[Research Reliability Required in Academia].

The Bridging Research Accelerating Network Program of the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development has increased academic research on nonclinical studies to acquire proof of concept for pharmaceuticals, and recently some universities with special technological knowledge have started collaborative research with pharmaceutical companies. In such joint research, companies often repeat studies conducted by academic institutions to ensure that the study data meet the reliability requirements for new drug applications (NDAs). Conducting repeated studies is costly and time consuming and delays the R&D process prior to filing NDAs.

Nicorandil improves glomerular injury in rats with mesangioproliferative glomerulonephritis via inhibition of proproliferative and profibrotic growth factors.

Recent clinical studies on chronic kidney disease (CKD) reported that renal dysfunction was a critical risk factor for cardiovascular events (CVE), which lead us to reconsider the effect of cardioprotective agents on the kidney. Glomerulonephritis, which is the major cause of CKD, is characterized by mesangial cell proliferation and extracellular matrix deposition. Nicorandil, a therapeutic drug for angina and acute heart failure, have been reported to show antiproliferative activity in mesangial cells.

An orally active motilin receptor antagonist, MA-2029, inhibits motilin-induced gastrointestinal motility, increase in fundic tone, and diarrhea in conscious dogs without affecting gastric emptying.

The pharmacological properties of MA-2029, a selective and competitive motilin receptor antagonist, were investigated in conscious dogs after oral administration. Gastrointestinal contractile activity was recorded by chronically implanted force transducers. The proximal gastric volume was measured with a barostat under constant pressure.

Nicorandil, a potassium channel opener and nitric oxide donor, improves the frequent urination without changing the blood pressure in rats with partial bladder outlet obstruction.

Objective: It was studied to determine if nicorandil can improve frequent urination in rats with partial bladder outlet obstruction (BOO) without changing the blood pressure.

Materials And Methods: Voiding behavior was observed 6 to 8 d after obstruction in female rats with BOO that loaded 30 ml/kg of water. A drug was administered orally.

Oral administration of MA-2029, a novel selective and competitive motilin receptor antagonist, inhibits motilin-induced intestinal contractions and visceral pain in rabbits.

The pharmacological properties of MA-2029, a novel motilin receptor antagonist, were investigated. In vitro, MA-2029 (1 to 30 nM) competitively inhibited motilin-induced contractions in isolated rabbit duodenal longitudinal muscle strips, with a pA2 value of 9.17+/-0.

Effects of mitemcinal (GM-611), an acid-resistant nonpeptide motilin receptor agonist, on the gastrointestinal contractile activity in conscious dogs.

The effects of mitemcinal (GM-611) on the gastrointestinal contractile activity were investigated using chronically implanted force transducers in conscious dogs and were compared with the effects of porcine motilin (pMTL), EM-523 and EM-574. In the interdigestive state, intravenous and oral administration of mitemcinal, EM-523 and EM-574 induced the gastrointestinal contractile activity in a manner similar to pMTL. The contractile activity caused by mitemcinal was suppressed by continuous intravenous infusion of a motilin receptor antagonist.