Ferring BV has described FSH receptor agonists reported to be useful for the treatment of infertility.

In one of the largest private rounds raised by an Italian biotech, Genespire Srl has closed a €46.6 million (US$51.88 million) series B, enabling it to lay the ground for a phase I/II clinical trial of its lead program, GENE-202, and to further develop its proprietary lentiviral vectors. The vectors are designed to be applicable to a range of liver-related metabolic disorders and, as its first indication, the company intends to treat methylmalonic acidemia, a serious genetic condition that results in impaired metabolism of certain amino acids and lipids.

Genespire Srl has closed a €46.6 million (~$52 million) series B financing to support its work developing off-the-shelf gene therapies based on immune shielded lentiviral vectors (ISLVs) for pediatric patients with genetic diseases.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Inc. has filed for regulatory clearance to initiate a phase I/IIa trial of ARO-INHBE, the company’s investigational RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutic being developed for obesity.

Scientists from the Cardiovascular Research Center at the University of Virginia School of Medicine and Astrazeneca plc have developed a new mouse model of cardiovascular disease associated with genetic variations of cholesterol metabolism. The animal allows in vivo studies of myocardial infarction, plaque rupture and stroke.