Venetoclax has shown good results for adult acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in combination with azacitidine, but there is increasing evidence of inherent and acquired resistance. High expression of nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT) has been associated with cancer aggressiveness and poor prognosis due to increased nicotinamide metabolism.
Previous work showed that histone ‘readers’, which bind to post-translational modifications on histones, may be upregulated in melanoma and thereby upregulate oncogenes. Given that the histone reader ATAD2 is known to be overexpressed in several types of cancer, researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham asked whether the same is true in melanoma.
Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have emerged as potential markers of disease, since they associate with proteins that regulate gene expression, translation or stability, among others, and where hypoxia might play a role in this scenario. In recently published work, researchers analyzed clinical data from patients with lung adenocarcinoma to identify hypoxia-modulated lncRNAs in vivo and in vitro, and which could correlate with prognosis.
Over the course of the year, and continuing into the latest scientific meetings, an extraordinary breadth of new antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) designs was reported, with innovations spanning targets, linkers, payloads, conjugation chemistries and overall architectures. Once defined by a simple “one target, one payload” model, the field is lately expanding into a more versatile and diverse therapeutic space.
Hanx Biopharmaceuticals Inc. has identified antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) consisting of an antibody targeting TRBV12 covalently linked to cytotoxic drugs through linkers reported to be useful for the treatment of T-cell leukemia and T-cell lymphoma.
Shenzhen Chipscreen Biosciences Ltd. has synthesized MAPK-interacting kinase 1 (MNK1) and/or MAPK-interacting kinase 2 (MNK2) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of cancer.
Shenzhen Grit Biotechnology Co. Ltd. and Shanghai Vitalgen Biopharma Co. Ltd. recently presented their work to develop and evaluate a novel anti-CD19 in vivo CAR T candidate, named GT-801.
GAS41, the chromatin-associated protein encoded by YEATS4, is frequently overexpressed in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Beyond its association with epigenetic dysregulation, GAS41 plays an active role in modulating transcriptional programs that are essential for NSCLC pathogenesis, underscoring its suitability as a mechanistically well-supported therapeutic target.
Harbour Biomed and Yantai Lannacheng Biotechnology Co. Ltd. have entered into a long-term strategic collaboration to jointly advance the development of next-generation radionuclide-drug conjugates for the treatment of cancer.
Adlai Nortye Ltd. has entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with Jiangsu Aosaikang Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. (Ask Pharm) for its proprietary pan-RAS(ON) inhibitor AN-9025, an oral small molecule designed to target a broad spectrum of RAS mutations across various tumor types.