A phase II trial this week showed that combining the diabetes drug semaglutide (Novo Nordisk A/S) with a fixed-dose combination of Cagrisema (cagrilintide/semaglutide) led to “numerically higher” reductions in both HbA1c and body weight than either component alone. And on the preclinical side, researchers from the Novo Nordisk Research Center and the Helmholtz Diabetes Center reported that linking the dual PPAR activator tesaglitazar to GLP-1 improved glucose control in male mice. Both bits of news illustrate that GLP-1R agonists, which are also called incretin mimetics and GLP-1 analogs, are likely to continue their success across multiple areas of medical care.

Carmot Therapeutics Inc. has raised $160 million in series D financing to support a trio of early to midstage clinical programs focused on treating diabetes and obesity with peptide-based small-molecule incretin receptor modulators.

Code Biotherapeutics Inc. has raised an upsized and oversubscribed series A financing to develop programs for treating rare and genetic diseases that include Duchenne muscular dystrophy and type 1 diabetes.

Now is a good time to be involved with type 1 diabetes (T1D) research, according to a U.K. biotech that hopes to reduce or cut the need for insulin injections to treat the condition.

Evotec AG and Sernova Corp. are joining forces in a bid to develop a functional cure for type 1 diabetes. The companies plan to file an IND early in 2024 for a combined cell therapy and medical device product comprising Evotec’s human beta cells, derived from the company’s induced pluripotent stem cell platform, and Sernova’s Cell Pouch delivery system, which provides transplanted cells with a vascularized, physiologically appropriate environment that enables them to secrete insulin and other hormones involved in regulating blood glucose levels.