A new study published in Science May 11 is shedding light on the molecular details of PARP-1, a DNA damage-detecting enzyme that when inhibited has been shown to be effective in fighting cancer and other diseases.

A team of researchers at Karolinska Institutet has generated a map over the effects of small drug-like molecules on PARP1 and other similar proteins in the body.

Looking for ways to halt the uncontrolled growth of cancer cells, scientists at Johns Hopkins have found that a new class of drugs, called PARP inhibitors, may block the ability of pre-leukemic cells to repair broken bits of their own DNA, causing these cells to self-destruct.

The Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute's Drs. Frank Sicheri, Tony Pawson and Sebastian Guettler, in collaboration with Dr. Robert Rottapel at the Ontario Cancer Institute, have uncovered the detailed architecture of a crucial component of Tankyrase, a protein linked to the bone development disorder cherubism and involved in a myriad of cellular processes.

NOVATO, Calif., July 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (Nasdaq: BMRN) today announced the initiation of a Phase 1 trial for BMN 673, a poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitor, for the treatment of patients with advanced hematological malignancies.