Breast cancer is a heterogenous disease in terms of its prognosis and treatment response. Metabolic reprogramming is a potential therapeutic target because of its repercussion on oncogenesis.

The success of a vaccine, a gene editing design for an untreated disease, or achieving cell engraftment after several attempts, comes from years of accumulated basic science studies, thousands of experiments, and clinical trials. Innumerable steps precede hits in gene and cell therapies before a first-time revelation, and most of them are failures at the time. At the 27th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT) in Baltimore last week, several groups of scientists presented achievements that years ago looked impossible.

Immunotherapy-based cancer vaccines could permanently kill tumors by stimulating immune cells in multiple ways. At the 27th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT), researchers presented their advances in this field with different techniques in the scientific symposium “Novel nucleic acid and cell-based vaccines for cancer,” organized by the infectious diseases and vaccines committee.

Annually in the U.S., about 40,000 people with corneal endothelial cell dystrophy receive a corneal transplant. The ligand of melanocortin MC1 receptor (MC1R) has been shown to protect the corneal endothelial cells from stress and injury in several models.

Homerun success of Novo Nordisk A/S’ semaglutide, which recently became the U.S.’s biggest blockbuster drug, is serving as an “inflection point” for obesity therapeutics and fueling the drive for new and improved therapies, speakers said at Bio Korea 2024 on May 8.

As the average cost of new drug R&D continues to skyrocket, the perception around using artificial intelligence (AI) as a tool to boost drug discovery is changing. “Developing new AI-based drugs is a difficult task, not only for Korea but also for countries with leading AI technology,” Hyeyun Jung, principal researcher of Korea Health Industry Development Institute’s Center for Health Industry Policy, told the audience at the Bio Korea meeting on May 9. “But there is a change in perception; [namely that] applying AI to new drug development is not an option but a necessity.”

Data from the transcatheter valve and vessel trial showed that percutaneous interventions in patients with aortic stenosis and coronary disease resulted in significantly lower mortality rates than those receiving surgical treatment.

From glaucoma to Stargardt disease, age-related macular degeneration (AMD) to retinitis pigmentosa, or a corneal transplant to Bietti’s crystalline dystrophy, the 27th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT) is working to bring some light to patients with age and congenital diseases that affect vision. From May 7-11, 2024, thousands of scientists are gathering in Baltimore to show their advances against the challenges of delivering genes and cells to the correct place, avoiding immunogenicity and improving diseases.