Vitiligo is caused by autoreactive CD8+ T cells that react against skin melanocytes, where IL-15 has been shown to activate these T cells. Innovent Biologics (Suzhou) Co. Ltd. recently presented data on their monoclonal antibody (mAb) – IBI-3013 – that targets IL-15. IBI-3013 was evaluated in vitro in immune cell expansion and CD8 T-cell activation assays, as well as in vivo in a skin inflammation model and in a graft-vs.-host disease (GVHD) model.

Cartography Biosciences Inc. has closed a $67 million series B financing to support its pipeline of T-cell engaging bispecific and multispecific antibody therapeutics that target novel and highly specific tumor antigens.

Cirrus Therapeutics Inc. has closed an $11 million seed financing to advance its pipeline of gene and cell therapies designed to preserve sight and extend ocular healthspan in patients with chronic blinding diseases.

Genetic mutations are the primary cause of most rare diseases. Although each condition affects a small fraction of the population, the global impact is significant, with an estimated 300 million individuals affected worldwide. A large proportion of pathogenic missense variants – estimated at 40%-60% – cause rare diseases by impairing protein stability. This underscores protein restoration as a promising therapeutic strategy.

Pharma companies are collaborating to boost the power of artificial intelligence (AI) in drug discovery by allowing access to proprietary structural data to train a large language model. Each of the partners is contributing data from several thousand experimentally determined protein:ligand interactions, creating one of the most diverse datasets and the richest chemistry assembled to date for model training.