Amid the increasingly competitive myasthenia gravis drug development space, siRNA candidate cemdisiran met phase III endpoints, with the monotherapy showing numerically higher results than a combination product. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., which has a worldwide license to cemdisiran from Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc., plans to file for U.S. approval in generalized myasthenia gravis, a rare and chronic autoimmune disease leading to life-threatening muscle weakness, in the first quarter of 2026.
Partly focused on delivery challenges that have limited the reach of RNA medicines, new biotech company Axelyf Inc. closed a $2.6 million seed round to support development of its AXL technology and to advance lead autoimmune candidate AXL-003.
In Parkinson’s disease, α-synuclein accumulates in neurons and may thereby contribute to their degeneration. Reducing expression of α-synuclein may be an effective therapy, but delivering short interfering RNA (siRNA) to the brain noninvasively is notoriously ineffective, in part because siRNA does not pass the blood-brain barrier efficiently.
Following a priority review, Apellis Pharmaceuticals Inc. received U.S. FDA approval of a supplemental NDA making pegcetacoplan the second marketed treatment for complement 3 glomerulopathy and the first for primary immune complex membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis.
Shanghai Circode Biomed Co. Ltd. is set to begin clinical trials of HM-2002, a circular RNA (circRNA)-based drug for ischemic heart disease, having gained IND clearance in China Jan. 10 and the U.S. on May 30, Circode CEO Chenxiang Tang recently told BioWorld.
Shanghai Circode Biomed Co. Ltd. is set to begin clinical trials of HM-2002, a circular RNA (circRNA)-based drug for ischemic heart disease, having gained IND clearance in China Jan. 10 and the U.S. on May 30, Circode CEO Chenxiang Tang recently told BioWorld.
An RNA interference (RNAi) molecule that selectively targets the KRAS G12V mutation could represent a key advance in the treatment of cancer associated with this oncogenic variant. Researchers at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill, in collaboration with Enfuego Therapeutics Inc., have developed a new RNAi designed to enter cells through the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), which is commonly overexpressed in tumor cells. This targeted entry pathway could minimize the side effects associated with therapies that affect KRAS.
Silexion Therapeutics Corp. has released preclinical data demonstrating the efficacy of its next-generation RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutic candidate, SIL-204, against human pancreatic, colorectal and lung cancer cell lines.
A development deal with Biogen Inc. could eventually bring City Therapeutics Inc. about $1 billion in milestone payments. It’s a step in the direction the company had been going: looking for the right partners, including those from big pharma. Privately held City Therapeutics is getting $46 million in the deal. That includes $16 million as an up-front payment and an investment of $30 million in exchange for a City Therapeutics convertible note.