Renal fibrosis represents a key driver of the pathology of chronic kidney disease (CKD), marked by fibroblast activation, tubular damage and inflammation. Previous work found that cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) levels are markedly reduced in experimental models of renal fibrosis, but the reasons for this decline are not fully understood.
Zelluna ASA has submitted a clinical trial application (CTA) to the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for ZI-MA4-1 (ZIMA-101), the company’s lead candidate. ZI-MA4-1 is a novel MAGE-A4-targeting T-cell receptor-natural killer (TCR-NK) therapy.
Confo Therapeutics NV has nominated CFTX-2034 as a development candidate to treat conditions linked to hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia, specifically post-bariatric hypoglycemia (PBH). The company is now advancing CFTX-2034 through IND-enabling studies.
Although hormone receptor-positive (HR+) breast cancer accounts for over 70% of cases, 20%-30% of patients still experience relapse despite endocrine therapies such as tamoxifen. Recurrence is also observed in HER2+ breast cancer, even with HER2-targeted antibodies and antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), the use of which can be limited by adverse effects such as interstitial lung disease.
Advances in antiretroviral therapy (ART) now allow people living with HIV to lead normal lives with undetectable and nontransmissible levels of the virus in their blood. Yet that reality is limited to those with access to treatment. More than 40 million people worldwide live with HIV, with over a million new infections and hundreds of thousands of deaths each year, underscoring that major challenges remain.
Things once done in laboratories can now be done with computers and AI, said Kim Woo-youn, CEO and cofounder of Hits Inc. “We live in the age of ‘digital alchemy,’” Kim told BioWorld, describing how AI is shifting some drug discovery processes from physical to virtual spaces.
Scientists at Osaka University and Tokyo University of Science have described compounds targeting Claudin-5 (CLDN5) acting as blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability regulators reported to be useful for the treatment of sepsis, cerebral edema, infections, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, psychiatric disorders, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, among others.
Kong’s Pharmaceutical Co. has divulged Ras-related C3 botulinum toxin substrate 1 (RAC1; TC25) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of cancer and neurologic disorders.
Chinese University of Hong Kong has identified peptides acting as serine/arginine-rich protein-specific kinase 1 (SRSF protein kinase 1; SRPK1) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of lung cancer, breast cancer, coronavirus acute respiratory syndrome, hepatitis and herpes viral infections.
Researchers at Meiji Seika Pharma Co. Ltd., National Center of Neurology & Psychiatry and Tokyo University of Pharmacy & Life Sciences have synthesized NAD(+) H\hydrolase SARM1 (SAMD2; MyD88-5) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of neurodegeneration.