Big pharma continues to invest heavily into molecular glue degraders. The latest deal has Eisai Co. Ltd. striking up a research collaboration that could bring Seed Therapeutics Inc. up to $1.5 billion in up-front and milestone payments. The two said they plan to discover, develop and commercialize MGDs for several undisclosed neurodegeneration and oncology targets.
NMD Pharma ApS has discovered chloride channel protein 1 (CLCN1; ClC-1) channel blockers reported to be useful for the treatment of myasthenia gravis, Lambert-Eaton syndrome, critical illness myopathy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, spinal muscular atrophy, Guillain-Barré syndrome, post-poliomyelitic and chronic fatigue syndrome, among others.
Release Therapeutics SA has announced that it has secured CHF3.3 million (US$3.87 million) in seed funding. The proceeds will be used to finance primate studies of the company’s cell macroencapsulation technology for use in metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD).
In the wake of Sage Therapeutics Inc.’s recent phase II fizzle with SAGE-324 in essential tremor, Wall Street is waiting for better news in the indication, which has racked up failures across several developers. Among those finding favor lately is Praxis Precision Medicines Inc. with Nav-targeting ulixacaltamide, also known as PRAX-628, which Oppenheimer analyst Francois Brisebois said “warrants particular attention.”
TYK Medicines Inc. has patented compounds reported to be useful for the treatment of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington diseases as well as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, epilepsy and spinocerebellar ataxia.
Investigators at the University of Edinburgh have identified a genomic location linked to sensitivity to gabapentin in individuals with idiopathic chronic pelvic pain.
Montara Therapeutics Inc. has received $8 million seed financing from several investors to further its development of its ’binary pharmacology’ for diseases of the brain.
Alkira Bio, a new spinout from Australia’s Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health has emerged from stealth mode thanks to seed funding from Curie.bio. Although the amount of funding is not disclosed, Curie.bio typically invests $5 million to $10 million in a founder company and then co-pilots the drug discovery program, deploying drug development experts to its portfolio companies to help navigate decision making as part of the deal, Florey researcher turned Alkira Bio CEO Daniel Scott told BioWorld.
Sunbird Bio Inc.’s Neural EV-tau aggregate assay demonstrated 92% correlation with PET scans in identifying individuals with Alzheimer’s disease, a study presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Philadelphia, on July 30 found.
The EMA’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) recommended approval of 14 drugs and the extension of the label of 11 others at its July meeting, but, inevitably, it was the decision to turn down the Alzheimer’s disease therapy Leqembi (lecanemab) that stirred the greatest reaction.
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