Interleukin-18 (IL-18) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine that modulates innate and adaptive immune responses. Decoy-resistant IL-18, DR-18, from Simcha Therapeutics Inc., is an engineered IL-18 cytokine able to interact with the IL-18 receptor but resistant to IL-18-binding protein (IL18BP), which is a negative regulator of IL-18 signaling, thus overcoming the antitumoral efficacy limitation seen with recombinant IL-18.
Biper Therapeutics SAS has announced bridge financing of €800,000 (US$839,000), ahead of the closure of its series A funding round, to advance its pipeline of drug candidates overstressing pathological cells to treat diseases, including cancer.
Researchers from China Pharmaceutical University reported the discovery and preclinical characterization of allosteric inhibitors of Src homology-2-containing protein tyrosine phosphatase 2 (SHP2) as potential new anticancer agents.
Kura Oncology, Inc. and Kyowa Kirin Co. Ltd.’s selective oral menin inhibitor ziftomenib showed encouraging data across multiple studies, the most encouraging of which were in combination with other standard of care therapies in patients with NPM1-mutant and KMT2A-rearranged acute myeloid leukemia.
Beigene Ltd. struck a global licensing deal with CSPC Zhongqi Pharmaceutical Technology (Shijiazhuang) Co. Ltd. worth up to $1.5 billion for its phase I selective methionine adenosyltransferase 2A (MAT2A) inhibitor, SYH-2039, which is being explored for solid tumors.
SK Biopharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. and Proen Therapeutics Co. Ltd. joined hands in a research collaboration to advance up to two preclinical small protein-based radiopharmaceuticals by 2027 – the year SK Biopharmaceuticals aims to “become a leading radiopharma player” worldwide.
Iregene Therapeutics (Suzhou) Co. Ltd. has identified pyrazolecarbonyl piperazinone compounds acting as bone morphogenetic protein receptor type-1B (BMPR1B) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of cancer and pulmonary hypertension.
B7H3 is a pan-cancer antigen considered a promising target for immunotherapy. However, targeting B7H3 using bispecific T-cell engagers (BiTEs) presents the problem of systemic toxicity.