Cyagen Biomodels LLC has established a strategic collaboration with Neurophth Therapeutics Inc. to codevelop next-generation AAV gene therapy vectors for specific types of genetic ophthalmic disorders.

By pairing the expression of an inhibitory ion channel with an activity-dependent promoter, researchers have developed the first on-demand gene therapy that specifically silenced hyperactive cells and prevented epileptic seizures. The channels are expressed when the promoter is turned on by excessive neuronal activity, and so “we can’t stop the first seizures,” Dimitri Kullmann told BioWorld.

Rznomics Inc. has received IND approval from the FDA for a phase I/IIa trial of RZ-001 for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Decibel Therapeutics Inc. has received clearance from the FDA for its IND application to initiate a phase I/II trial of DB-OTO in pediatric patients, potentially in infants younger than 2 years of age.

Glaucoma is an eye disease that damages the optic nerve, with the main cause being ocular hypertension due to high resistance to the outflow of aqueous humor.

Ambulero Inc., a spinout from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, has received a positive response from a type B pre-IND meeting with the FDA on the development of AMB-301 as a treatment for the vascular disease Buerger's disease.