The sialyltransferase ST6GAL1 is upregulated in several types of cancer and its expression is particularly elevated in triple-negative breast cancer, which is extremely aggressive and associated with very poor prognosis.

The chaperone protein Hsp90 is overexpressed in many cancers, where it helps protect and drive cell proliferation by stabilizing growth factor receptors and promoting their downstream signaling. Hsp90 inhibitors show anticancer potential, but many induce substantial adverse effects.

Activating apoptosis of tumor cells by binding a soluble form of the membrane protein TRAIL to its surface receptors DR4 and DR5 on the tumor surface shows promise as a cancer therapy, but the ligand on its own has only a minutes-long half-life and does not strongly activate the receptors.

The U.S. FDA has cleared Zymeworks Inc.’s IND application for ZW-251, a novel glypican-3 (GPC3)-targeted antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) incorporating the company’s proprietary topoisomerase 1 (TOPO1) inhibitor payload, ZD-06519, for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center found that autoantibodies targeting the exoproteome reshaped checkpoint inhibitor responses and opened new avenues to enhance immunotherapy. In the study published in the July 23, 2025, issue of Nature, the authors set out to address a long-standing question in cancer immunotherapy: why patients with the same type of cancer, treated with the same immunotherapy, can experience such drastically different outcomes.

Current treatments for Alzheimer’s disease have limited effects. While they can slow cognitive decline or alleviate symptoms, they do not reverse this complex neurodegenerative condition caused by multiple factors. Researchers from the Gladstone Institutes and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) have screened FDA-approved drugs in search of agents that could potentially modify the disease.

Thirty-six biotechnology, pharmaceutical and medical device companies sought a capital raise on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in the first half (H1) of 2025, a review by BioWorld found. Of those, 34 companies were from mainland China.