Maxion Therapeutics Ltd. has raised $72 million (£58 million) in a series A financing to support its development of antibody-based Knotbody drugs for ion channel- and G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR)-driven diseases.

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.

Bristol Myers Squibb Co.’s decision this week to snag Bluebird Bio Inc. spinout 2seventy Bio Inc. for $102 million net – just weeks after investors bid $30 million for Bluebird itself – seemed to place a final blow on what was once a promising gene therapy company. The space in general has struggled to make business sense out of the one-time therapies that often involve complicated manufacturing and exorbitant prices, despite the life-changing value that gene therapies bring to patients. But despite some recent setbacks, biopharmas continue to plow forward with promising research in the field.

Samsung Life Science Fund made its first strategic investment of the year into C2N Diagnostics LLC, underscoring the rising potential of blood-based diagnostics in detecting and monitoring the risk of Alzheimer’s disease for the masses.

Mood disorders include major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder, and they affect mood and cognition. It is known that mood disorders share a genetic heritable background, but the environmental factors also play a key role here. Recent data had highlighted the potential role of micro RNAs (miRNAs) in the pathogenesis of mood disorders.

Myrobalan Therapeutics Inc. has been awarded a grant of over $850,000 from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society to support the preclinical and translational development of MRO-002, a G-protein-coupled receptor 17 (GPR17) antagonist, for the treatment of progressive multiple sclerosis (MS).

The availability of effective antiretroviral therapy has lowered the risk, and the severity, of neural sequelae of HIV infection. “Early in the HIV pandemic, approximately 15% of people with HIV had dementia and or encephalitis,” Howard Fox told his audience. “Fortunately, with treatment, the prevalence of these severe disorders has been greatly lowered. But there is persistence of what are called more minor disorders – which are not minor if you have them.”