If Benjamin Braddock, of The Graduate fame, were a young neuroscientist in the 21st century instead of a liberal arts graduate in 1967, the advice he received from his parents’ neighbor might not have been “One word: plastics!” but “One word: plasticity!” Plasticity is a hot concept in neuropsychiatric disorders. New and old treatment modalities, these days, are said to work as psychoplastogens or neuroplastogens. Read More

Although CAR T-cell therapy has been highly effective in hematological cancers, its activity in solid tumors is still constrained by inhibitory checkpoints such as PD-1, LAG-3 and TIM-3, together with the lack of locally available cytokines such as IL-2 needed to sustain T-cell function. Anwita Biosciences Inc. and collaborators aimed to overcome these challenges by developing a strategy integrating an immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) with a T-cell stimulatory cytokine. Read More

Insilico Medicine Cayman Topco has nominated ISM-0387, an MTA-cooperative protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5) inhibitor, as a preclinical developmental candidate for glioblastoma. The discovery and optimization process for ISM-0387 was powered by Chemistry42, Insilico’s generative chemistry platform integrated with over 40 generative AI models. Read More

In previous work, researchers from Kawasaki Medical School and collaborating institutions engineered a modified HEXB construct, modHexB, to improve GM2 ganglioside (GM2) recognition and GM2-activating protein (GM2A) interaction. The team has now combined these previous advancements to develop a new gene therapy strategy for Sandhoff disease. Read More

Work at Crinetics Pharmaceuticals Inc. has led to the identification of new thyroid-stimulating hormone (thyrotropin) receptor (TSHR) antagonists designed for use in the treatment of hyperthyroidism. Read More

The undrugged transcription factor interferon regulatory factor 5 (IRF5) is involved in autoimmune disorders such as Sjogren’s disease and rheumatoid arthritis in which dysregulation of IRF5 leads to autoantibody formation and secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines, with type I interferon exacerbating inflammation. Totus Medicines Inc. has presented preclinical data regarding a novel IRF5 inhibitor for controlling autoimmune disorders. Read More

Codeable Therapeutics Inc. has developed new antibody-drug conjugates comprising an antibody covalently linked to a cytotoxic drug for potential use in the treatment of cancer. Read More

A recent Ensem Therapeutics Inc. patent details the discovery of tricyclic derivatives acting as GTPase KRAS (mutant) inhibitors for use in the treatment of cancer. Read More

CDKs are central regulators of cell-cycle progression in cancer, with resistance to CDK4/6 inhibitors frequently converging on CDK2 activation through cyclin E upregulation or CCNE1 amplification, supporting CDK2 inhibition as a strategy to restore cell-cycle control. Researchers from Novartis AG have revealed the preclinical profile of ECI-830, an oral bioavailable, highly selective ATP-competitive CDK2 inhibitor. Read More

Pfizer Inc. has patented new gastric inhibitory polypeptide receptor (GIPR) antagonists reported to be potentially useful for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and obesity. Read More

F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. and Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. have prepared and tested new compounds acting as triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (TREM2) agonists. As such, they are believed to be potentially useful for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, frontotemporal dementia, multiple sclerosis, prion disease, stroke, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease. Read More

Multidrug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae is a major health problem globally, with relevant infection-related mortality reported. Researchers from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III in Spain and their collaborators recently presented data regarding an outer membrane vesicle (OMV) vaccine for the management of K. pneumoniae infection, Kp-OMV4. Read More