Investments in early stage biotech companies were in focus at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange’s (HKEX) Biotech Summit 2022. The virtual event on Sept. 1 saw discussions centered on this investment trend for younger biotech firms, which looks to be where capital is headed in the sector after a cooldown for listings in Chinese stock markets in the first half of 2022.
Bridge Biotherapeutics Inc. recently reported data for BBT-209, an endogenous G protein-coupled receptor 19 (GPCR19) agonist under development for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).
Researchers from Arbutus Biopharma Corp. presented preclinical data for the novel hepatitis B virus (HBV) capsid assembly inhibitor, AB-836, being developed for the treatment of chronic HBV infection.
Doxorubicin is widely used as an anticancer agent, but it is associated with cardiotoxicity. Follistatin like 3 (FSTL3) is known to be involved in the regulation of cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure.
To target mutant RAS in the GTP-bound RAS(ON) state for cancer treatment, Revolution Medicines Inc. has developed a platform in which binding and inhibition occur through small molecule-driven formation of a high-affinity ternary complex (tri-complex) between the target protein, a small molecule and a chaperone such as cyclophilin A.
As patients with Pompe disease age, they develop neurocognitive issues and impairment in their cerebral white matter, as shown in MRI scanning. To date, there are no biomarkers that reflect this disease progression in the brain. The usefulness of neurofilament light chain (NfL) was investigated for this purpose.
Glutaric acidemia type I (GA1) is caused by severe deficiency in enzyme glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase activity, which results in an impairment on lysine catabolism. These patients have accumulation of glutaric acid and glutaryl carnitine, with loss of striatal neurons and atrophy of the frontotemporal cortex. The aim of investigators was to investigate plasma markers of neurodegeneration and inflammation, such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and cathepsin D in patients (N = 6) with GA1 and matched healthy controls.
It is known that dendritic cells and innate lymphoid cells type 2 (ILC2) play key roles in allergen sensitization, and humoral factors such as complement C3a and complement C5a are highly involved in the development and severity of asthma through the binding to their receptors C3AR1 and complement C5a receptor 1 (C5AR1), respectively.
C3 glomerulopathy (C3G) is a group of rare kidney diseases characterized by complement dysregulation and predominant C3 deposition in the kidney tissue.