Subcutaneous formulation technology, microbiomes and oncological assets drove dealmaking in South Korea’s biotech sector this week. 

Subcutaneous (SC) formulation technology, microbiomes and oncological assets drove dealmaking in South Korea’s biotech sector this week. 

Chemotherapy is often seen solely as a tumor-targeting treatment, yet new evidence reveals a paradox: the tissue injury it causes can reprogram the body’s defenses, influencing the risk of metastasis. Researchers from the University of Lausanne and collaborators reported that chemotherapy reshapes the gut-immune axis by inducing microbiota-derived indole-3-propionic acid, which reprograms myelopoiesis to curb monocyte-driven immunosuppression and metastasis in colorectal cancer.

Chemotherapy is often seen solely as a tumor-targeting treatment, yet new evidence reveals a paradox: the tissue injury it causes can reprogram the body’s defenses, influencing the risk of metastasis. Researchers from the University of Lausanne and collaborators reported that chemotherapy reshapes the gut-immune axis by inducing microbiota-derived indole-3-propionic acid (IPA), which reprograms myelopoiesis to curb monocyte-driven immunosuppression and metastasis in colorectal cancer (CRC).

Microbiome specialist Enterobiotix Ltd. is in the throes of raising a new round of funding for a phase IIb trial after reporting positive results from the phase IIa study of EBX-102-02, an oral therapy for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

The concept of the 3 Rs – reducing, refining and replacing animal research – has been championed since the 1950s, when William Russel and Rex Burch argued in their book “The Principles of Humane Experimental Technique” that the 3 Rs could simultaneously improve the treatment of research animals and advance the quality of scientific and medical research and testing. Current standard practices of animal research undeniably cause animal suffering at the same time that they have prioritized replicability over translatability.

The concept of the 3 Rs – reducing, refining and replacing animal research – has been championed since the 1950s, when William Russel and Rex Burch argued in their book “The Principles of Humane Experimental Technique” that the 3 Rs could simultaneously improve the treatment of research animals and advance the quality of scientific and medical research and testing. Current standard practices of animal research undeniably cause animal suffering at the same time that they have prioritized replicability over translatability.

“The impoverished laboratory environment in which mice and rats are maintained has been very good at increasing experimental replicability,” Steven Austad told the audience at the 12th Aging Research & Drug Discovery Meeting (ARDD) in Copenhagen last week. “But at the cost of sacrificing translational relevance.”

Is fecal microbiota transplant effective? Is it really safe? And is it really all the same? Scientists at the University of Chicago have investigated the regional differences in gut environments to question these interventions.

Is fecal microbiota transplant effective? Is it really safe? And is it really all the same? Scientists at the University of Chicago have investigated the regional differences in gut environments to question these interventions to analyze the microbiome differences and their effects after transplantation form different intestine areas. The results show how host-microbe mismatches after these interventions could affect gut health.