The year 2024 squeaked through another IPO this week, that of Actuate Therapeutics Inc., which raised $22.4 million becoming the 15th biopharma company to debut on U.S. exchanges this year. Out of 17 companies total, including one listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and another on the SIX Swiss Exchange, the industry has raised a total of $4.8 billion through IPOs.

Label comparisons began promptly with the accelerated U.S. FDA clearance of Gilead Sciences Inc.’s oral peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-delta drug, Livdelzi (seladelpar), for primary biliary cholangitis (PBC). The space includes Ipsen Pharma SA’s dual PPAR alpha/delta agonist, Iqirvo (elafibranor), licensed from Genfit SA and cleared in June 2024, as well as Ocaliva (obeticholic acid), the first-in-class farnesoid X receptor agonist from Intercept Pharmaceuticals Inc., greenlighted for PBC in May 2016.

Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH’s and Astrazeneca plc’s implementation of a $35 monthly U.S. price cap on inhalers for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is adding to the pressure on Prasco Laboratories and GSK plc to follow suit with the pricing of an authorized generic of GSK’s Flovent (fluticasone propionate) inhaler.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reinstated patent claims covering Allergan USA Inc.'s bowel treatment drug Viberzi (eluxadoline), reversing a lower court that had invalidated the claims for not meeting obviousness-type double patenting or written description requirements. However, the appellate court said the district court “can, and should, address any other grounds of invalidity raised … at trial that are adequately supported by the record.”

China’s National Medical Products Administration cleared Ascentage Pharma Group Corp. Ltd. to begin a registrational phase III trial of its BCL-2 selective inhibitor lisaftoclax (APG-2575) in combination with azacitidine for first-line treatment of newly diagnosed patients with higher-risk myelodysplastic syndrome.

Deepcure Inc. has selected its first artificial intelligence (AI)-generated candidate, DC-9476, for autoimmune disease.

Esculetin, also known as 6,7-dihydroxycoumarin, is a coumarin-derived phytochemical that has shown effects against ischemic stroke. Additionally, chemokine-like factor 1 (CKLF1) has been revealed in previous findings to be a target for stroke when using coumarin-derived compounds. The effects of esculetin and the potential involvement of CKLF1 were tested in photothrombotic stroke in mice.

Piplartine, also called piperlongumine, had protective effects against hearing loss induced by aminoglycoside antibiotics in zebrafish and mouse models of kanamycin-induced hair cell loss. Kanamycin is a member of the aminoglycosides, a group of antibiotics that have broad-spectrum activity against gram-negative bacteria, including multidrug resistant strains.