Avicenna Biosciences Inc. has introduced an extension to its machine learning (ML) technology platform to enhance medicinal chemistry and expedite clinical-stage drug discovery.

Nanite Inc. has been awarded a $1.8 million grant by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to design and optimize polymeric delivery vehicles to deliver DNA-encoded therapeutics.

“Prenatal therapies are the next disruptive technologies in health care, which will advance and shape the future of patient care in the 21st century,” said Graça Almeida-Porada, a professor at the Fetal Research and Therapy Center of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. At the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT) annual meeting in Baltimore on May 5, 2024, Almeida-Porada introduced the first presentation of the scientific symposium “Prospects for Prenatal Gene and Cell Therapy.”

Japanese researchers have transplanted human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) in a primate model of myocardial infarction and were able to restore heart muscle and function in monkeys. Developed by Tokyo-based Heartseed Inc., the grafted iPSCs consist of clusters of purified heart muscle cells (cardiomyocyte spheroids) that are injected into the myocardial layer of the heart. Published in Circulation on April 26, 2024, the study showed that the cardiomyocyte spheroids survived long term and showed improved contractile function with low occurrence of post-transplant arrhythmias.

Repertoire Immune Medicines Inc. has entered a multiyear strategic collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb Co. (BMS) to develop tolerizing vaccines for up to three autoimmune diseases.

Peptidream Inc. and Novartis Pharma AG have expanded their peptide-drug conjugate discovery collaboration announced in 2019, adding additional peptide radioligand therapies and other programs.

Alligator Bioscience AB reported that Orion Corp. has selected the lead bispecific antibodies from the companies’ second development program, and is exercising its option to develop these molecules under the existing 2021 research collaboration and license agreement.

In one of the biggest startups ever, Xaira Therapeutics has launched with more than $1 billion from investors. The financing, according to BioWorld records, is roughly equivalent to Roivant Sciences Inc.’s $1.1 billion raise in August 2017 and Galderma Inc.’s $1 billion private placement in June 2023. Xaira said it plans to leverage advanced machine learning research and expansive data generation to power new models for developing new therapeutics.

Wave Life Sciences Ltd. has reported that GSK plc has selected its first two programs to advance to development candidates following achievement of target validation as part of the companies’ ongoing collaboration.

A computational program based on single-cell transcriptome sequencing has identified six types of senescent cells, enabling the design of more precise senolytic drugs. The success of these compounds depends on their ability to recognize senescent cellular patterns and avoid proliferating cells, differentiated cells, or quiescent (temporarily resting) cells.