Keybioscience AG and Eli Lilly & Co. have agreed to extend their collaboration on the development of dual amylin and calcitonin receptor agonists (DACRAs), a new class of potential treatments for obesity and related disorders.

Ibio Inc. has announced progress under its collaboration with Astralbio Inc. on a joint myostatin program for cardiometabolic disease and obesity. Ibio leveraged its technology to rapidly advance the program from inception to in vitro proof of concept in human muscle cells.

The identification of non-toxic targets for the treatment of metabolic disorders would allow the development of therapies for the harmful effects of impaired metabolism of reactive aldehydes, among others, which is challenging for drug development due to short half-life and lack of tissue specificity.

Antag Therapeutics ApS has received IND clearance from the FDA for lead molecule, AT-7687. A phase I trial will evaluate AT-7687 in healthy lean and healthy obese subjects, including as monotherapy and in combination with semaglutide in the healthy obese individuals.

The melanocortin MC4 receptor (MC4R), expressed in all brain regions, plays a relevant role in metabolism regulation and in the control of hunger and satiety. MC4R-specific agonist ligands such as setmelanotide have shown potential as antiobesity therapeutics, although reported off-target effects highlight the need for more specific compounds.

The FDA has awarded orphan drug designation to Papillon Therapeutics Inc.’s PPL-002, an experimental gene-modified CD34+ hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell (HSPC) therapy, for the treatment of Danon disease.

Prime Medicine Inc. has announced its plans to strategically focus its efforts on a set of high value programs as it advances its pipeline of next-generation gene editing therapies.