At first blush, the brain’s extracellular matrix (ECM) seems like the opposite of synaptic plasticity. Plasticity is the ability to change; the ECM is stable, to the point that it is often described as a scaffold – something to lend stability. “ECM proteins have some of the longest lifetimes of any protein in the brain,” Anna Molofsky told her audience at the XVII Meeting on Glial Cells in Health and Disease, which is being held in Marseille this week.
Guangdong Zhongsheng Ruichuang Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. has described glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonists reported to be useful for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, obesity, atherosclerosis, nonalcoholic or metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (NASH/MASH), hyperglycemia, cerebral infarction, hypertension and Parkinson’s disease.
F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. and Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. have divulged bifunctional epoxide hydrolase 2 (EPHX2; sEH) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of pain, diabetic retinopathy and neurodegeneration. An exemplified compound (Ex 23 pg 78, claim 18) inhibited human sEH activity (IC50=0.5 nM) using Rapidfire mass spectrometry (RFMS) assays (WO 2025125135).
Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis has identified subtilisin-like protease 1 (PfSUB1) (Plasmodium falciparum) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of malaria.
Idorsia Pharmaceuticals Ltd. has synthesized aryl sulfone and sulfanone derivatives acting as orexin OX2 receptor agonists reported to be useful for the treatment of eating disorders, fatigue, Kleine-Levin syndrome, narcolepsy, obesity, pain, and psychiatric and inflammatory disorders, among others.
Eli Lilly & Co. and Evotec International GmbH have disclosed Rho-associated protein kinase 2 (ROCK2) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of cancer, autoimmune disease, fibrosis, and inflammatory and neurological disorders.
Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) is a progressive liver disease that has limited available therapies. Shanghai Minwei Biotechnology Co. Ltd. has developed and presented data for MWN-105, a GLP-1/GIP/FGF21 triple agonist aimed at controlling metabolic dysfunction and fibrosis during MASH.
Neuroinflammation is a common hallmark in several neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, among others, where TREM2 (triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2) is a crucial member involved in this biological process and is mainly expressed in microglial cells, being thus an attractive target for diagnostic imaging.
Eluciderm Inc. has received clearance from the U.S. FDA for its IND to conduct a phase I/IIa open-label study evaluating the safety and efficacy of ELU-42, a topical spray-on solution for open wound healing, in patients with diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs).
Interferon regulatory factor 5 (IRF5) is a transcription factor activated downstream of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) 7, 8 and 9, and is predominantly expressed in dendritic cells, B cells, monocytes and macrophages. Once considered an undruggable target, IRF5 is now recognized as a key regulator of innate immunity, driving the production of type I interferons, pro-inflammatory cytokines and autoantibodies.
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