Immuto Scientific Inc. has closed an $8 million seed 2 financing round and entered into a drug discovery collaboration with Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd. Immuto applies its target discovery platform and structural epitope‑mapping engine to identify disease‑specific surface protein conformations.

Metastatic and relapsed osteosarcoma remains challenging to treat despite the introduction of advanced surgical techniques, intensified chemotherapy and targeted therapies. Adoptive immunotherapies such as CAR T cells, despite being in nascent stages, are considered a potential option for treating aggressive solid tumors such as osteosarcoma.

Amphista Therapeutics Ltd. has released first data on its SMARCA2 program. The company conducted structurally guided discovery using high-resolution cryo-EM to deliver potent DCAF16-dependent Targeted Glues of SMARCA2, with exquisite selectivity over the closely related homologue SMARCA4.

When Robert Kennedy Jr. announced the cancellation of 22 projects related to mRNA vaccines and the end of new investments in that technology, the U.S. Secretary of Health only mentioned their use against respiratory viruses, without referring to other applications. The vaccines whose safety and effectiveness Kennedy is questioning are based on the same molecular principles as cancer vaccines under development. “Continued investment in mRNA technology is essential to fully realize its potential in oncology and ensure that promising strategies like neoantigen-based vaccines reach clinical application.” Kazuhiro Kakimi, professor at the Department of Immunology at Kindai University Faculty of Medicine, told BioWorld.

FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3) mutations, particularly internal tandem duplications and point mutations in the tyrosine kinase domain, are frequently observed in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and contribute to disease progression and poor prognosis.