Avirmax Biopharma Inc. has received IND approval from the FDA to initiate a phase I/IIa trial for its gene therapy treatment targeting wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), including polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV).
Gyre Therapeutics Inc. has announced IND clearance for Gyre Pharmaceuticals’ F-230 tablets by China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA). F-230 is a selective endothelin receptor antagonist, for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).
Actym Therapeutics Inc. has obtained IND clearance from the FDA to begin a phase I trial of ACTM-838. The first-in-human study will enroll patients in the U.S. and Australia with advanced solid tumors who have failed prior lines of therapy and have no clinically beneficial treatment options.
Kapoose Creek Bio Corp. has announced the identification and advancement of two lead compounds with potential in neurology, specifically for indications in neurodegeneration and mental health. The compounds, KCB-100 and KCB-200, have shown potent neuroplastic and neuroprotective activity in gold-standard tests of primary neurons.
Several cancer types are treated with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-targeting agents (EGFR inhibitors), but this treatment is associated with dermal toxicity in up to 90% of cases, where 80% of cases have rash, among other issues. This skin toxicity is mainly driven by elevation of Staphylococcus aureus and the proinflammatory cytokine IL-36γ. Skin keratinocytes’ cutaneous immune defense is impaired by EGFR inhibitors.
Germline variants that did not affect gene function nevertheless affected multiple aspects of breast cancer risk, via their visibility to the immune system and its reactions. Perhaps most surprisingly, the same genetic constellations that were protective at the very earliest stage of breast cancer, stage 0 or ductal carcinoma in situ, were associated with worse outcomes once a tumor had become invasive.
Biosplice Therapeutics Inc. has disclosed dual-specificity tyrosine-(Y)-phosphorylation regulated kinase 1A (DYRK1A) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of cancer, diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease.
KRAS is a GTPase that switches from an active GTP-bound conformation and an inactive GDP-bound conformation. Recently, several covalent KRAS G12C inhibitors that stick the protein in its GDP-bound inactive state have reached the clinic. However, the clinical benefit to date is limited and there is a need for next-generation compounds with better target engagement.
Full-Life Technologies Ltd. has received IND clearance by the FDA, allowing it to conduct clinical trials of 225Ac-FL-020, its PSMA-targeted radiopharmaceutical for the treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.
Alternative splicing is known to play an important role in tissue development. Scientists at Brigham and Women’s Hospital have looked into the association between a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) genetic variant and cell-specific splicing of putative ciliary rootlet coiled-coil protein-like 1 protein (CROCCP2).