Newco Linkgevity Ltd. has won backing from the KQ Labs accelerator program at the Francis Crick Institute in London, enabling it to take forward the lead program, an anti-necrotic drug for treating acute kidney injury, and to further develop its AI-driven system for identifying aging-related therapeutic targets. Alongside access to the Crick’s expertise in translational research and in shaping academic science to make it investible, companies joining KQ Labs receive an equity investment. Read More

At the recent ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers symposium, Cyclacel Ltd. presented preclinical data for the Polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) inhibitor plogosertib from assessment in models of colorectal cancer. Read More

Helicore Biopharma Inc. has emerged from stealth with $65 million in series A financing and a focus on first-in-class glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide (GIP) antagonists for obesity and related conditions. The company’s portfolio includes GIP antibody conjugates designed to address specific obesity subpopulations. Read More

Lifearc has announced a collaboration with Neuropeutics Inc. to develop a new small molecule for the treatment of motor neuron disease (MND), or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Neuropeutics and Lifearc intend to develop a lead candidate therapeutic to prevent and reverse TDP-43 protein aggregation in MND/ALS. Read More

Sitala Bio Ltd. has prepared new indole derivatives acting as complement factor B (CFB) inhibitors. They are thus reported to be useful for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration, schizophrenia, atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome, membranous nephropathy, myasthenia gravis, paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, diabetic retinopathy and rheumatoid arthritis, among others. Read More

Pancreatic cancer is a challenge due to its poor prognosis and high mortality rate, highlighting the need for new therapeutic approaches. Previous findings have shown that AUS-001 inhibits β-tubulin polymerization through its unique binding to the tubulin’s colchicine site. Read More

Around one-third of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) harbor FLT3 gene mutations which are associated with poor prognosis and high risk of relapse. Several compounds targeting FLT3 internal tandem duplication (ITD) have been developed in the past decades, but none has overcome myelosuppressive toxicity caused by the simultaneous inhibition of FLT3 and c-Kit. Therefore, there is a need for new treatment options. Read More

Ebola virus and Marburg virus are single-stranded, enveloped and negative sense-RNA viruses belonging to the Filoviridae family, and they both cause deadly hemorrhagic fevers in humans and mammals. Read More

Innovo Therapeutics Inc. has patented new pyrazole derivatives acting as caspase-3 inhibitors and potentially useful for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension. Read More

Janssen Pharmaceutica NV has synthesized new 1,6-naphthridine compounds acting as probable global transcription activator SNF2L2 (SMARCA2; BAF190B; SNF2-α) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Read More

Over-colonization and subsequent inflammation triggered by Cutibacterium acnes is the primary factor in the pathogenesis of acne vulgaris, a prevalent skin condition among adolescents. Gyeongsang National University has discovered and characterized new antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) as candidates for the treatment of acne vulgaris. Read More

Work at Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry has led to the identification of new receptor-interacting serine/threonine-protein kinase 1 (RIPK1; RIP-1) inhibitors. They are described as potentially useful for the treatment of ischemia-reperfusion injury, Parkinson’s disease, autoimmune diseases, glaucoma, traumatic brain injury, inflammatory disorders, bacterial infections and lysosomal storage diseases, among others. Read More

Insilico Medicine Inc. has disclosed substituted thiazole compounds acting as cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitors potentially useful for the treatment of cancer. Read More

Nitric oxide exerts a fundamental protective role against cardiovascular disease onset by regulating blood pressure and vascular tone, inhibiting leukocyte adhesion and platelet aggregation, and preventing vascular endothelial cell proliferation. Read More

Due to the widespread presence of PDE7 in various tissues, the development of PDE7 inhibitors has been limited by potential adverse side effects. Read More