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.

Stem cells are a promising therapeutic modality to fight aging and age-related disease, speakers at the Bio-Plus Interphex Korea 2025 said. Progress in cell-based longevity medicine is being made, they added, although safety, ethical and regulatory issues are ongoing challenges.

Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are a mature technology. The first ADC, Mylotarg, was initially approved in 2000, and there are now 14 approved agents in both leukemias and solid tumors. According to Clarivate’s Cortellis Drug Discovery & Intelligence, those drugs collectively accounted for $13.55 billion in sales in 2024 – a figure that Cortellis projects will rise to $16 billion in 2025.

The 2025 Annual Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) featured a track on tumor-agnostic therapies – the first time such a track has been included at ESMO, or at any major medical oncology meeting. “It’s a milestone,” Vivek Subbiah told the audience at a session on how to accelerate tumor-agnostic drug development.

At the 2025 European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) Congress in Amsterdam this week, researchers presented new findings on the role of endocannabinoids in stress, addiction … and the integrity of the blood-brain-barrier.

While recent advances in gene therapy have offered unprecedented options for patients with hemophilia, new data presented at the 32nd Annual Congress of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ESGCT), held in Seville Oct. 7-10, revealed persistent concerns regarding the durability of these treatments and their potential liver toxicity.

The transition from complex and costly ex vivo strategies to platforms that enable direct cellular intervention within the body, known as in vivo therapies, is marking a paradigm change in the field of gene and cell therapies by simplifying manufacturing, improving tissue targeting and expanding clinical access to treatments.

Bio Japan 2025 was abuzz with the news that Japan has once again snagged the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, with Shimon Sakaguchi winning for his discovery of a subtype of CD4-expressing T cells that affect the immune response. Earlier today, Susumu Kitagawa snatched the second Nobel Prize for Japan, this time in chemistry. Both Nobel Prize winners were professors at Kyoto University.

As the many challenges facing cell therapies are being addressed, the CAR T field continues to evolve beyond its original design of T cells engineered to target hematological malignancies. During the 32nd Annual Congress of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ESGCT), held in Seville Oct. 7-10, several studies showed how this technology is being redefined as programmable and adaptable immune cells with expanded functional versatility.

The 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry “is a story full of holes, but with enormous capacity to absorb all your attention,” Heiner Linke told reporters. “And other things.” Linke is Chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry. On Oct. 8, 2025, the committee announced that it has awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar Yaghi “for the development of metal-organic frameworks” (MOFs).