Esophageal carcinoma (EC) is a tumor type of the digestive tract that accounts for about 300,000 deaths worldwide annually, with high aggressiveness and poor prognosis. Chinese researchers have investigated the implication of the enzyme aldehyde dehydrogenase 18 family member A1 (ALDH18A1) in EC.
Sorafenib is a widely used treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma that has advanced beyond surgical resection, but only 30% of patients respond and many develop resistance within half a year. The resistance has been linked to showing greater ‘stemness’ characteristics of tumor cells, such as activation of signaling pathways mediated by Wnt/b-catenin, Hedgehog and PI3K-Akt.
Researchers at Wenzhou Medical University reported the synthesis and preclinical evaluation of a novel series of betulin-succinate derivatives developed as potential anticancer agents. Betulin is a naturally occurring triterpene that shows significant potential as a lead compound for the development of novel antitumor agents, owing to its selective cytotoxicity against cancer cells and low toxicity toward normal cells.
Mutations in the GTPase KRAS drive proliferation of many types of tumors, and daraxonrasib (RMC-6236), which inhibits various KRAS mutants, can slow growth of pancreatic and lung cancers. Researchers at City University of New York and Weill Cornell Medical College have demonstrated that it also showed effects in osteosarcoma models expressing mutated KRAS.
Researchers from China Pharmaceutical University and collaborators have identified various naphthalene and indane derivatives as selective USP7 inhibitors.
Better Medicine OÜ raised €1 million (US$1.16 million) in a pre-seed funding round for its AI platform, Bmvision Kidney, which uses deep-learning models to detect malignant kidney lesions. The funds will be used to accelerate the rollout of the software across Europe and prepare for U.S. FDA clearance.
With the trial sites now open for its CRISPR-edited T-cell receptor immunotherapy trial, Anocca AB has raised SEK440 million (US$46 million) to fund the phase I part of the multicenter study to completion. The company’s engineered T-cell receptor T-cell therapy (TCR-T) is first being tested against KRAS mutations in pancreatic cancer.
“Our mission is to apply our protein-protein interaction (PPI) big data-generation platform to create novel antibody therapeutics,” Proteina Co. Ltd. CEO Yoon Tae-young recently told BioWorld. “We have been working to build a proprietary technology platform for more than 15 years,” Yoon said, “and we take pride in the fact that we made our own technology platform, instead of running a company based on licensed-in technology.”
CSPC Megalith Biopharmaceutical Co. Ltd. has described antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) comprising anti-tumor-associated calcium signal transducer 2 (TACSTD2; TROP2) antibodies covalently linked to cytotoxic drugs reported to be useful for the treatment of pancreatic and breast cancer.
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