San Diego-based Kenai Therapeutics Inc. raised $82 million in a series A round to move its disease-modifying cell therapy for Parkinson’s disease into the clinic. The company, which leverages induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology, will advance its next-generation allogeneic neuron replacement cell therapies for neurological diseases, specifically completing a clinical proof-of-concept trial for its lead candidate, RNDP-001. The series A was co-led by Alaska Permanent Fund Corp., Cure Ventures and The Column Group, with participation from Euclidean Capital and Saisei Ventures. Proceeds will enable Kenai to submit an IND for RNDP-001 and bring it through the completion of phase I trials, which are expected to begin sometime in 2024. Read More
Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) has limited treatment options and remains a medical challenge. HFpEF is characterized by diastolic dysfunction with a normal ejection fraction. Previous findings have shown that inhibiting histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6) alters the mechanisms contributing to dilated cardiomyopathy. Read More
Semaphorin 3A signaling, through the plexin A1/neuropilin 1 (PLXA1/NRP1) receptor complex, is known to disrupt the differentiation and migration of oligodendrocyte precursor cells and mature remyelinating oligodendrocytes. Both semaphorin 3A and plexin A1 are up-regulated in the central nervous system of patients with multiple sclerosis. Read More
C4 Therapeutics Inc. has entered into a license and collaboration agreement with Merck KGaA to discover two targeted protein degraders against critical oncogenic proteins. Read More
Discover a wealth of industry insights with BioWorld’s extensive collection of infographics, covering the latest trends and developments in both biopharma and med-tech. Our weekly infographics are curated to provide concise summaries of key topics: financings (IPOs, private financings, public/other and follow-on offerings), deals and M&As (top deals, and monthly value and volume), regulatory (including U.S. FDA and worldwide approvals), clinical trials and more. In addition, you’ll find access to BioWorld’s year-in-review reports, as well as special infographics about obesity, pain and addiction, biosimilars and the aging space. Read More
Scientists from First Affiliated Hospital Bengbu Medical College and affiliated organizations have studied the role of the RNA-binding ubiquitin ligase MEX3C in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). Read More
Mast/stem cell growth factor receptor KIT is a receptor tyrosine kinase that plays a key role in mast cell differentiation, proliferation, survival and activation. Read More
Astellas Pharma Inc. has patented new proteolysis targeting chimeras (PROTACs) comprising a cereblon E3 ubiquitin ligase-binding moiety coupled to GTPase KRAS (G12V mutant)-targeting agent through a linker. Read More
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) has received a multiyear $6 million award from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) to develop innovative stem cell approaches to treat children and adolescents with recurrent solid tumors. The CIRM funding will support further CHLA research into harnessing chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy. Read More
F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. and Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. have identified new monoglyceride lipase (MGLL; MAGL) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of pain, cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, endometriosis, asthma, mental diseases and neurological and renal disorders. Read More
Researchers from Nanjing University and affiliated organizations have published the outcomes of a study that aimed to investigate the role of cadherin 4 (CDH4) in the metastatic cascade of papillary thyroid cancer (PTC). Read More
Nextgen Bioscience Co. Ltd. describes new compounds acting as hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) or vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) inhibitors and reported to be useful for the treatment of stroke, cancer, obesity, asthma, glaucoma, inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis and Alzheimer’s disease, among others. Read More
Cukurova University and the University of Alicante have synthesized new 2-(pyrrolidin-1-yl)thiazole compounds reported to be useful for the treatment of bacterial infections and tuberculosis. Read More
Researchers from Nankai University have discovered a novel nitroaromatic nannocystin with promising activity against colorectal cancer (CRC). Read More
