Investigators at the Helmholtz Institute have shown that inceptor, an inhibitor of the insulin signaling pathway, acted by binding insulin and targeting it for degradation. “Insulin was discovered 100 years ago, and the insulin receptor was discovered 50 years ago,” Heiko Lickert told BioWorld. “Now we have a new insulin receptor, which degrades insulin.” Lickert is the senior author of the paper reporting the new insights into how inceptor works, which were published online in Nature Metabolism.

Caliway Biopharmaceuticals’ lipolysis candidate, CBL-514, met all the primary and secondary efficacy endpoints in a phase IIb study for subcutaneous fat reduction, paving the way for the company to begin a global pivotal phase III study in 2025.

SK Bioscience Co. Ltd. gained approval from the Human Research Ethics Committee in Australia to start phase I/II trials of GBP-560, its mRNA-based vaccine candidate for mosquito-borne Japanese encephalitis virus, with funding from Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations.

By the end of November 2024, the BioWorld Neurological Diseases Index had dropped 13.4%, deepening its decline of 9.4% at the end of August. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 19.16% in the first 11 months of the year, building on a 10.81% gain reported at the end of October. The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index posted a year-to-date increase of 6.27% through November, retreating from its peak gain of 11.7% in August.

News that Trevi Therapeutics Inc. got the size just right of the phase IIb Coral trial with Haduvio (oral nalbuphine extended release) led the company’s shares (NASDAQ:TRVI) to close Dec. 12 at $3.60, up $1.11, or 45%, after trading as high as $4.60.

After Keros Therapeutics Inc.’s voluntary halt of dosing in two arms of its phase II study in pulmonary arterial hypertension, the company’s stock crumpled after a year of muscular performance and its recent and massive deal with Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.