The pressure to replace animal testing with human-relevant assays that are more predictive of human-drug responses has now reached a tipping point, and there is a movement toward greater acceptance of these potentially more translatable tests.

After closing an oversubscribed $85 million series B round, Quantx Biosciences Inc. is gearing up to begin clinical trials of its two lead immunology compounds, a STAT6 oral small-molecule inhibitor and an IL-17 oral small-molecule inhibitor.

A circuit formed by tumor, immune and nervous systems triggers cancer cachexia and anorexia, the excessive loss of weight, muscle and fat experienced in some cancer types. A new study is the first showing these three actors of a triangle interaction that initiates and feeds the process.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells depend on the transcriptional kinases CDK12 and CDK13 to maintain DNA damage response gene expression and manage replication stress. Due to their functional overlap, inhibition of a single kinase may permit compensatory activity.

Dewpoint Therapeutics Inc. has selected a development candidate in its MYC program. The first-in-class small molecule is designed to disrupt MYC-driven oncogenic transcription by modulating the aberrant biomolecular condensates that organize transcriptional control in cancer cells.

The malfunction of lymphatic drainage that occurs in lymphedema leads to excessive cholesterol accumulation in the affected skin and lymphatic vessels, causing inflammation and fibrosis. However, surgery and the chemical reduction of accumulated cholesterol with cyclodextrin reduce inflammation and regenerate lymphatic vessels. Cholesterol is a potential therapeutic target for treating lymphedema, according to this study published on Feb. 11, 2026, in Nature by Veronique Angeli and her colleagues.