Melanocortin-4-receptor MC4R is a crucial molecule involved in energy homeostasis, feeding behavior and metabolism, and loss-of-function mutations in this gene are the main monogenic cause of early-onset obesity. Congruence Therapeutics Inc. has developed a small molecule, CGX-926, that corrected MC4R deficiency and restored its cell-surface expression and function.
Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH and Kyowa Kirin Co. Ltd. have announced that Boehringer Ingelheim has licensed a preclinical program from Kyowa Kirin to develop a potential first-in-class, small molecule for the treatment of autoimmune diseases.
Ventus Therapeutics Inc. has entered into a multi-year collaboration with Genentech Inc., a member of the Roche Group, to discover and optimize novel small-molecule candidates for challenging targets in major disease areas using Ventus’ Resolve drug discovery platform.
Smartbax GmbH has announced the successful first closing of its €4.7 million (US$5.4 million) pre-series A financing round to support development of its next-generation antibiotics against multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria. A second closing of the round remains open to investors.
Xortx Therapeutics Inc. has entered into a binding term sheet to acquire a renal anti-fibrotic therapeutic program from Vectus Biosystems Ltd., including a novel new chemical entity, VB4-P5.
While immunotherapy targeting PD-1 or its ligand PD-L1 has transformed cancer treatment by overcoming T-cell exhaustion, only a minority of patients achieves durable responses after treatment.
Basal-like breast cancer is a particularly aggressive subtype of the malignancy, for which it has been difficult to identify good therapeutic targets. In collaboration, European researchers mined public transcriptome datasets to show that the aldehyde dehydrogenase 1A isoform ALDH1A3 was predominantly expressed in epithelial cells within basal-like tumors, whereas the isoforms ALDH1A1 and ALDH1A2 were predominantly expressed in stromal and immune-associated cells.
Arcus Biosciences Inc. has announced five new research programs for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, and is targeting initiation of the first clinical studies next year.
Impaired fracture healing is a clinical management challenge. Fracture healing can be impaired due to several factors, such as aging, chronic inflammation or metabolic abnormalities. Osteoclasts play a crucial role in bone tissue reconstruction, but their abnormal activation can lead to impaired fracture healing. In a recent publication in Frontiers in Immunology, researchers from Naval Military Medical University and collaborators searched for crucial regulatory genes in the process of bone fracture healing.
In its second deal with Novartis AG of the past 11 months, Monte Rosa Therapeutics Inc. is getting $120 million up front to collaborate on developing molecular glue degraders to treat immune-mediated diseases. The agreement could swell to $5.7 billion for Monte Rosa.
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