2025 has been the most challenging year in the efforts to fight HIV since at least the advent of antiretroviral therapy. In a report on “Overcoming disruption, transforming the AIDS response,” released last week ahead of World AIDS Day on Dec. 1, the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) described “a global system in shock” by sharply reduced funding from the U.S. and other wealthy nations. Scientifically, for now, progress is ongoing. To mark World AIDS Day, Nature published three independent studies on HIV.
Pancreatic cancer is among the most aggressive cancer types, with survival rates being very low and current treatment being quite ineffective. To address this unmet medical need, HCW Biologics Inc. has developed and presented preclinical data for their T-cell engager approach – HCW11-018.
M-3554 is an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) targeting GD2; it has shown strong antitumor activity in neuroblastoma xenograft models and has been engineered to reduce anti-GD2 antibody-associated pain.
Researchers from Northeast Agricultural University and Jiangsu Kanion Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. aimed to improve the oncolytic effect of existing Newcastle disease virus (NDV) vectors using engineering strategies to accelerate their clinical translation.
Nectin-4 is a cell-adhesion molecule that is highly expressed in several malignancies, including bladder, colorectal, lung and breast cancers, while exhibiting minimal expression in most normal adult tissues.
Researchers from Compass Therapeutics Inc. detailed the preclinical characterization of CTX-10726, a bispecific, tetravalent antibody that simultaneously targets VEGF-A and PD-1.
A paper from Onchilles Pharma Inc. and collaborating institutions details the development of N-17350, a next-generation therapeutic elastase optimized for intratumoral delivery that targets the neutrophil elastase pathway.
Two South Korean conglomerates – Samyang Holdings Corp. and Samsung Biologics Co. Ltd. – listed their newly spun-off biopharmaceutical units on Korea Exchange’s (KRX) main trading board Nov. 24.
Crossbridge Bio Inc. has been awarded a $15 million grant from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) to support completion of IND-enabling activities and advancement of CBB-120 into first-in-human studies.