Nectin Therapeutics Ltd. has divulged antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) comprising a humanized monoclonal antibody targeting poliovirus receptors (PVR; CD155) linked to a cytotoxic drug through a linker. They are reported to be useful for the treatment of cancer.
CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Ltd. has received clearance from China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) to conduct clinical trials in China with SYH-2039, a highly selective methionine adenosyltransferase 2A (MAT2A) inhibitor, for advanced malignant tumors.
Brainspec Inc. received U.S. FDA 510(k) clearance for use of its artificial intelligence platform, Brainspec Core, in noninvasive measurement of brain chemistry using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS).
Gliomas are the most common brain tumors. Adult gliomas frequently present molecular alterations in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and its associated signaling pathways. In recent work, researchers from the Centre de Biophysique Moléculaire (France) and collaborators demonstrated the role of the serotonin 5-HT7 receptor (5-HT7R) in a larval Drosophila model of glioma, showing that it may act as a tumor suppressor.
Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has synthesized mast/stem cell growth factor receptor Kit (KIT; c-KIT; CD117) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of cancer, autoimmune diseases, inflammatory and neurological disorders.
Glioblastoma is a particularly aggressive form of brain cancer characterized by rapid infiltration into surrounding brain tissue, especially in areas of increased neuronal activity. Neurons and nerve fibers have recently been identified as vital components of the tumor microenvironment that favor the initiation and progression of a variety of solid tumors, including gliomas. Researchers have gained new insights into the molecular mechanisms driving glioblastoma infiltration and identified subtypes of neurons that serve as the substrate for driving tumor progression.
Celros Biotech Co. Ltd. has synthesized cytochrome b-245 heavy chain (CYBB; NOX2) and NADPH oxidase 4 (NOX4) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of atherosclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, cirrhosis, diabetes, cancer, glomerulonephritis, psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis, among others.
The isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) enzyme family catalyzes the oxidative decarboxylation of isocitrate to produce α-ketoglutarate (α-KG). IDH1 and IDH2 mutants use the latter to generate the oncogenic metabolite R-2-hydroxyglutarate (2-HG). IDH mutations are highly prevalent in gliomas.
Researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory have successfully reversed epigenetic changes and slowed tumor growth in mouse models of diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) using antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) technology. DIPG is a rare pediatric brain cancer where the tumor’s location in the pons of the brainstem makes surgery impossible, and fractioned radiotherapy and chemotherapy efforts have failed to improve survival so far.
Les Laboratoires Servier SAS is touting its phase III win with vorasidenib as the first major advance in decades for low-grade glioma, with the trial called Indigo scoring statistical significance on two measures against residual or recurrent isocitrate dehydrogenase-mutant disease. The Suresnes, France-based firm said Indigo met the primary endpoint of progression-free survival (PFS) and the key secondary endpoint of time to next intervention (TTNI). The results of the prespecified interim analysis proved not only statistically significant but also clinically meaningful in PFS and TTNI.