Arialys Therapeutics Inc. launched this month with $58 million in seed funding, an experimental compound it is developing for autoimmune encephalitis and autoimmune psychosis, and high aspirations for its field. “Yes, I want to treat these patients, I want these patients to have a better life. But I also want drug discovery and development folks to think differently about discovering new drugs for the CNS,” Jay Lichter told BioWorld. Read More
Sarcoidosis is a multisystem disorder characterized by the formation of granulomatous inflammatory nodules mainly located in the lungs, lymphatic system, skin and eyes. In patients with pulmonary involvement, targeting IFN-γ has proven ineffective. Researchers from Baylor College of Medicine and collaborators reported on the use of nonreceptor tyrosine phosphatase Src homolog-2 domain-containing phosphatase 2 (SHP2) inhibition as a potential strategy to treat sarcoidosis-like diseases. Read More
Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) causes difficult-to-treat infections due to its inherent resistance. Thus finding new strategies to overcome MRSA resistance is critical. Researchers from China Agricultural University reported on the discovery and optimization of a novel series of pleuromutilin derivatives containing benzoxazole-2-thiol. Read More
An2 Therapeutics Inc. has received a research grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to discover novel, boron-containing small molecules for the treatment of tuberculosis (TB) and malaria. Read More
Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase α (PI3Kα) inhibitors have been reported in a Synnovation Therapeutics Inc. patent as useful for the treatment of cancer, PIK3CA-related overgrowth spectrum, congenital lipomatous overgrowth, vascular malformations, epidermal naevi and skeletal abnormalities. Read More
Researchers from Fudan University and affiliated organizations presented the discovery of novel PIM kinase inhibitors for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). A literature-aided molecular hybridization strategy was applied to synthesize a structurally novel compound, based on an N-pyridinyl amide scaffold. Subsequent optimization showed that the positional isomerization of pyridine N toward to Lys67 resulted in a decrease of potency while increased freedom of solvent fragment toward Asp128/Glu171 led to an increase in activity. Read More
Research at RIKEN has led to the identification of furanocoumarin derivatives acting as dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of cancer and viral infections. Read More
Evotec SE and Novo Nordisk A/S have announced the launch of Lab En2, a translational drug discovery accelerator that aims to advance early research from academic institutions into novel therapeutics. Read More
Previous research has shown high expression of angiotensin-converting enzyme 1 (ACE1) in the triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell line MDA-MB-231, suggesting the potential of ACE1 as a novel target for this disease. In the current study, researchers from Peking University Cancer Hospital presented the discovery of [68Ga]DOTA-BPP, a novel peptide nuclide molecular imaging probe targeting ACE1 for the imaging of TNBC. Read More
The Global Health Innovative Technology (GHIT) Fund has announced new investments in the development of a new prophylactic vaccine against malaria, a new anti-malarial drug, and product development projects against neglected tropical diseases. Read More
Leo Pharma A/S researchers have synthesized new interleukin-17 (IL-17) modulators reported to be useful for the treatment of psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, spondyloarthritis, radiographic ankylosing spondylitis (ankylosing spondylitis) and autoimmune diseases. Read More
China Welfare Institute International Peace Maternity and Child Health Hospital and East China University of Science & Technology have jointly developed aza-phenothiazine derivatives reported to be useful for the treatment of endometrial cancer. Read More
Ono Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. has entered into a drug discovery collaboration agreement with Adimab LLC to discover and develop innovative antibody drugs in the oncology field. Read More
Voltron Therapeutics Inc. has presented new evidence on the use of its Vaxcelerate vaccine platform for pandemic preparedness and immuno-oncology. Read More
