Shenzhen Salubris Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. has synthesized compounds acting as MIR124 activators reported to be useful for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease and inflammatory disorders.
Esperion Therapeutics Inc. has nominated ESP-2001 as a preclinical development candidate for the treatment of primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). The company will now begin IND-enabling studies with the aim of filing an IND application with the FDA to initiate first-in-human studies next year.
Merit Medical Systems Inc. looks to ingest Pentax Medical’s C2 cryoballoon through a $22 million asset purchase expected to close Nov. 1. The C2 treats Barrett’s esophagus, which can be a precursor to esophageal cancer, as well as gastric antral vascular ectasia syndrome. The deal includes a $19 million cash payment at closing and up to $3 million in contingent milestone payments.
NOD2 deficiency is involved in the pathogenesis of Crohn’s disease (CD) due to failure of gut innate immunity and loss of intestinal tissue homeostasis. Orchard Therapeutics Ltd. has presented preclinical data on OTL-104, human hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) gene therapy for the treatment of NOD2-deficient CD.
Purdue Research Foundation has identified conjugates targeting asialoglycoprotein receptors (ASGR) that are comprised of a therapeutic or imaging agent. They are reported to be potentially useful for the diagnosis and/or treatment of nonalcoholic or metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (NASH/MASH).
A paper last month in the Journal of Clinical Oncology reported on the pooled analysis of data showing that the use of neoadjuvant immune checkpoint inhibitors work better than the frequently used FLOT regimen (fluorouracil, leucovorin, oxaliplatin and docetaxel) in certain gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma (GEA) cancers. But there’s plenty more coming down the pike, even as scientific knowledge about the disease advances.
Primary sclerosing cholangitis is an autoimmune disease affecting the liver in which there is reduced expression and function of the bile acid receptor GPBAR1 in the cholangiocytes.
In one of the biggest deals of the waning year, Novo Nordisk A/S is buying Akero Therapeutics Inc. to bolster its metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH)-treatment portfolio. In the $5.2 billion deal, Akero brings its fibroblast growth factor 21 analogue, efruxifermin, which is in a phase III study for treating those with moderate to advanced liver fibrosis and those with cirrhosis.
A new study aimed to investigate the therapeutic effect of ISM012-042 in a chronic T-cell transfer-induced colitis model in mice that mimicked Crohn’s disease.