Scientists from different laboratories around the world have presented the latest advances in research into malignant brain tumors at the 31st Annual Congress of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ESGCT), which is being held Oct. 22 to 25 in Rome.

Currently, cancer therapy trial-and-error methodology is inefficient and unsustainable. Oncology is the worst therapeutic area for drug trial success; only 3.4% of drugs that enter phase I end up being FDA approved, and 57% fail due to poor drug efficacy in trials. Building tools that may aid in predicting an individual’s response to a specific therapy may help in reducing costs, guesswork, and importantly improve the outcome of patients and accelerate new drug development.

Cellbion Co. Ltd. debuted on the tech-heavy Kosdaq board of the Korea Exchange Oct. 16, with share prices closing upward at ₩20,650 (US$14.94) – outdoing its initial price of ₩15,000 per share for 1.9 million shares.

When Andrew Wilks invented the JAK inhibitor momelotinib in the late 1980s for myelofibrosis, he never would have imagined it would take more than 20 years to develop and eventually be acquired for $1.9 billion. Today he’s on a mission to ensure Australian inventors have more options than he did, telling BioWorld that he had to sell the molecule for around $10 million because he couldn’t get funding.

The Japanese government, industry and academia are deliberating health care policies and initiatives to boost Japan’s role in the future of regenerative medicine, experts at Bio Japan 2024 said, as the fruits of cell and gene therapy research come to fruition with new approvals.

After raising $42 million in a series C1 round, Lanova Medicines Ltd. is advancing its lead phase III antibody-drug conjugate LM-302 that targets Claudin 18.2, as well as LM-299, an anti-PD-1/VEGF bispecific antibody, and LM-108, an anti-CCR8 monoclonal antibody. “Proceeds from this financing will allow us to expedite the development of our late-stage clinical programs, LM-302 and LM-108, moving us closer to market approval. We will also accelerate the clinical development of LM-299, which is currently in phase I clinical trials with best-in-class potential,” Lanova founder and CEO Crystal Qin said.

Cureverse Inc. and Angelini Pharma SpA signed a potential $360 million deal for CV-01, an oral small-molecule candidate for Alzheimer’s disease and neurological disorders like epilepsy. As a novel candidate, CV-01 suppresses neuroinflammatory reactions through the Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor signaling pathway.