Palatin Technologies Inc. has announced preclinical results for PL-7737, an oral selective melanocortin MC4 receptor (MC4R) agonist, showing effectiveness in rodent models of obesity.
While people living with HIV can lead virtually normal lives thanks to antiretroviral therapy (ART), HIV persists in a latent state within cellular reservoirs that scientists do not know how to eliminate. “Transcription is a critical step in the viral life cycle. … But there are currently no drugs suppressing HIV transcription, and that may be one of the reasons why current antiretroviral therapy is not curative,” Melanie Ott told the audience at the 13th IAS Conference on HIV Science this week in Kigali, Rwanda.
Pfizer Inc. has identified signal transducer and activator of transcription 6 (STAT6) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, atherosclerosis, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, respiratory and dermatological disorders.
AGC Inc. has synthesized compounds acting as prostaglandin E2 receptor EP4 subtype (PTGER4; EP4) antagonists reported to be useful for the treatment of cancer.
2A Biosciences Inc. has described phenethylamines acting as 5-HT2A receptor agonists reported to be useful for the treatment of psychiatric, neurodegenerative, neurodevelopmental, inflammatory and eye disorders.
Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC has prepared and tested triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (TREM2) agonists reported to be useful for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and neurodegeneration.
Obesity and diabetes are known risk factors for sarcopenia. Insulin resistance that occurs during type 2 diabetes promotes impaired synthesis of muscle protein and muscle breakdown. Juvena Therapeutics Inc. has presented data at ENDO 2025 conference for JUV-161, a novel secreted protein that induces insulin sensitization, regarding its impact on blood glucose and muscle in mice with type 2 diabetes (db/db mice).
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a degenerative and inflammatory condition of the central nervous system (CNS) that impacts more than 2.5 million individuals globally. Interleukin-33 (IL-33) is an immunoregulatory cytokine that has shown a mild inhibitory effect on experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), which serves as a mouse model for MS. However, its clinical application is limited by unfavorable pharmacokinetics and associated toxicity.
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, with few successful treatment options. HCC development is associated with established risk factors, including metabolic dysregulation, repeated insults by hepatotoxins or infection by hepatotropic viruses.