Aprea Therapeutics Inc. has entered into a material transfer agreement with MD Anderson Cancer Center that will support investigation of APR-1051 as a potential treatment for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).
Insilico Medicine founder and CEO Alex Zhavoronkov told BioWorld that he tries to spend as much time as possible in China, because that's where the artificial intelligence (AI) drug development company conducts synthesis and tests for early stage discovery. “And nowadays, not a day goes by without somebody launching an AI drug discovery company,” he said, noting that Chinese AI company Deepseek could be a huge disrupter.
Finnish cancer immunotherapy specialist Valo Therapeutics Oy has raised €19 million (US$20.7 million) in a round that attracted Italian and Australian investors, and funding the company to the completion of the ongoing phase Ib trial of its lead program in the treatment of solid tumors.
Mixed clinical results led shares of Arvinas Inc. (NASDAQ:ARVN) to close March 11 at $8.30, down $9.26, or 52%, after the company and Pfizer Inc. disclosed results from the phase III Veritac-2 study testing vepdegestrant monotherapy vs. fulvestrant in adults with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative advanced or metastatic breast cancer. Enrolled were subjects whose disease progressed after treatment with CDK4/6 inhibitors and endocrine therapy.
Esophageal cancer, particularly esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), is one of the most prevalent digestive malignancies, with a 5-year survival rate of only 20%. Although some cancer immunotherapies based on immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have shown promise for ESCC, only a minority of patients actually benefit from ICI therapy.
Shanghai Apeiron Biotechnology Co. Ltd. has divulged kinesin-like protein KIF18A inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of cancer, inflammatory disorders and Kartagener syndrome (primary ciliary dyskinesia).
Haisco Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd. has identified proteolysis targeting chimera (PROTAC) compounds comprising an E3 ubiquitin ligase binding moiety covalently linked to an androgen receptor (AR) targeting moiety acting as AR degradation inducers reported to be useful for the treatment of prostate cancer.
Astrazeneca AB has synthesized antibody-drug conjugates comprising an antibody or antigen-binding fragment covalently linked to cytotoxic moieties through enzymatically cleavable linkers reported to be useful for the treatment of cancer.
Scientists at Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, China, have identified a new regulator of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway associated with the growth of colorectal cancer.
Sarcomas are generally classified into soft tissue sarcomas, such as fibrosarcoma, and bone sarcomas such as chondrosarcoma, which are rare cancers in adults accounting for about 1% of all cancer diagnoses, while in children the rate goes up to 20% of all cancer cases.