For 75 years, the standard tools for autoimmune disease have consisted of steroids, cytotoxics and broad biologics that tamp down the entire immune system. They can help, but they are rarely curative. “They’re blunt instruments,” Regcell Inc. CEO Mike McCullar told BioWorld. “They can’t distinguish good immune cells and bad immune cells,” which is why many carry black-box warnings and must be taken for years, sometimes for life.

Manifold Biotechnologies Inc. has signed a strategic research collaboration and license agreement with F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. to develop next-generation brain shuttles for neurological diseases. The collaboration will apply Manifold’s proprietary tissue-targeting shuttle portfolio and mDesign AI-driven in vivo discovery engine.

For 75 years, the standard tools for autoimmune disease have consisted of steroids, cytotoxics and broad biologics that tamp down the entire immune system. They can help, but they are rarely curative. “They’re blunt instruments,” Regcell Inc. CEO Mike McCullar told BioWorld. “They can’t distinguish good immune cells and bad immune cells,” which is why many carry black-box warnings and must be taken for years, sometimes for life.

Researchers at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, have uncovered the hidden code governing how genetic mutations affect RNA splicing and result in disease. The researchers were able to identify the specific mutations that cause changes in RNA splicing, Sureshkumar Balasubramanian, the lead researcher at Monash University’s School of Biological Sciences, told BioWorld.

With a modest $7 million up front but an ultimate payout potentially topping $1 billion on the line, Modex Therapeutics Inc. will collaborate with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. to find and develop multispecific antibodies for treating multiple indications.

Researchers at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, have uncovered the hidden code governing how genetic mutations affect RNA splicing and result in disease. The researchers were able to identify the specific mutations that cause changes in RNA splicing, Sureshkumar Balasubramanian, the lead researcher at Monash University’s School of Biological Sciences, told BioWorld.

Durable reprogramming of human T cells may now be possible thanks to a new technique based on the CRISPRoff and CRISPRon methodology. Researchers from the Arc Institute, Gladstone Institutes, and the University of California San Francisco have stably silenced or activated genes in this type of immune cell without cutting or altering its DNA, making T cells more resistant, active, and effective against tumors.

A technology that combines transcriptomic data and AI enables a novel approach to drug discovery based on the state of cells, how they behave and which genes they express. The Drugreflector model, developed by scientists at Cellarity Inc., learns from gene expression profiles and predicts which compounds could induce beneficial changes in that cellular state to develop a treatment.

Expedition Medicines, which Flagship Pioneering Inc. has incubated for the past three years, came out of stealth mode with a $50 million commitment from Flagship to support Expedition’s platform technology to discover small molecules that covalently bind to their target.

Ventus Therapeutics Inc. has entered into a multi-year collaboration with Genentech Inc., a member of the Roche Group, to discover and optimize novel small-molecule candidates for challenging targets in major disease areas using Ventus’ Resolve drug discovery platform.