Astrazeneca plc is investing $15 billion in China through 2030 to expand R&D and manufacturing, marking one of the largest long-term investments by a multinational pharma company in the country. The U.K.-based company also struck a deal worth up to $3.5 billion with China’s CSPC Pharmaceuticals Group Ltd. to accelerate the development of next-generation therapies for obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Chemotherapy is often seen solely as a tumor-targeting treatment, yet new evidence reveals a paradox: the tissue injury it causes can reprogram the body’s defenses, influencing the risk of metastasis. Researchers from the University of Lausanne and collaborators reported that chemotherapy reshapes the gut-immune axis by inducing microbiota-derived indole-3-propionic acid, which reprograms myelopoiesis to curb monocyte-driven immunosuppression and metastasis in colorectal cancer.
University of Florida researchers have synthesized proteolysis targeting chimeras (PROTACs) comprising an E3 ubiquitin ligase-binding moiety coupled to Bcl-2-like protein 1 (Bcl-xl; Bcl-X; BCL2L1)- and apoptosis regulator Bcl-2-targeting moiety.
To address the dual bottlenecks of immunosuppressive cell infiltration and impaired T-cell function in the tumor microenvironment (TME), researchers from the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Sun Yat-sen University (China) aimed to develop an engineered bispecific peptide-nanozyme conjugate (BsPNEC) targeting PD-L1 and CXCR1/2.
In a recent paper, researchers from the University of Perugia and University of Naples Federico II have shown how the use of leukemia inhibitory factor receptor (LIFR) antagonists dismantles the pro-CAF programs in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) to avoid its progression.
Bone metastasis represents a challenge in cancer therapy because of the independency of immunosuppression, neuropathic pain and osteolytic destruction. Recent evidence has suggested the tumor microenvironment can be reshaped through the activation of stimulator of interferon genes protein (STING) and pyroptosis induction.
Oncology-focused Eikon Therapeutics Inc. set the terms of its IPO Jan. 28, selling 17.648 million shares at a price range between $16 to $18 per share. At the top of the range, the Millbrae, Calif.-based biopharma company would raise about $317.7 million.
Beijing Avistone Pharmaceuticals Biotechnology Co. Ltd. has patented HER2 (erbB2) Ex20Ins mutant inhibitors. They are reported to be useful for the treatment of cancer, atherosclerosis and pulmonary fibrosis.