saxagliptin Assessment of Vascular Outcomes Recorded in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus (SAVOR-TIMI 53) trial was a large international clinical trial that randomized patients to the diabetes drug saxagliptin (Onglyza), a selective dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP-4) inhibitor, or to placebo in order to determine the effect on heart attack risk.

The search continues for an agent that increases high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and reduces arterial plaque, after the experimental apolipoprotein A1 (apoA1) inducer, RVX-208 failed to do so in the ApoA1 Synthesis Stimulation and Intravascular Ultrasound for Coronary Atheroma Regression Evaluation (ASSURE) study.

A new finding could lead to novel treatments to reduce bleeding in trauma and severe infections. The research, from Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF) scientists Lijun Xia, M.D., Ph.D., Jianxin Fu, M.D., Ph.D., and Brett Herzog, Ph.D., appears in the most recent issue of the journal Nature.

It's a long, expensive, risky road to turn a scientific breakthrough into a treatment that can help patients. Fewer organizations are trying to tackle the challenges alone, says a new paper from MIT researchers published August 28 in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

A new study at Moffitt Cancer Center could offer hope to people with melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. Researchers are investigating whether an injectable known as PV-10 can shrink tumors and reduce the spread of cancer. PV-10 is a solution developed from Rose Bengal, a water-soluble dye commonly used to stain damaged cells in the eye.