Sareum Holdings plc has entered into a strategic collaboration with Receptor.AI Ltd. to accelerate the discovery and optimization of blood-brain barrier (BBB)-permeable, isoform-selective TYK2/JAK1 inhibitors. The aim is to generate candidates suitable for preclinical development in neuroinflammatory indications, such as multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease.
Equillium Inc. has entered into a definitive securities purchase agreement with health care investors that will provide up to $50 million in gross proceeds to Equillium. The private placement will enable the company to advance its selective aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) modulator EQ-504 into the clinic.
Francisella tularensis, the causative agent of tularemia, is capable of causing severe illness at extremely low infectious doses through inhalation. No licensed tularemia vaccines exist in most Western countries, and current candidates lack efficacy against pneumonic forms. This highlights an urgent need for more effective vaccine strategies.
Temple University has described compounds acting as antioxidants and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NFE2L2; NRF2) activators reported to be useful for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, cerebral palsy, epilepsy and multiple sclerosis.
Chengdu Chipscreen Pharmaceutical Ltd. has divulged Werner syndrome ATP-dependent helicase (WRN; RECQ3; RECQL2) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of cancer.
Open Source Therapeutics Co. Ltd. has identified bifunctional epoxide hydrolase 2 (EPHX2; sEH) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, hypertension, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, stroke and ulcerative colitis, among others.
Scenic Biotech BV has synthesized lysosomal phospholipase A and acyltransferase (PLA2G15) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of HIV infection, frontotemporal dementia, Niemann-Pick disease type C, Batten disease, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.
Overexpression of the eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) has been observed in a wide range of tumors, where it is associated with malignant transformation, tumor progression, poor prognosis, and resistance to therapy.
Chronic infection with the parasitic protozoan Cryptosporidium can cause debilitating diarrhea and lead to cognitive impairment and cachexia. Researchers at the University of Washington and collaborators have identified the 5-aminopyrazole-4-carboxamide BKI-1708 as an inhibitor of calcium-dependent protein kinase 1, which is highly expressed during proliferation of the parasite.