Celmatix Therapeutics (Celmatix Inc.) has announced a new drug program for endometriosis, with the development of a novel Jun-N-terminal kinase (JNK) inhibitor that targets pain and inflammation. The company’s aim to focus on JNK inhibitors with greater specificity for JNK1 and JNK3 than for JNK2 led it to license lead compounds from Baylor College of Medicine.

Fauna Bio Inc. has nominated Faun-1083 as its first development candidate, for the treatment of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Faun-1083 is a novel small-molecule therapeutic that has demonstrated promising in vivo efficacy in multiple preclinical animal models.

Cyrus Biotechnology Inc. has selected CYR-212, an engineered next-generation reduced-immunogenicity and half-life extended immunoglobulin G (IgG) protease, as a clinical development candidate for chronic IgG-driven autoimmune disease.

2024 saw the completion of several cellular-resolution brain maps, including the entire fly brain and a comprehensive connections map of a cubic centimeter of human brain. 2025 began with the addition of another important map. In the Jan. 1, 2025, issue of Nature, researchers from the Allen Institute presented a map of areas and cell types where aging most affected the mouse brain.

About four years after launch, Orna Therapeutics Inc. signed its second major deal, this time validating the lipid nanoparticle delivery technology it acquired through its Renagade Therapeutics Inc. buyout in May 2024, with Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. seeking next-generation approaches for hemoglobinopathies.