The concept of the 3 Rs – reducing, refining and replacing animal research – has been championed since the 1950s, when William Russel and Rex Burch argued in their book “The Principles of Humane Experimental Technique” that the 3 Rs could simultaneously improve the treatment of research animals and advance the quality of scientific and medical research and testing. Current standard practices of animal research undeniably cause animal suffering at the same time that they have prioritized replicability over translatability.
The U.S. FDA has approved its first pharma treatment in more than 40 years for motion sickness. The green light for Nereus (tradipitant), from Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc., was based on three clinical studies, all pivotal, including two phase III real-world trials with patients on boats and another supporting study.
Surgical robotics maker Shenzhen Edge Medical Co. Ltd. reported its initial public offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange to raise HKD$1.19 billion (US$154 million) to advance its pipeline of surgical robotic systems and expand its geographic footprint to markets outside China.
Insilico Medicine Inc. has identified serine/threonine-protein salt-inducible kinases (SIK) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, nonalcoholic or metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (NASH/MASH), giant cell arteritis, primary sclerosing cholangitis, inflammatory bowel disease, atherosclerosis, type 2 diabetes and glomerulonephritis, among others.
Alagille syndrome (ALGS) is a rare, multisystem genetic disorder most commonly caused by haploinsufficiency of the JAG1 gene, leading to reduced JAG1 protein function and impaired development of intrahepatic bile ducts. Researchers from Arnatar Therapeutics Inc. described the development of antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) engineered using their proprietary ACT‑UP1 platform to upregulate endogenous JAG1 expression and thereby address the underlying genetic deficiency.
Haisco Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd. has described compounds acting as TNF-α/tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily member 1A (TNFR1) interaction inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of psoriasis, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis and rheumatoid arthritis.
Enveda has obtained IND clearance from the FDA and initiated a phase I trial of ENV-6946, a first-in-class oral small molecule for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, including ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.
Yes-associated protein (YAP), encoded by Yes1-associated transcriptional regulator (YAP1) and transcriptional coactivator with PDZ-binding motif (TAZ), encoded by WW domain containing transcription regulator 1 (WWTR1), are two crucial paralog transcriptional regulators of the Hippo pathway regulating organ size, tissue homeostasis and disease progression.
Investigators at the Netherlands Hubrecht Institute have developed a novel gut organoid model, and used it to gain insight into the functions on human microfold (M) cells. Their experiments, which were published in the Dec. 10, 2025, issue of Nature, showed that M cells present gluten-derived antigens to T cells, which suggests a role for this cell type in the onset of celiac disease.
RSS
