Chemistry World Blog

Beekeepers could be the new mouse model for immunologists, according to a recent JEM paper. Since unprotected beekeepers will risk a sting in the name of honey, they present a rather unique model of repeated immune response – and their T cells make perfect testing material.

In in vitro tests Meiler et al used samples of beekeepers’ immune cells and found that their immune response alters according to the honey-harvesting season. They initially respond to bee antigen by producing pro-inflammatory signalling molecules. But within a week, the cells start to produce a signalling molecule that lessens the immune response.

Above: I’m covered in bees!

According the the New Scientist Blog, a US charity called Found Animals is putting up a $75 million award to fund research leading to a pet contraceptive. Their hope is to stimulate the development of a non-surgical one-stop sterilisation for man’s best friend (and cats).

There are some suprising contenders, including a team at Bengal University to have got good results by injecting calcium chloride into the testicles. Another reason for your dog to loathe the well-meaning vet. And an excuse for me to put a picture of my dog on the blog.

I’ve managed to persuade the rest of the Chemistry World team to let me write an article about whisky, the research for which included a wonderful visit to the Scotch Whisky Research Institute and the International Centre for Brewing and Distilling – both in Edinburgh.

So yesterday I spent the day with a group of fascinating researchers, and was even offered a sample of university student-brewed beer. (Although, sadly – and very sensibly – there was no whisky-tasting offered.

For a couple of years, when I lived in Edinburgh, I worked in a pub, and I’ve experienced the wrath of whisky-drinking regulars when the water jug on the bar was not brought up to room temperature in time for their arrival. So I was looking forward to the chemical explanation – exactly how and why should one dilute a malt whisky in such a specific way?

The usual explanation given is that dilution releases aromas. And that’s true. With many malts, important flavour compounds, long-chain esters for example, become less soluble as the ethanol concentration decreases. So they come out of solution to give heady, whisky aromas.

But nothing with Scotch whisky is so straightforward. There is no ‘magic’ dilution level. Some ‘heavier’ or ‘meatier’ single malts, for example, contain relatively high levels of sulfur compounds – unpleasant aromas that most people would prefer to keep locked up inside the liquid – rather than releasing them.

But, on the other hand, some whisky drinkers like and appreciate these sulfurous smells. So it seems there’s no right answer – which, although frustrating – at least gives you a good response for anyone who tells you how you should drink whisky.

And dilution from 40% alcohol in a bottle of whisky down to 20% for nosing, drinking an enjoying, also has a lot to do with practicality. The nosers – whisky smelling experts with highly sensitive, and often highly insured, olfactory equipment – would simply numb their most precious sense after a nosing a few 40% whiskies.

Look out for the December feature for more –including why blended whiskies are not inferior to single malts. I think I hear the cries of ‘heresy’ already.

The experimental stills at ICBD:

Whisky visibly maturing:

Tasting student-brewed beer in the lab:

The ACS press release this week has a story with a before and after picture, and I think it must be my age, but I can’t resist a good anti-wrinkle-miracle story. This one’s about LEDs too. The research team from the University of Ulm in Germany have found that shining LEDs at the skin can reduce wrinkles.

The clever chemistry apparently involves interacting with layers of water surrounding elastin fibres – as its name suggests elastin is a stretchy protein involved in giving skin and lots of other connective tissue the ability to stretch and regain its shape. As skin ages, the water layer becomes more viscous, which immobilises elastin fibres and reduces the skin’s youthful elasticity. The light from the LED strips away some of the water molecules involved in this increased viscosity.

The press release also mentioned that LEDs are used in TV remote controls, but I have been unable to ascertain from the paper whether pointing your TV remote at your crows feet with do the same trick (don’t try this at home).

Light therapy has been in use for many years for treating wounds and skin disorders including acne. It seems to have a multitude of effects on the skin – from breaking down pigments to activating fibroblasts to heal wounds. This is yet another piece of interesting photochemistry in action (with lovely pictures). Have a look at our feature for some more interesting (and some rather extreme) anti-wrinkle chemistry.

