Innervation by the sympathetic nervous system is typically a boon to tumors. But researchers from Weill Cornell Medicine and colleagues have shown that in some cases, the relationship between tumors and the nervous system is more complex. Depending on context, innervation can either assist or obstruct tumor growth. “The nervous system typically has been considered as a driver of cancer growth, but here we’ve found that it can be a brake on cancer growth in some contexts,” said David Simon, an assistant professor of biochemistry and biophysics at Weill Cornell Medicine. Read More
Cervical cancer (CaCx) remains one of the most frequent female malignancies, causing over 300,000 deaths every year. Persistent infection with high-risk human papillomaviruses (HPV), particularly HPV16 and HPV18 strains, drives oncogenesis and tumor maintenance through continual expression of HPV oncogenes E6 and E7. A potential strategy to overcome limitations of current treatments is the development of targeted therapies that exploit alterations in gene expression in CaCx. Read More
Aventera Antibodies AB has successfully raised SEK14.5 million (US$15.6 million) in a funding round to support the preclinical development of the company’s lead drug candidate for life-threatening streptococcal infections. Read More
Evolveimmune Therapeutics Inc. has announced the nomination of a development candidate against a solid tumor target as part of its ongoing partnership with Abbvie Inc., triggering an $18 million milestone payment to Evolveimmune. Read More
T-cell engagers (TCEs) drive synthetic antitumor immunity by bypassing endogenous T-cell priming and directly inducing tumor cell killing. In prostate cancer, targeting prostate-restricted antigens such as STEAP2, combined with CD8-guided TCE formats that favor cytotoxic T-cell engagement, offers a strategy to reduce cytokine release while maintaining antitumor activity. Read More
Acurastem Inc. has been awarded $7.5 million in grant funding by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) to support the advancement of lead clinical candidate AS-241 toward first-in-human testing. Read More
Avelos Therapeutics Inc. has patented new seleno-fused hetero ring DNA polymerase θ (POLθ) inhibitors potentially useful for the treatment of cancer. Read More
Rett syndrome (RTT) is a rare neurodevelopmental condition affecting multiple organ systems and is most often driven by mutations in the X-linked MECP2 gene. Researchers at Shanghai Duomirui Biological Technology Co. Ltd. have developed a new class of trofinetide prodrugs aimed at addressing limitations related to drug administration and pharmacokinetic properties. Read More
Astrazeneca AB has reported new antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) comprising an antibody or antigen-binding fragment covalently linked to cytotoxic drug potentially useful for the treatment of cancer. Read More
Riltide Medicines Co. Ltd. has identified new cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (MB21D1; cGAS) inhibitors potentially useful for the treatment of autoimmune disease, rheumatic disease, cardiovascular, dermatological, renal, respiratory, neurological and inflammatory disorders, among others. Read More
Addex Therapeutics Ltd. has released preclinical data demonstrating antitussive activity of its γ-aminobutyric acid subtype B receptor (GABA-B) positive allosteric modulator (PAM) candidate in a bleomycin-induced idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF)-exacerbated chronic cough model.
Foshan Ionova Biotherapeutics Co. Ltd. has discovered new interleukin-17A (IL-17A) inhibitors potentially useful for the treatment of inflammatory disorders. Read More
Shanghai Yingli Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. has divulged new nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compounds acting as N-glycosylase/DNA lyase (OGG1) inhibitors potentially useful for the treatment of cancer, autoimmune disease and inflammatory disorders. Read More
The combination of impaired epithelial barrier function, mucosal inflammation and elevated oxidative stress is determinant for the pathogenesis of ulcerative colitis (UC). NF-E2-related factor 2 (NRF2) is an important transcription factor for modulating antioxidant defenses, inhibiting inflammatory pathways and regenerating the epithelial barrier. Montai Therapeutics Inc. has developed a potent and selective NRF2 agonist compound, MTAI-1025, for the management of UC using its proprietary CONECTA platform. Read More
