Because of increasing resistance to current antimalarial drugs, new agents with novel mechanisms of action are needed. Plasmepsins are a family of 10 Plasmodium falciparum aspartic proteases (PMI to PMX), among which plasmepsins IX and X (PMIX and PMX) have been identified as potential targets due to their involvement in egress, invasion and parasite development.

Asha Therapeutics LLC has nominated a development candidate, ASHA-624, as a potential disease-modifying therapy for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) with additional indications in chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, glaucoma, and traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries. ASHA-624 is expected to enter the clinic by year-end.

Analysis of the immune signatures of blood samples from patients with early-stage multiple sclerosis (MS) who were treatment naive has identified three distinct subtypes that have different disease trajectories and which respond differently to therapy.

Europe may still await its first disease-modifying Alzheimer’s drug after the EMA postponed its decision on Leqembi (lecanemab, Biogen Inc./Eisai Co. Ltd) on March 22, but leading members of the World Dementia Council were in an optimistic mood when they convened in London four days later. “We are working to make the inevitable happen earlier,” said Lenny Shallcross, executive director of WDC. “The inevitable will be rollout of medicines, rollout of better diagnostics and the improvement of care. All of those things over the next 10 years are inevitably going to happen.”