Nature reviews. Drug discovery
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Nat Rev Drug Discov · Feb 2006
ReviewParadigm shift in neuroprotection by NMDA receptor blockade: memantine and beyond.
Neuroprotective drugs tested in clinical trials, particularly those that block N-methyl-D-aspartate-sensitive glutamate receptors (NMDARs), have failed miserably in large part because of intolerable side effects. However, one such drug, memantine, was recently approved by the European Union and the US FDA for the treatment of dementia following our group's discovery of its clinically tolerated mechanism of action. Here, we review the molecular basis for memantine efficacy in neurological diseases that are mediated, at least in part, by overactivation of NMDARs, producing excessive Ca(2+) influx through the receptor's associated ion channel and consequent free-radical formation.
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Nat Rev Drug Discov · Nov 2005
ReviewOutlook: finding improved medicines: the role of academic-industrial collaboration.
This paper reviews models of academic-pharmaceutical industry collaboration and debates the value of such partnerships so that those contemplating an alliance can reflect a priori on the purpose, nature and process that will provide a constructive outcome. The scope is confined to the biomedical discipline, because collaborations in other fields, such as physics and engineering, have not suffered as a result of the concerns associated with biomedicine.