As the average cost of new drug R&D continues to skyrocket, the perception around using artificial intelligence (AI) as a tool to boost drug discovery is changing. “Developing new AI-based drugs is a difficult task, not only for Korea but also for countries with leading AI technology,” Hyeyun Jung, principal researcher of Korea Health Industry Development Institute’s Center for Health Industry Policy, told the audience at the Bio Korea meeting on May 9. “But there is a change in perception; [namely that] applying AI to new drug development is not an option but a necessity.”
Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC has patented potassium voltage-gated channel subfamily C member 1 (Kv3.1; KCNC1) activators reported to be useful for the treatment of neurological and psychiatric disorders.
4M Therapeutics Inc. has announced the presentation of preclinical data on its small-molecule glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) inhibitors in models of bipolar disorder.
Macrophage colony-stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF-1R) is a transmembrane tyrosine kinase receptor expressed in brain microglia, and mutations in the CSF1R gene have been linked to adult-onset leukoencephalopathy with axonal spheroids and pigmented glia (ALSP).
AC Immune SA has landed a potential $2.2 billion deal for its anti-amyloid beta Alzheimer’s disease vaccine, ACI-24.060, with Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., under which it will get $100 million up front and is eligible to receive an option exercise fee, plus potential development, commercial and sales-based milestones of up to $2.1 billion.
Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals Inc. is getting $65 million up front in an early stage deal with Abbvie Inc. to discover neuroplastogens targeting psychiatric disorders, with the chance to receive up to $1.95 billion in options fees and milestones, plus tiered royalties in the mid-single to low-double digits from any products emerging from the collaboration.
A Tisento Therapeutics Inc. patent describes new soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) activators reported to be useful for the treatment of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, vascular dementia, ischemic stroke, Leigh syndrome, Pearson syndrome, creatine deficiency syndrome and Alpers syndrome, among others.
AC Immune SA has landed a potential $2.2 billion deal for its anti-amyloid beta Alzheimer’s disease vaccine, ACI-24.060, with Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., under which it will get $100 million up front and is eligible to receive an option exercise fee, plus potential development, commercial and sales-based milestones of up to $2.1 billion.
In what represents its first patenting, Rhovica Neuroimaging AG seeks protection for an external ventricular drainage catheter for the drainage of cerebrospinal fluid to reduce intracranial pressure. The catheter is integrated with sensors which enable safe, fast and cost-efficient catheter placement and monitoring of brain ventricles.
Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) has synthesized macrophage colony-stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF-1R; CD115; c-Fms) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of cancer, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, macular degeneration, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis and Alzheimer’s disease, among others.