Targeting human glutaminyl-peptide cyclotransferase (QPCT) has emerged as a potential strategy in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). As the main substrates of this enzyme are involved in biological processes associated with neurodegenerative diseases, Parkinson’s disease (PD) and others may be other options to explore as well.

Beijing DP Technology Co. Ltd. has nominated DPT-0415, a novel small molecule targeting lipoprotein‐associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2), as a preclinical candidate for the treatment of diabetic retinopathy (DR) and diabetic macular edema (DME).

Cannabidiol (CBD) is a nonpsychoactive cannabinoid with potential therapeutic use in several diseases such as epilepsy or anxiety, but shows poor solubility, erratic absorption and structural polymorphisms that limit its bioavailability. Researchers from Artelo Biosciences Inc. presented the pharmacokinetic profile of ART12.11, a proprietary co-crystallization of CBD and co-former tetramethylpyrazine (TMP), formulated to achieve improved bioavailability and stability and to overcome polymorphism of CBD.

Scientists at the University of Copenhagen have demonstrated that the trigeminal nerve, a cranial nerve whose activation underlies migraine pain, has direct access to cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) transported by the glymph system. Furthermore, in the run-up to a migraine, levels of multiple proteins in the CSF changed. One of them was calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), a driver of migraine pain and target of several approved drugs for both treatment and prevention of migraine.

Less than a month after the U.S. FDA’s Peripheral and Central Nervous System Drugs Advisory Committee handed down a unanimous vote in favor of Eli Lilly and Co.’s Alzheimer’s disease candidate (AD), donanemab, the agency approved the drug as a once-monthly injection for adults with early symptomatic disease. Branded Kisunla, the beta-amyloid antagonist marks the second approved AD drug that has demonstrated in clinical trials an ability to slow cognitive decline, going up against Leqembi (lecanemab) from Biogen Inc. and Eisai Co. Ltd., which won full approval in July 2023, only six months after nabbing an accelerated nod.

Glycoprotein VI (GPVI) is a platelet collagen receptor involved in platelet activation and an emerging target for treating thrombotic disorders such as ischemic stroke. Data have been presented by University of Würzburg scientists regarding a humanized anti-GPVI Fab antibody, EMA-601, with unprecedented potency in vitro and in vivo.