Breakthrough – or even better, revolutionary breakthrough – is perhaps the most overused term in drug development. But the discovery and development of GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs), which was honored with the 2024 Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award just last week, is one of the rare innovations that is deserving of the title.

Investigators from Abzyme Therapeutics LLC have hypothesized that inhibiting this pathway in the CNS may prevent tissue damage and cease the progression of multiple sclerosis (MS).

Argenx SE’s ARGX-119 is a monoclonal antibody (MAb) targeting the muscle-specific kinase (MuSK) Frizzled (Fz)-like domain, and has entered early clinical development for the treatment of neuromuscular diseases.

Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences reported the discovery of the 1,2,4-oxadiazole derivative FO-4-15 for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

Secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) is a chronic form of disease that occurs after relapsing-remitting MS, with a progressive disease course, and its pathogenesis remains unclear. CX3C chemokine receptor 1 (CX3CR1) is a G protein-coupled receptor that may be a useful marker of Eomes+ Th cells; the antigen has been shown to be expressed by cytotoxic Th cells and required for late-onset disease.