The cardiomyositis that is a rare adverse effect of mRNA-based COVID vaccines is due to immune cell activity as a result of increased levels of the chemokines CXCL10 and interferon-γ (IFN-γ). Blocking CXCL10 and IFN-γ could prevent muscle cell damage in cell culture, and cardiomyositis in animal models. The findings, reported in the Dec. 10, 2025, issue of Science Translational Medicine, suggest a way of mitigating the risk of cardiomyositis.

Epilepsygtx Ltd. has raised a $33 million series A to fund a phase I/IIa trial of EPY-201, a gene therapy for treating drug-resistant focal epilepsy. EPY-201 uses an adeno-associated viral vector to deliver KCNA1, the gene encoding Kv1.1, a potassium ion channel that modulates neuronal excitability.

Many cases of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 infection can be effectively treated with existing drugs, but they can lose efficacy over time because of the emergence of resistance. In an effort to generate next-generation drugs, Chinese researchers at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College and other institutions synthesized a series of peptidomimetics against the viral protease, in which they extended the therapeutically effective hydroxyethyl sulfonamide scaffold using an amino acid linker. They reasoned that the linker could allow the drug to make additional contacts with the protease.

Molecules that specifically bind to tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) are crucial for the diagnosis and therapy of cancer. In a recent publication in Molecular Therapy: Oncology, researchers from Université de Nantes presented a novel tailored-made affitin for targeting human mesothelin (hMSLN), which is a TAA overexpressed in many solid cancers and targeted by several experimental drugs.

Zealand Pharma A/S and OTR Therapeutics (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. have signed a multi-program strategic collaboration and license agreement to discover and develop novel therapeutics for metabolic diseases.