A new degrader strategy has been previously proposed to mitigate platelet toxicity associated with Bcl-xL degraders. This strategy consists of selectively degrading Bcl-xL by the von Hippel-Lindau protein (VHL) E3 ligase in tumor cells, but not in platelets, which minimally express VHL. DT-2216 was developed as the first Bcl-xL degrader of this kind; however, this clinical candidate has still shown some platelet toxicity in vivo.
The inhibition of cyclin-dependent kinase 4 (CDK4) and CDK6 is a useful strategy to treat hormone receptor (HR)+/HER2+ breast cancer, but patients may develop resistance through different mechanisms. As reported at the recent San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, researchers from Biotheryx Inc. have synthesized a new CDK4/6 degrader – BTX-9341 – to address the problem of therapeutic resistance in breast cancer.
Researchers from Medical University of South Carolina aimed to evaluate the potential of secreted frizzled-related protein 2 (SFRP2) as a promising novel target for breast cancer using a newly developed humanized monoclonal antibody to SFRP2 (hSFRP2 MAb) in models of this disease.
Multiple studies at the 65th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting 2023 have the potential to change the treatment paradigm for first-line treatment of multiple myeloma.
It’s not every day you see a small drug company’s presentations get picked for both the plenary session and the late-breaker session at a conference, but Syndax Pharmaceuticals Inc. managed to do just that at the 65th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting 2023 – with a little help from a friend.
Spirits were high at the 2023 annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), buoyed by the U.S. FDA approval of the first two gene therapies for sickle cell disease (SCD) the day before the conference kicked off in San Diego. The addition of gene therapy to the therapeutic arsenal for SCD is “phenomenal,” Adetola Kassim, director of the Adult Sickle Cell Disease Program and professor of medicine at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, told BioWorld. Nevertheless, at a Saturday, Dec. 9, session titled, “Improving Outcomes for Individuals with Sickle Cell Disease: Are We Moving the Needle?,” which Kassim chaired, the answer remained “maybe.”
University of Oxford scientists have presented data from deep proteomics of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in search of proteins with diagnostic or prognostic value in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Analysis was performed using CSF samples from 40 ALS patients, 15 controls (healthy individuals) and 8 mimicking conditions.
Researchers from Autifony Therapeutics Ltd. presented preclinical data for the novel potent Kv3 channel positive modulator, AUT-00201, which is currently being evaluated in early clinical studies for the treatment of patients with progressive myoclonus epilepsy type 7 (EPM7).
Microtubule acetylation and impaired axonal transport have been proposed as mechanisms causing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Furthermore, histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6) is known to play a role in acetylation of α-tubulin, a subunit of microtubules. ACY-738 is an HDAC6 inhibitor that has been reported to slow neuron degeneration in Alzheimer’s disease and ALS models by increasing acetylation of α-tubulin.