Tscan Therapeutics Inc.’s Wall Street-pleasing deal with Amgen Inc. in Crohn’s disease (CD) could expand into ulcerative colitis, but meanwhile is bringing $30 million up front with the potential for more than $500 million in preclinical, clinical, regulatory and commercial milestone payments, plus tiered single-digit royalties. Shares of Waltham, Mass.-based Tscan (NASDAQ:TCRX) closed May 9 at $3.40, up $1.25, or 58%, as the world learned of the multiyear collaboration with Amgen, of Thousand Oaks, Calif., that will use Tscan’s target discovery platform, Targetscan, to identify the antigens recognized by T cells in patients with CD.
Medtronic plc has announced a plan by Cosmo Pharmaceuticals NV and Nvidia Inc. to integrate Nvidia's artificial intelligence (AI) technologies into Medtonic’s GI Genius intelligent endoscopy module. GI Genius is designed to host multiple AI algorithms as the first U.S. FDA-cleared, AI-assisted colonoscopy imaging tool for detecting polyps that can lead to colorectal cancer.
It is approved as a food additive. But it now appears that sucralose can dampen T-cell-mediated immune responses, suggesting it could be a means of treating T-cell-dependent autoimmune disorders. While stressing (repeatedly) that they were studying intakes well above normal, at high but achievable doses sucralose has an unexpected effect on T-cell responses and functions in autoimmune, infection and tumor models, researchers at The Francis Crick Institute, London, reported in Nature March 15, 2023.
Boomerang Medical Inc. knocked out its first target with a U.S. FDA breakthrough device designation for its bioelectronic device for treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The technology stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system to reduce inflammation for individuals with both types of IBD, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
Boston Immune Technologies and Therapeutics Inc. (BITT) has announced progress using its Domab platform. Two Domab CD40 antagonists, BITT-CD4D11 and BITT-CD4F10, have completed discovery and optimization and a final candidate is being selected for IND-enabling steps.
Shanghai Leadopharma Technology Co. Ltd. has presented transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily A member 1 (TRPA1) antagonists reported to be useful for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, pain and inflammation.
Patients suffering in the long-stagnant therapeutic landscape of ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease gained encouragement with positive mid-stage results from Prometheus Biosciences Inc., which tested its tumor necrosis factor-like cytokine 1A-targeting PRA-023 against both forms of inflammatory bowel disease. San Diego-based Prometheus closed at $95.80, up $59.74, or 165.7% after the company made known data from the phase II study called Artemis-UC and the Apollo-CD phase IIa experiment. Prometheus intends to advance PRA-023 into phase III testing next year.
Researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have published preclinical data from a study that aimed to assess the role of gut microbiota-reactive Th17 cells in intestinal fibrosis, which is a significant complication of Crohn’s disease (CD).
Loss of Paneth cells and their antimicrobial granules has been linked to a compromised intestinal epithelial barrier, which is a hallmark of Crohn’s disease.
