GSK/Sirtris compounds dogged by assay artifacts.

摘要

In January, scientists at Pfizer Global Research and Development, in Groton, Connecticut, reported that small molecules developed by Cambridge, Massachusetts–based Sirtris Pharmaceuticals do not activate the sirtuin pathway that has been linked to longevity. The disconcerting discovery, published in The Journal of Biological Chemistry (published online, doi:10.1074/jbc.M109.088682, 8 January 2010), is not the first to cast doubt on compounds that target sirtuins. In a paper published last November (Chem. Biol. Drug Des. 74, 619–624, 2009), researchers at Amgen of Thousand Oaks, California, also showed that a purported anti-aging compound in red wine, resveratrol, doesn't act on the pathway either. These findings are fueling skepticism not just concerning Sirtris and its resveratrol-like compounds but also about the due diligence process at London-based GlaxoSmithKline, which purchased the Cambridge, Massachusetts–based biotech in April 2008 for an eye-popping $720 million (Nat. Biotechnol. 26, 595, 2008).