Schizophrenic patients have very good, pharmacological reasons to smoke, according to a new study published in PNAS. The researchers found a mechanism whereby nicotine might reduce some of the symptoms of schizophrenia.

Using nicotine injections in mice, Rosalba Satta and colleagues from the University of Illinois found that nicotine increases the expression of glutamic acid decarboxylase67 (GAD67) in the frontal cortex of the brain. This genetic change in turn increases the production of a neurotransmitter called GABA (Gamma-aminobutyric acid) by. GABA is an inhibitory neurotransmitter which is diminished in some areas of the schizophrenic brain – which partly explains the brain hyperactivity that results in disturbing auditory hallucinations, or the voices that patients hear.

There’s a fascinating tendency for schizophrenics to self-medicate with cigarettes. According to one study, almost 90% of schizophrenic psychiatric out-patients smoke.

I also noticed a study this week pointing to a genetic predisposition to smoking. A study in the American Journal of Human Genetics found a ‘significant interaction between two taste receptor genes’ and addiction to nicotine, so a person more sensitive to bitter tastes is less likely to get addicted to cancer sticks in the first place.

Which all gives me an excuse to post yet another image from this gallery of tobacco ads, which I highly recommend.

— Thecommercialchemist

In this week’s Chemistry World business news round-up, we cover more pharmaceutical restructuring, another obesity drug failure, and the $1000 genome.

Chemical industry

Hexion gets private equity funding to close Huntsman deal:
US speciality chemicals company Hexion, which was recently ordered by a Delaware court to honour its agreement to buy Huntsman, will receive $540 million (£318 million) from its parent company, private equity firm Apollo Management. Hexion originally offered to buy Huntsman for $10.6 billion (£5.8 billion) in June 2007, but then argued that, because of Huntsman’s poor subsequent performance, the combined company would be insolvent.

Pharmaceutical industry

Pfizer accused of burying negative studies:
A lawsuit has accused US pharma giant Pfizer of trying to cover up negative data about its blockbuster epilepsy drug Neurontin. Experts hired by the plaintiffs suing the company for fraud said that the company had a ‘publication strategy’ to suppress negative reports in medical journals while promoting off-label uses for Neurontin that weren’t approved by federal regulators, according to a Bloomberg report. Pfizer denies the charges.

Pfizer reorganisation continues:
In the latest move in a global restructuring plan, Pfizer has announced that it will create three new drug development units. One will focus on primarily on Brazil, Russia, India and China (the BRIC countries) in an effort to increase market share in emerging markets. The other two will focus on physicians – one on primary care doctors and the other on specialists. The move follows news last month that Pfizer would realign its drug discovery efforts and strategically shift its focus. Pfizer says that the change will not involve new job cuts.
Also this week, Pfizer closed its doors on the Michigan laboratory where its blockbuster cholesterol drug, Lipitor, was developed.

Imclone says yes:
The bidding war for US biotechnology firm Imclone is over, but the company has maintained that the $62 per share offer from Bristol-Myers Squibb was too low. Instead Eli Lilly will buy the company for $70.00 per share – approximately $6.5 billion.
But BMS will still benefit from the deal. The company will receive approximately $1 billion from Lilly for its 17 per cent stake in Imclone, whose very strong cancer drug pipeline has been the incentive for the bidding war.

Lilly pays $62 million in marketing settlement:
Eli Lilly will pay $62 million to 32 US states to resolve an investigation into the sales, marketing and promotion of its antipsychotic medication Zyprexa. Lilly was being sued for promoting and marketing the drug for unapproved uses, including elderly dementia and paediatric treatment. The company said in a statement that, under the settlement, ‘there is no finding that Lilly has violated any provision of the state laws under which the investigations were conducted’.

Coming soon: the $1000 genome:
Complete Genomics, a young US gene sequencing company, has revealed that it plans to sequence 1000 human genomes by next year and 20,000 in 2010. The firm is building a sequencing centre at its California base, where it plans to sequence human genomes for pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology firms, personal-genomics companies and government-funded sequencing centres. It will charge customers $5,000 to sequence a genome, according to chief executive officer Cliff Reid, who estimates that the cost of materials used to generate each sequence will be around $1,000.

