Pfizer Inc. has presented preclinical data on its first-in-class, selective cyclin-dependent kinase 4 (CDK4) inhibitor compound, PF-07220060, that has shown 20-fold and 4-fold increased selectivity for CDK4 vs. CDK6 compared to palbociclib and abemaciclib/ribociclib, respectively.
It has been previously demonstrated that B7-H3 and EGFR are co-expressed in multiple solid tumors. At the ongoing AACR meeting in San Diego, researchers from Innovent Biologics Inc. presented preclinical data for their bispecific antibody (bsAb), IBI-334, against B7-H3 and EGFR.
Kinase inhibitors have emerged as crucial cancer therapeutics due to the involvement of kinases in cancer signaling. At the AACR, Neosome Life Sciences LLC has provided data on their kinase inhibitor NEOS-223 for the potential treatment of tumors. The compound was tested in several cancer cell types, as well as in in vivo cancer models in mice.
As with most common diseases of the developed world, aging is the major risk factor for developing cancer. Most of the half-dozen hallmarks of precancer that were published last week by investigators from Vanderbilt University and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center are also hallmarks of aging.
Unfortunately, scientists reported at the American Association for Cancer Research’s (AACR) 2024 annual meeting this week that accelerated aging is increasing, and may be driving an increase in early-onset cancers.
“A biotech company cannot survive on ‘drug efficacy’ alone,” former Korea Drug Development Fund (KDDF) CEO Hyunsong Muk said recently, “because novel drug development is not just a scientific problem.” Financial toxicity is, in fact, a major obstacle for biotech companies trying to advance preclinical candidates to early stage clinical trials, Muk said at Novo Nordisk A/S’ Partnering Day and Symposium on April 4 in Seoul, South Korea.
Gram-negative bacteria require the metalloenzyme LpxC for their outer membrane biogenesis. Blacksmith Medicines Inc. has identified an LpxC inhibitor, FG-960, which has shown a robust in vitro and in vivo profile against multidrug-resistant Enterobacterales. FG-60 is currently being investigated for the treatment of urinary tract infections (UTIs).
Chiesi Farmaceutici SpA presented data for novel lung-targeted muscarinic M3 receptor antagonists/β2-adrenoceptor agonists (MABAs) as candidates for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Discovery of novel Nav1.8 inhibitors capable of achieving high levels of target modulation at low oral doses for the potential treatment of pain was reported by Merck & Co. Inc.
Hypoxia-inducible factor 2α (HIF-2α) is a transcription factor that plays a key role in oxygen homeostasis and response to tumor hypoxic microenvironment of cancer cells. Previous research has suggested that inhibition of HIF-2α is a promising antitumor approach, particularly against tumors associated with mutant von Hippel-Lindau (pVHL).
FmlH is a bacterial adhesin of uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) that has been shown to be up-regulated during chronic UPEC infection. Washington University scientists recently disclosed the discovery and preclinical evaluation of novel FmlH lectin antagonists as potential candidates for the treatment of chronic urinary tract infections (UTIs) and kidney infections.