Parvus Therapeutics Inc. has announced the achievement of a milestone under its collaboration with Abbvie Inc. to develop treatments for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). PVT-401, a novel peptide-major histocompatibility complex (pMHC) nanomedicine (Navacim) drug candidate, has met prospective nonclinical pharmacology and manufacturing criteria.
A large-scale study has revealed the impact of germline variants on proteins in 10 cancer types. Scientists from the National Cancer Institute’s Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium (CPTAC) conducted a precision proteogenomic analysis in a pan-cancer study with data from 1,064 patients, identifying tumor heterogeneity and tumorigenesis associated with heritable genetic alterations. The results provide a broad view of cancer risk that could be useful for patient stratification and the design of prevention strategies.
Earendil Labs will collaborate with Sanofi SA in a $1.8 billion license deal. Earendil, which specializes in artificial intelligence-based R&D for biologics, is getting $125 million up front and $50 million as a near-term payment. In return, Sanofi gets the exclusive global rights to the bispecific antibodies HXN-1002 and HXN-1003.
Johnson & Johnson’s Medtech division reported the completion of the first cases in the clinical trial for the Ottava robotic surgical system. The cases mark the first clinical experience with the Ottava system, which has been a long time in development.
Hightide Therapeutics Inc.’s berberine ursodeoxycholate (HTD-1801) met primary and secondary endpoints in the Symphony 1 and Symphony 2 phase III trials in type 2 diabetes in Chinese patients. Based on the data, Shenzhen-based Hightide will submit an NDA to China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) later this year.
Huons Global Co. Ltd. has described reversible H+/K+ ATPase inhibitors, particularly acid pump antagonists (APA), reported to be useful for the treatment of gastric and duodenal ulcers, gastritis, gastroesophageal reflux disease, Helicobacter pylori infection and Zollinger-Ellison syndrome.
More than a year after Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s phase III hitch with apraglutide in short bowel syndrome, the other shoe fell from regulators as did the Boston-based firm’s shares (NASDAQ:IRWD), which ended April 14 at 64 cents, down 29 cents, or 31.5%.
The I148M mutation in the PNPLA3 gene, which encodes patatin-like phospholipase domain-containing protein 3, is known to confer risk of fatty liver, cirrhosis and hepatic inflammation, which may lead to hepatocellular carcinoma or metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH).
As it prepares to advance its lead RNA editing candidate, AIR-001, into a phase I/II trial for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, Airna Corp. Inc. closed an oversubscribed $155 million series B financing less than a year after completing its series A round. The company, based in Cambridge, Mass., with research operations in Tübingen, Germany, focuses not only on repairing harmful genetic variants found in rare genetic disorders, but also on introducing beneficial variants that improve health in common conditions.