Merit Medical Systems Inc. acquired the Esophyx Z+ device from Endogastric Solutions Inc. for $105 million in cash, adding a durable, non-pharmacological treatment for gastroesophageal reflux disease to its line-up of gastrointestinal products.

Snipr Biome ApS has received funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop a microbiome-directed intervention designed to improve environmental enteric dysfunction by reducing gut entero-pathogen burden in pregnant women from low- and middle-income countries.

Shigella flexneri is the leading cause of endemic diarrhea and dysentery in some countries with low-to-middle incomes. There is still a lack of a licensed vaccine against this pathogen.

Positive top-line results from Calcimedica Inc.’s placebo-controlled phase IIb of Auxora in acute pancreatitis couldn’t support the stock for the day. The selective small-molecule inhibitor of Orai1-containing calcium release-activated calcium (CRAC) channels hit the randomized, double-blind, dose-ranging Carpo study’s primary endpoint, the median time it took to tolerate solid food, as patients who received Auxora had a statistically significant dose response compared to those who received placebo.

Monte Rosa Therapeutics Inc. has submitted an IND application to the FDA for MRT-6160, a highly selective and orally bioavailable molecular glue degrader directed against VAV1 in development for systemic and neurological autoimmune diseases.

Innovent Biologics Inc.’s glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor and glucagon receptor dual agonist, mazdutide, saw 80% reduction in liver fat content in patients with more than 10% liver fat content in the phase III Glory-1 obesity trial.

A recent paper has identified the enhancer ETS2, located in a so-called gene desert, as a contributor to five separate immune disorders. It also showed that one of ETS2’s target genes mediating this inflammation was the eminently druggable MEK, a kinase that is the target of the FDA-approved inhibitors Mekinist (trametinib, GSK plc), Mektovi (binimetinib, Array Biopharma Inc.), Cotellic (cobimetinib, Roche Holding AG) and Koselugo (selumetinib, Astrazeneca plc/Merck & Co. Inc.).

Ose Immunotherapeutics SA has presented preclinical data on its mRNA therapeutic platform for the treatment of inflammatory and autoimmune disorders. The platform has been designed for the local delivery of mRNA into inflammatory tissue using lipid nanoparticles (LNPs). Interleukin-35 (IL-35) has been shown in preclinical studies to have a key role in controlling several immune-related disorders, including autoimmune diseases.

In just its second PCT filing, Ykrita Lifesciences Private Ltd. (YLS) continues to assemble intellectual property for its development of an extracorporeal bioengineered dual-cell liver regeneration (EBDLR) system which serves as a lightweight, portable, ectopic liver device to aid in the rejuvenation of the body’s own liver and treat acute liver failure without the need for surgery.