• Cover Story - Kinase Race in PD - A Johns Hopkins team has the first in vivo proof of concept that pharmacological inhibition of LRRK2 is neuroprotective in Parkinsons disease. An undisclosed company has optioned the molecules, putting them in competition with LRRK2 inhibitors from two biotechs: Zenobia Therapeutics and TauTaTis.

• Targets & Mechanisms - Going to Bis-School - Novartis researchers have identified the first non-bisphosphonate inhibitors of farnesyl diphosphate synthase. Compared with the blockbuster drugs in the bisphosphonate class, the new inhibitors with their markedly lower bone affinities could allow more effective treatment of nonbone-related cancers.

• Targets & Mechanisms - GSK's Topoisomerase in the Hole - Researchers from GlaxoSmithKline have shown that a new class bacterial topoisomerase IIA inhibitors work via a mechanism that is distinct from the fluoroquinolones. The studys structural data could aid the rational design of new antibiotics against fluoroquinolone-resistant bacteria.

• Targets & Mechanisms - Ketamine Meets mTOR - Yale researchers have found an mTOR-mediated mechanism that could help explain how ketamine decreases depression more rapidly than standard antidepressants. The challenge will be to identify targets in the mTOR pathway that elicit the rapid effect without the psychotic side effects associated with ketamine.

• The Distillery - This Week in Therapeutics - Treating arthritis with MAP3K7 inhibitors; promoting wound healing with estrogen receptor-β activators; reducing inflammation using nonsteroidal GCCR agonists; and more...

• The Distillery - This Week in Techniques - Embryonic stem cell (ESC)-based generation of gene knockout models in rats; pH-sensitive iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles for targeted cancer imaging and therapy; structural MRI-based autism diagnosis; and more...