The U.K.’s main research funding agency is looking to put more public money into proof of concept and pre-seed funding of putative university spinouts, to make them more investible and improve relations between academics and investors. The move by UK Research and Innovation, which in 2026 will allocate £9.22 billion (US$12.58 billion) of taxpayer money across all fields of research, is in response to a government edict that the agency prioritizes outputs over inputs. Read More
Looking to fill a treatment gap, the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) is launching the first stage of a $100 million prize competition to support development of broad-spectrum, small-molecule antiviral therapies targeting viruses in the Togaviridae and Flaviviridae families. Read More
Biodexa Pharmaceuticals plc has closed an exclusive license agreement with Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. for OPB-171775 (now MTX-240), a phase I-ready molecular glue intended to be developed for the treatment of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) and potentially additional indications. Read More
Third Arc Bio Inc. has closed a $52 million series A extension to advance its pipeline of multifunctional antibodies for a range of oncology and immunology & inflammation (I&I) indications. Read More
DNA polymerase θ (POLθ) is a specialized, error-prone DNA polymerase that promotes the repair of DNA double-strand breaks through theta-mediated end joining (TMEJ), an alternative pathway that operates independently of homologous recombination. Read More
Affinia Therapeutics Inc. has obtained IND clearance from the FDA for AFTX-201, an investigational genetic medicine for the treatment of BAG3-associated dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). The phase I/II UPBEAT trial will begin in the first half of this year. Read More
Effective targeted therapies against aggressive breast cancer subtypes, such as triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), are still lacking. Developing therapeutics targeting nonenzymatic, intracellular proteins with causal roles in TNBC progression remains a significant challenge. Read More
Solute carrier family 2, member 5 (GLUT5) is known to be upregulated in metabolic disorders and cancer, but its potential role in ischemic stroke is not well defined. Japanese researchers have now explored the association of GLUT5 expression with oxidative stress in ischemic stroke. Read More
The United Bio-Technology (Hengqin) Co. Ltd. has reported compounds acting as glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonists. They are reported to be useful for the treatment of diabetes type 1, gout, psoriasis, stroke, inflammatory bowel disease, hyperlipidemia, and Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, among others. Read More
A recent publication in Cell Reports Medicine from researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine and the La Jolla Institute for Immunology presents a promising new strategy for H5N1 vaccination. Read More
Chengdu Brilliant Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. and Chengdu Xinke Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. have disclosed drug conjugates comprising a bone-targeting moiety covalently bound to a radiolabeled-chelating agent through a linker acting as positron emission tomography (PET)/single-photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT) imaging agents. They are reported to be useful for diagnosis and treatment of bone disorders. Read More
Yichang Humanwell Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. has identified compounds acting as potassium voltage-gated channel subfamily KQT member 2/3 (KCNQ2/3) activators. They are reported to be useful for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, depression, epilepsy, stroke, multiple sclerosis, pain, and Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, among others. Read More
Researchers from the University of Oxford and the Health Research Institute La Fe (Spain) investigated the potential of multigene RNA-based therapeutics in Alzheimer’s disease, aiming to overcome potential compensatory mechanisms and patient heterogeneity. Read More
