Breast cancer was the second most frequent cause of new cancer cases worldwide in 2024, and up to 20% of cases fall under the subtype of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), one of the most aggressive and difficult subtypes to treat.
Orum Therapeutics Inc. on April 26 pulled the plug on a U.S.-based phase I study of ORM-5029, its lead oncology degrader antibody conjugate (DAC) asset, a decision that came months after the company first reported a patient death in November 2024.
HER3 overexpression in solid tumors is tied to poor prognosis, concretely in breast and non-small-cell lung cancers, where treatment resistance often occurs upon using targeted therapy, highlighting the need for novel targeted therapies against HER3. Since its expression is much higher in tumor than normal cells, HER3 is a robust candidate for antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) therapy.
Shanghai Jemincare Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. has synthesized ubiquitin carboxyl-terminal hydrolase 1 (USP1) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of cancer.
Pliant Therapeutics Inc. has described integrin αvβ1, integrin αvβ6 and/or integrin αvβ8 antagonists reported to be useful for the treatment of cancer and fibrosis.
Duality Biologics (Suzhou) Co, Ltd. has synthesized proteolysis targeting chimera (PROTAC) compounds comprising an E3 ubiquitin ligase binding moiety covalently linked to a eukaryotic peptide chain release factor GTP-binding subunit ERF3A (GSPT1)-targeting moiety through a linker reported to be useful for the treatment of cancer.
Isosterix Inc. has synthesized histone acetyltransferase KAT6A (monocytic leukemia zinc finger protein; MOZ; MYST-3) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of cancer.
Hangzhou Synrx Therapeutics Technology Co. Ltd. has disclosed poly(ADP-ribose) glycohydrolase (PARG) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer.
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have long been recognized for their potential in cancer therapy. However, the effectiveness of MSCs in cancer treatment has been hampered by their limited tumor-homing ability and the heterogeneity of tissue-derived MSCs. To address these challenges, researchers have focused on induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived MSCs, which offer improved homogeneity and expansion potential.
