China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) approved the country’s first injectable teprotumumab biosimilar from Innovent Biologics Inc. under the brand name of Sycume (teprotumumab N-01) to treat thyroid eye disease on March 14. The NMPA on March 15 accepted Simcere Pharmaceutical Group Ltd.’s NDA of deunoxavir marboxil (ADC-189) tablets, a product originally developed by Jiaxing Andicon Biotech Co. Ltd. to treat influenza A and B.
Leading pharma companies have pitched into Sofinnova Partners’ new accelerator fund, which has exceeded the target and closed at €165 million (US$180 million). In what is said to be the largest pan-European biotech accelerator fund, Amgen Inc., Bristol Myers Squibb Co. and Pfizer Ventures will get an inside track on startups formed around academic research, as the nascent companies are shaped up for formal investment rounds.
In atopic dermatitis, psoriasis and other dermatologic diseases, T cells lose tolerance to self-antigens, triggering the autoimmune response that leads to abnormal skin cell proliferation and inflammation. The use of Nck modulators may help correct dysregulated T-cell receptor (TCR) signaling, potentially restoring immune tolerance and reducing subsequent inflammatory responses.
Maxion Therapeutics Ltd. is poised to extend the therapeutic reach of antibodies into the vast field of G-protein coupled receptors and ion channel targets, after raising $72 million in a series A round.
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is impacted by genetic, environmental and immunological factors, where the imbalance in T-cell immune responses significantly promotes its progression. In recent years, the role of RNA modifications in epigenetic regulation has caught significant attention in research; among these, N4-acetylcytidine (ac4C) is the only acetylation process in RNA and plays a role in several biological processes, but its implication in the functioning of immune cells is largely unknown to date.
A combination of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) antibodies and genetic factors may be linked to an increased risk of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a study led by scientists at Karolinska Institutet and Stanford University. “The Epstein-Barr virus has been a suspect for many years for having a role in causing MS. The evidence for it has increased though one has not really reached complete proof of its role,” Tomas Olsson told BioWorld.
Patients with psoriatic arthritis exhibit high levels of both IL-17A and IL-17F cytokines in the synovium. Bimekizumab, a biologic that targets both IL-17A and IL-17F, was recently approved for the treatment of plaque psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.
Psoriasis is a chronic, recurrent and inflammatory skin disorder associated with immune system dysregulation. The abnormal immune response led to accelerated skin cell proliferation, resulting in thick plaques and chronic inflammation. The current gold-standard treatment is injectable immunosuppression.
Insilico Medicine founder and CEO Alex Zhavoronkov told BioWorld that he tries to spend as much time as possible in China, because that's where the artificial intelligence (AI) drug development company conducts synthesis and tests for early stage discovery. “And nowadays, not a day goes by without somebody launching an AI drug discovery company,” he said, noting that Chinese AI company Deepseek could be a huge disrupter.
Finnish cancer immunotherapy specialist Valo Therapeutics Oy has raised €19 million (US$20.7 million) in a round that attracted Italian and Australian investors, and funding the company to the completion of the ongoing phase Ib trial of its lead program in the treatment of solid tumors.
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