Astex Pharmaceuticals Inc. is getting $35 million up front and up to $500 million per program as it extends its drug discovery collaboration with Merck & Co. Inc. to include small-molecule activators of the p53 tumor suppressor protein. The number of programs was not disclosed, but they will target forms of p53 that have lost their function as a result of cancer-induced mutations in the TP53 gene. The aim will be to override the mutation and restore the ability of the wild-type protein to bind DNA and perform its functions as a transcription factor.

The prognostic role of complement inhibitor CSMD1 was assessed in 1,507 patients with glioma from three different datasets. Results of the bioinformatical analysis suggested that high expression of CSMD1 was associated with increased overall survival and disease-free survival, as well as lower tumor grade.