Ibio Inc. has nominated IBIO-610 as a development candidate for its first-in-class Activin E antibody program and initiated a nonhuman primate (NHP) study.

MBX Biosciences Inc. has submitted an IND application to the FDA for MBX-4291, a long-acting glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1)/ glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) receptor co-agonist prodrug for the treatment of obesity.

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is a chronic complication of type 1 and type 2 diabetes with albuminuria and progressive kidney failure; about 20%-40% of patients with diabetes will develop some type of kidney disease.

In gout, excessive levels of uric acid in the blood lead to deposition of urate crystals in joints, which can cause strong inflammatory pain. Effectively treating gout involves mitigating not only the pain due to inflammatory responses, but also reducing uric acid levels in the blood, such as by inhibiting the uric acid transporter URAT1.

Obesity is a major public health concern, and effective treatments are still elusive. AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a crucial regulator of energy homeostasis and has been proposed as a target for metabolic diseases, including obesity. However, most available AMPK agonists target multiple tissues to activate AMPK, which can cause adverse effects.

Bioage Labs Inc. is advancing its apelin receptor (APJ) agonist programs for obesity and other indications, and has entered into an option agreement with Jikang Therapeutics to license a novel APJ agonist nanobody.