R&D

Breaking the rules!

Has Overton's rule been overturned?

The century old rule of pharmacology that defines how quickly key chemicals pass across cell walls has been challenged by new observations that claim the real transport rates could be up to a hundred times slower than those predicted by Overton's rule.

Overton's rule, first outlined in the 1890s by Ernst Overton, says that the easier it is for a chemical to dissolve in a lipid, the faster it will be transported into a cell. However, using a confocal microscope and an ultramicroelectrode, a team of electrochemists from the University of Warwick (UK) studied what really happens when a chemical crosses a cell membrane. While the acids did diffuse across a lipid membrane, they did so at rates that were diametrically opposite to the predictions of the rule as the most lipophilic molecules were actually transported slowest, at least for the chemicals studied.

Lead researcher on the study, Professor Patrick Unwin, says: "We will now make observations with a range of other chemicals, and with other techniques to further elucidate the molecular basis for our observations. Text books will have to be rewritten to revise a rule that has been relied on for more than a century. Advanced techniques, such as the one we have developed, should give much clearer insight into the action of a wide range of drug molecules, which will be of significant interest to drug developers."

Read more at: http://www.ptemag.com/overton/

An exclusive interview with Patrick Unwin can be read at: http://www.ptemag.com/Unwin/

M&As

Appikon's big buy out

Applikon Biotechnology BV is planning a management buy out of the company to enable the business to continue to build on its existing growth. Sales and Marketing Director Erik Kakes says: "We've all worked really hard for this and I'm looking forward to realizing our full potential in the future."

An exclusive interview with Erik Kakes can be read at: http://www.ptemag.com/applikon/

Recipharm looks to lyophilize

Recipharm has purchased Inotech Labor's lyophilization facilities in Basel (Switzerland). The site will now be operated by the newly formed company Recipharm AG. Thomas Eldered, CEO and Managing Director of Recipharm, says: "Being profitable and cash positive enabled us to move fast during the bidding process and emerge as Inotech Labor's preferred purchaser."

An exclusive interview with Thomas Eldered can be read at: http://www.ptemag.com/recipharm/