In studies that give new insights into both developmental biology and the origins of melanoma, investigators at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Weill Cornell Medical College have identified the activity of chromatin remodeling protein ATAD2 as necessary for cells with the oncogenic mutation V600E to give rise to melanomas.
Swiss biotech Polyphor AG, left hindered by failures in advanced clinical programs it had pursued in breast cancer and bacterial pneumonia, has found a path forward in a planned merger with Enbiotix Inc. The combination would put Enbiotix Chairman and CEO Jeff Wager in charge of a publicly listed company advancing a combined portfolio of programs for rare disease and cancer, including Polyphor’s inhaled antibiotic, murepavadin, for infections in people with cystic fibrosis.
A new Drosophila melanogaster larval model recapitulates key aspects of tumor-induced cachexia, including muscle wasting, loss of tissue integrity and lipid mobilization, the authors of a multicenter Australian study reported in the September 1, 2021, online edition of Developmental Cell.
Onkos Surgical Inc. nabbed an additional $15 million from its existing investors in a series C fundraising round. The Parsippany, N.J.-based company plans to use the new cash to accelerate research and development for its product line which is designed to meet the specialized needs of oncology patients who require orthopedic surgery and the surgeons who work with them.