Last October, having chalked another trial failure with E-selectin antagonist uproleselan, Glycomimetics Inc. made known its acquisition plan for privately held, solid tumor-focused Crescent Biopharma Inc. – backed by $200 million from a syndicate of investors who liked the odds of success with CR-001, a preclinical VEGFxPD-1 bispecific antibody.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is associated with liver diseases, including chronic hepatitis, which notably increases the risk of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development. Although some of the current treatment strategies promote virological suppression, they are insufficient to halt HCC development.

Prostate cancer (PC), often referred to as a cold tumor, typically presents a poor immune response, making it difficult for immune-based therapies to be effective. Metastatic castration-resistant PC (mCRPC) presents a highly aggressive phenotype often refractory to systemic treatment.

Harbour Biomed Ltd. has announced the launch of Élancé Therapeutics with an aim to improve the treatment of obesity. Élancé seeks to address challenges in obesity treatment, by increasing overall body weight loss and fat mass loss, while preserving and even increasing muscle and lean mass.

The recent series A financing by Bambusa Therapeutics Inc. to fund bispecific antibodies for immunological and inflammatory disorders proved investor faith in the new approach with a proven mechanism.

Trimtech Therapeutics closed a £25 million (US$31 million) oversubscribed seed funding round to advance its targeted protein degradation treatments for neurodegenerative and inflammatory diseases.

Trimtech Therapeutics closed a £25 million (US$31 million) oversubscribed seed funding round to advance its targeted protein degradation treatments for neurodegenerative and inflammatory diseases.

Several Asia biotechs this week – including Innocare Pharma Ltd., Akeso Pharmaceuticals Inc., Sanbio Co. Ltd. and Ascletis Pharma Inc. – unveiled the start of new late-stage clinical trials or interim findings from early stage studies.

Although immune checkpoint inhibitors have shown noticeable clinical benefits, tumor evasion of single-agent immunotherapy occurs in some patients due to the compensatory role of alternative immune checkpoints. A viable strategy could be the use of combination immunotherapies targeting multiple immunosuppressive pathways to fully activate T cells and enhance response rates.