SFA Therapeutics Inc. has received FDA clearance of its IND application to investigate SFA-001N in patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) with or without fibrosis.
Cancer Focus Fund LP is investing US$5 million in funding to support ISA Pharmaceuticals BV's ISA-103 in a first-in-human study for the treatment of uveal melanoma.
Ventus Therapeutics Inc. has nominated a potential first-in-class cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS) inhibitor, VENT-03, as the company’s first development candidate directed against cGAS.
Multiple myeloma (MM) represents about 10% of all blood cancers, remaining an incurable disease with a 5-year overall survival rate of 56%. B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) is a receptor in the cell surface that is highly expressed in malignant plasma cells, and in normal cells, that promotes cell proliferation and survival by binding to APRIL and BAFF ligands.
CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Ltd. has received clearance from China's National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) to conduct clinical trials in China of the highly selective novel protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5) inhibitor SYH-2045 for the treatment of advanced malignant tumors.
A model of tauopathy developed in the worm nematode Caenorhabditis elegans was developed for investigating the mechanisms behind tauopathy development.
After comparing the response to the two types of vaccines for the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) based on its fusion protein (F), prefusion (pre-F) versus postfusion (post-F) vaccines, scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Astrazeneca plc have demonstrated that targeting the pre-F protein led to better protection. No more bets on RSV immunization based on the post-F protein of the virus. Laboratories can now bet all on red for the pre-F technology.
CRISPR, or clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeats, is transforming biomedical research, and making rapid inroads into the clinic, with its ability to easily target specific DNA and RNA sequences. CRISPR itself is made of RNA. It recognizes target sequences and delivers CRISPR-associated (Cas) proteins, nucleases that cut the target sequence. In two papers published online in Nature on Jan. 4, 2023, researchers have demonstrated that a recently discovered type of Cas protein, Cas12a2, can degrade double-stranded DNA when its associated CRISPR guide RNA recognizes its target sequence.
Poseidon Innovation LLC and the University of California have patented bromodomain-containing protein 4 (BD2 domain) (BRD4 BD2) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of cancer, viral infections and acute renal disorders, among others.