Insanity has often been defined as doing the same thing and expecting different results, and Japan seems to be trapped in that rut largely because it can’t seem to do innovation differently, said speakers at the BioJapan 2023 meeting held Oct. 11 in Yokohama, Japan.

A team from Atrogi AB has reported the activity of ATR-127, a novel dual adrenergic agonist targeting β2- and β3-adrenoceptors (ARs), for the potential treatment of steatohepatitis, obesity and diabetes.

Researchers from Yuhan Corp. presented the discovery and preclinical evaluation of a novel long-acting dual agonist of the glucagon like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15), YH-40863.

The U.S. FDA’s draft guidance for predetermined change control plans (PCCPs) is one of the more innovative regulatory proposals in recent memory, although the FDA is not statutorily required to limit this policy to artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) products. Nonetheless, the PCCP concept is starting to show signs of being consumed by the debate over AI and ML medical software, so much so that industry may be losing sight of the opportunities the PCCP concept offers in other types of medical technologies.

For individuals who develop an unexpected psychosis, there is something to be said for testing them for autoimmune antibodies. And something against. At the 36th Congress of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) this week, the topic was worth a controversy session, where speakers presented the pros and cons of the approach. Currently used tests have a specificity of 99%. But as Ester Coutinho, consultant neurologist at the University of Coimbra, pointed out, the validity of diagnostic tests depends on the prevalence of the disorder one is looking for as well. Coutinho estimated that autoimmune psychoses account for 1% of psychoses overall.

Researchers from the Universities of Malaga and Cordoba (Spain) presented data from a study that aimed to identify matrisome regulator miRNAs in obesity and prediabetes that could represent novel noninvasive circulating biomarkers of adipose tissue (AT) fibrosis.

While glucocorticoids are used as first-line therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), these agents are associated with several adverse events, including accelerated bone loss and muscle atrophy. As a result, prolonged glucocorticoid treatment is one of the primary contributors to the high fracture rate in patients with DMD.