Another obesity drug bites the dust:
Merck has shelved its most advanced antiobesity agent taranabant, as data from Phase III trials showed that in addition to having greater efficacy at higher doses the drug also resulted in more adverse psychiatric events, including anxiety and depression. Taranabant acts on cannabinoid receptors to reduce food cravings. It belonging to the same class as Sanofi-Aventis’ rimonabant (Acomplia, Slimona) which was launched in European and South American countries in 2006 for the treatment of obesity in patients with Type II diabetes.

Proposed controls threaten EU drug trade:
Cross-border pharmaceutical trade in the EU could be severely curtailed under proposed legislation set to be unveiled by the European Commission later this month, according to a report by the Financial Times. The newspaper received a document detailing rules to crack down on the trade in counterfeit medicines, that would also make it difficult for wholesalers legally to move pharmaceuticals across the EU’s open borders. New rules would put tight restrictions on the repackaging of medicines, a process required to ensure the correct language and coding information is used on packaging and information leaflets.

J&J paid $68 million to settle birth control cases:
Johnson & Johnson has spent at least $68.7 million to settle hundreds of lawsuits filed by women who suffered blood clots, heart attacks or strokes after using the company’s Ortho Evra birth-control patch, court records show. Bloomberg News reviewed the court records and found that the vast majority of complaints alleged the patch caused blood clots in the legs or lungs. Some blamed it for heart attacks or strokes. The complaints blamed Ortho Evra for the deaths of 20 women.

Food

Unilever comes out against biofuels:
Food and consumer goods group Unilever has backed recommendations to scrap mandatory biofuel targets and subsidies ‘to improve food security and prevent famine’. The recommendations were made this week at the annual meeting of Commonwealth finance ministers in St Lucia. Unilever is concerned that subsidies for biofuels are driving up food prices and the cost of its products, according to a Guardian report.

Environment

Carbon footprints hidden:
Nearly half of the UK’s top 250 companies are unwilling to disclose their carbon footprints to city investors. Only 58 per cent of FTSE-250 companies responded to the latest survey by the carbon disclosure project.

Europe backs carbon capture:
The European Parliament’s Environment Committee voted for a carbon emissions cap on new power plants, and to support carbon capture technology with revenue from the carbon credits that an expanded EU emissions trading scheme (ETS) will sell at auction, starting in 2013. That could be worth as much as 10 billion euros (£7.7 bn). Energy-intensive industries, such as the chemical sector, are hoping to be protected from the increased costs imposed by the new ETS, and the committee also voted to give such industries an easier phase-in to the ETS. The vote will influence negotiations with EU leaders but a final decision on carbon capture and the ETS is not expected until later this year, or early 2009.

Have a look at this amazing gallery of old tobacco adverts put together by Stanford University. Thanks to Pharmagossip for this tip – they described it as the ‘best online gallery ever’.

…But not to BMS. According to a press release from Lilly this afternoon, it has swooped in with a far better offer and will buy the burgeoning biotech company for ‘an all cash tender offer of $70.00 per share, or approximately $6.5 billion.’

Imclone’s very strong cancer drug pipeline has been the incentive for the bidding war.

This extraordinary picture was first published in National Geographic, and kindly posted from a CD-Rom onto this website. It shows a man sitting on a pool of mercury, which, coincidentally, is the subject of this week’s Chemistry in its element – now live.

Bristol-Myers Squibb’s rather protracted attempt to buy Imclone goes on. Just as BMS CEO Jim Cornelius raised his hostile offer to $62 per share , Pharmalot has published a very entertaining letter to Cornelius from Imclone CEO Carl Ichan.

The highlight:

…your hostile tender of $62, at this time, seems absurd. If you wish to make your attorneys wealthier, I can show you more productive ways to do so. Or, if you simply want publicity, I can also help you in that regard without your having to make unnecessary expenditures.

Monitoring the sniping is quite fun, so we’re helping out with the publicity too.