When an autoimmune disease disrupted the life of someone close to scientist Dario Gutierrez, an idea emerged for a new company called Merida Biosciences focused on removing misdirected antibodies and their negative effects using Fc biotherapeutics.

Cartesian Therapeutics Inc. followed up December’s phase IIb data with more good news regarding Descartes-08, offering 12-month efficacy and safety results that whetted Wall Street’s appetite for the phase III Aurora effort ahead. Milos Miljkovic, chief medical officer, told BioWorld that minimum symptom expression – among the areas where Descartes-08 shone, providing relief for “months and months after the last dose of treatment” – is especially important to patients.

Transplanting an animal organ into a human is now a closer reality following the successful xenotransplantation of a genetically modified pig liver into a patient diagnosed with brain death in China. The operation was intended to evaluate organ function over a 10-day period. This is a complex experimental trial that did not involve removing the patient's liver and still requires further study. However, the positive preclinical results suggest this strategy could save the lives of those waiting for a human organ, at least in certain cases.

Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization Inc. filed its BLA with the U.S. FDA for sibeprenlimab to treat immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN). The company’s first BLA, sibeprenlimab is a monoclonal antibody (MAb) that selectively inhibits the activity of APRIL (A PRoliferation-Inducing Ligand) in adults with IgAN.

An Institut Pasteur team has developed an original vaccine platform known as MOPEVAC, that will strengthen the organization’s pandemic preparedness initiatives, with the platform’s first vaccine candidate, which targets Lassa fever, set to enter the clinic.

The ability of influenza virus to rapidly undergo antigenic shift to evade immunity raises the need for effective influenza antivirals with a broad spectrum. In a recent Nature Microbiology article, Cidara Therapeutics Inc. provided preclinical data for their drug-Fc conjugate compound CD-388, which has the potential to be a robust therapeutic option for the universal prevention of both seasonal and pandemic influenza.

Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization Inc. filed its BLA with the U.S. FDA for sibeprenlimab to treat immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN). The company’s first BLA, sibeprenlimab is a monoclonal antibody (MAb) that selectively inhibits the activity of APRIL (A PRoliferation-Inducing Ligand) in adults with IgAN.

Transplanting an animal organ into a human is now a closer reality following the successful xenotransplantation of a genetically modified pig liver into a patient diagnosed with brain death in China. The operation was intended to evaluate organ function over a 10-day period. This is a complex experimental trial that did not involve removing the patient's liver and still requires further study. However, the positive preclinical results suggest this strategy could save the lives of those waiting for a human organ, at least in certain cases.