Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), formerly known as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), is characterized by accumulation of triglycerides (TGs) in liver hepatocytes, and which can progress into chronic liver disease or even hepatocellular carcinoma.

The approval by the U.S. FDA in October of Pfizer Inc.’s Velsipity (etrasimod), an oral sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor modulator for moderately-to-severely active ulcerative colitis, brought renewed attention to the inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) landscape, where the hunt goes on for new alternatives. Among the promising soldiers in the march is Paris-based Abivax SA, which closed its IPO the same month.

Attovia Therapeutics Inc. has announced the closing of the $30 million second tranche of its $60 million series A financing.

As the company’s phase II study in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis continues, Pliant Therapeutics Inc.’s investors looked hard at 12-week interim data from the 320-mg dose group of Integris-PSC, a multinational, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase II trial testing bexotegrast in primary sclerosing cholangitis and suspected moderate to severe liver fibrosis.

Kupffer cells are macrophages located in the liver that play a key role in liver pathology, concretely in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD; formerly nonalcoholic fatty liver disease or NAFLD), but the mechanisms behind this are poorly understood.

DP Technology Ltd. has nominated DPT-0218, a novel small molecule targeting Kv1.3, as a preclinical candidate for the treatment of various autoimmune diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease and atopic dermatitis.