Minimal residual disease (MRD) has become a central concept in modern oncology, reshaping how clinicians evaluate response, relapse risk and treatment precision. As increasingly sensitive technologies reveal traces of cancer that persist after therapy, MRD is emerging as both a biological challenge and a clinical opportunity, especially as new data illuminate its complexity across hematologic and solid tumors. This topic was addressed at the 2026 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting.

Addex Therapeutics Ltd. has announced findings from the evaluation of its γ-aminobutyric acid subtype B receptor (GABA[B]) positive allosteric modulator (PAM) in a nonhuman primate (NHP) model of chronic cough. In the study, the GABA(B) PAM drug candidate significantly reduced citric acid-induced cough frequency.

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a severe inflammatory condition marked by disruption of the alveolar-capillary barrier and impaired gas exchange. Emerging evidence implicates cathepsin L as a key contributor to ALI pathogenesis through protease-mediated tissue damage and amplification of inflammatory responses. Researchers from Zhejiang University of Technology reported the development of a new cathepsin L inhibitor designed for the treatment of ALI.

Copper overload within the body may lead to cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, inflammation or fibrosis, among others. Copper chelation is an effective strategy to counteract this potential overload; mitochondria play an important role, as they are the main copper-using organelles in the cells. Copper chelators have been developed, but they have shown some undesired off-target effects and low specificity, which suggests the need for new therapies in the field.

Pinnacle Medicines Inc. secured $89 million in a series B financing, bringing the total raised by the company to $134 million. The round was co-led by LAV and Foresite Capital.

Biolojic Design Ltd. has earned an additional milestone payment from its collaboration partner, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., for TEV‘325 (TEV-56308, formerly BD-9), a multibody targeting IL-13 and thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) for autoimmune disease

Pulmonary fibrosis (PF) is a fatal lung disease characterized by excessive deposition of extracellular matrix proteins in the lung interstitium due to excessive fibroblast activation, which leads to tissue scarring and potential respiratory failure. Chinese researchers have published results of their investigations into circular RNAs and the pathogenesis of PF.