Pharma companies are collaborating to boost the power of artificial intelligence (AI) in drug discovery by allowing access to proprietary structural data to train a large language model. Each of the partners is contributing data from several thousand experimentally determined protein:ligand interactions, creating one of the most diverse datasets and the richest chemistry assembled to date for model training.

Generating gametes from nonreproductive tissues could help overcome infertility. Previous studies have successfully transformed stem cells into viable oocytes through cellular reprogramming. Scientists at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) developed a method to derive them from skin cells via somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), unlocking a mechanism that blends mitosis and meiosis. Now, the researchers have taken another step forward by generating fertilizable eggs from human skin cells.

Two independent studies applied CRISPR-based genetic editing – one to treat leukemia and the other to target myeloma – to overcome the challenges faced by CAR T cells, such as exhaustion, impaired activation and fratricide, a phenomenon in which they attack each other.

Antibodies that bind to sugars on the surface of cancer cells, rather than to proteins, have not yielded satisfactory results so far due to their low binding affinity. However, scientists at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) have developed therapeutic proteins that recognize so-called tumor-associated carbohydrate antigens (TACAs) using lectins with a robust structure resembling velcro. This design is highly specific and eliminates only tumor cells, regardless of cancer type, while sparing healthy tissues.

Vectory Therapeutics BV and Shape Therapeutics Inc. have entered into an option and license agreement granting Vectory an exclusive option to evaluate Shape’s deep brain penetrating AAV capsid, SHP-DB1, for vectorized antibody payloads against three therapeutic targets.

Immuto Scientific Inc. has closed an $8 million seed 2 financing round and entered into a drug discovery collaboration with Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd. Immuto applies its target discovery platform and structural epitope‑mapping engine to identify disease‑specific surface protein conformations.

When Robert Kennedy Jr. announced the cancellation of 22 projects related to mRNA vaccines and the end of new investments in that technology, the U.S. Secretary of Health only mentioned their use against respiratory viruses, without referring to other applications. The vaccines whose safety and effectiveness Kennedy is questioning are based on the same molecular principles as cancer vaccines under development. “Continued investment in mRNA technology is essential to fully realize its potential in oncology and ensure that promising strategies like neoantigen-based vaccines reach clinical application.” Kazuhiro Kakimi, professor at the Department of Immunology at Kindai University Faculty of Medicine, told BioWorld.

An ongoing concern for scientists is that there will be across-the-board funding cuts. This is already happening in mRNA research, where reductions affected coronavirus-related projects. During the pandemic, efforts focused on this pathogen, and once the health emergency was over, grants for antivirals were eliminated. However, these drugs could stem future outbreaks. Despite the cuts, recent research continues to demonstrate the potential of mRNA, not only for the development of antivirals, but also for obtaining more effective and longer-lasting vaccines.