China’s National Medical Products Administration has accepted for review Jiuyuan Genetic Biopharmaceutical Co. Ltd.’s drug application for Jikeqin, a biosimilar product to Novo Nordisk A/S’s Wegovy (semaglutide) for obesity.
Hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury (HIRI) is a severe pathologic condition associated with poor outcomes when individuals suffer from hemorrhagic shock, liver resection or transplantation surgery, leading to severe liver impairment and sometimes dysfunction in other organs. Chinese researchers have explored the potential of prolyl 3-hydroxylase OGFOD1 as a target for HIRI management, since it has been reported as a crucial regulator of gene expression, especially for translation.
Coming off a U.S. FDA approval of the first GLP-1 in pill format, Novo Nordisk A/S leaned further into oral drug delivery efforts, partnering with Vivtex Corp. to develop next-generation oral formulations of peptide and protein therapeutics in a potential $2.1 billion deal that marks the highest-profile news for Vivtex since the firm spun out of MIT in 2018.
Researchers from Spyre Therapeutics Inc. reported on the therapeutic efficacy of combining anti-TL1A and anti-IL-23 antibodies in preclinical models of colitis.
The farnesoid X receptor (FXR) is a nuclear receptor that plays a central role in bile acid regulation, intestinal barrier integrity, immune modulation and microbiome balance, all key factors involved in the development of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Researchers from Gilead Sciences Inc. reported the effects of GS-8670, an FXR agonist, in models of colitis.
Researchers from Shanghai Ailux Biotechnology Co. Ltd. have disclosed preclinical data regarding their humanized bispecific antibody ALX-001 targeting TL1A and IL-23 for the potential treatment of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs).
Shares in Novo Nordisk A/S took another battering after the company announced its next-generation obesity drug Cagrisema failed to show noninferiority to Eli Lilly and Co. Inc.’s Zepbound in an open-label comparator study.
Stoked Bio Inc. has secured an exclusive global license from McMaster University for the patents covering enterololin, a promising narrow-spectrum antibiotic.
The pressure to replace animal testing with human-relevant assays that are more predictive of human-drug responses has now reached a tipping point, and there is a movement toward greater acceptance of these potentially more translatable tests.
The farnesoid X receptor (FXR) is a nuclear receptor predominantly expressed in the liver, intestine and kidney. FXR is crucially involved in regulating bile acid homeostasis, controlling inflammatory responses in the liver, and regulating lipid and glucose metabolism. Therefore, FXR plays a role in regulating metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) and has been proposed as a promising target for MASH drug development.