Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is an aggressive and highly invasive intracranial tumor arising from the malignant transformation of brain and spinal cord cells. To date, surgery followed by adjuvant chemotherapy is the standard therapy for treating GBM, where temozolomide is the only first-line FDA-approved drug for GBM treatment. The aim of this study from Shenzhen University was to test the effect of a novel chloroethyl nitrosourea analog, HJ-03, in the treatment of GBM, which might overcome temozolomide resistance.
In the opening sessions of this year’s ESMO Targeted Anticancer Therapies Congress, Elena Garralda, director of the Molecular Therapeutics Research Unit at Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology in Barcelona, described ESMO TAT as “the house of phase I,” a fitting label for a meeting centered on translational research and early drug development, where first-in-human data and new trial designs help shape the next generation of cancer therapies.
Immutep Ltd.’s stock on Australia’s Securities Exchange plummeted nearly 90% on March 13 on the news that its phase III TACTI-004 trial evaluating eftilagimod alfa (IMP-321, efti) in first-line non-small-cell lung cancer was discontinued due to futility.
Multi-modality platform company Kanaph Therapeutics Inc. raised ₩40 billion (US$26.7 million) through its Kosdaq stock sale March 16, becoming the first Korean biotech to go public this year. The Seoul-based company’s shares (KOSDAQ:0082N0) climbed to ₩70,000 in intraday trading before closing at ₩50,600 – 153% higher than the offering price.
Two biotech and three med-tech companies are slated for Kosdaq debuts this month, signaling a potential rebound for Korea financings in 2026. Kanaph Therapeutics Inc. will open with a ₩40 billion (US$26.99 million) raise and Imbiologics Corp. will debut with ₩52 billion. Additionally, Mezoo Co. Ltd., Cosmo Robotics Co. Ltd. and Recensmedical Inc. will launch IPOs.
Enodia Therapeutics Inc. was spun out of The Institut Pasteur by Argobio Studio based on the work of Caroline Demangel, co-founder of Enodia and head of the immunobiology and therapy unit at The Institut Pasteur. Demangel’s lab discovered the mechanism of action of mycolactone, a natural Sec61 inhibitor that causes Buruli ulcers.
Asieris Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. has patented new prodrugs of fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3) inhibitors potentially useful for the treatment of cancer.
A University of Texas System patent describes new YAP1 degradation inducing proteolysis targeting chimeras (PROTACs) designed for use in the treatment of cancer.
Boomray Co. Ltd. has prepared and tested new peptide-drug conjugates comprising a radionuclide-labeled probe linked to a fibroblast activation protein α (FAP)-targeting peptide. They are reported to be useful for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, inflammation, atherosclerosis, fibrosis and scars.
Sprint Bioscience AB has announced positive results from a preclinical proof-of-concept (POC) study performed within the company’s VRK1 program that showed that VRK1 inhibition selectively kills glioblastoma cells with low VRK2 levels, while cells with normal VRK2 levels are not affected.
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