Building D&D Pharmatech Inc. has been a rollercoaster ride, according to CEO Seulki Lee. The U.S. and Korea-based biotech is on another ascent, having scored U.S. FDA fast track designation for its metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) drug, ahead of its third attempt at a public listing.

Atrogi AB is raising a €30 million to €35 million (US$32.9 million to $38.4 million) series B round after announcing positive clinical data for ATR-258, a novel beta-2 adrenergic receptor agonist that is being lined up as a potential first-in-class insulin-independent treatment for type 2 diabetes.

China’s Pegbio Co. Ltd. is planning a Hong Kong IPO to advance PB-119, its main glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist for diabetes nearing domestic approval, as it hopes to transition to an operating profit.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit made it clear that it’s the court’s purview, not a jury’s, to determine whether an expert’s testimony is “relevant and reliable” when it comes to issues such as causation. It gave that lesson Feb. 13 when it affirmed a lower court’s dismissal of multi-district litigation in which the plaintiffs claimed that Onglyza (saxagliptin) and Kombiglyze (saxagliptin/metformin hydrochloride), developed by Astrazeneca plc and Bristol Myers Squibb Co., caused their heart failure.

Amgen Inc. reported its latest financial numbers but much of the conversation on the Feb. 6 conference call was about obesity. The same was true with Eli Lilly and Co. as weight loss drove the narrative.

Sciwind Biosciences Co. Ltd.’s oral ecnoglutide (XW-004) produced strong weight loss results after short-term treatments, up to a 6.8% body weight decrease in obese and overweight participants after once-daily dosing for six weeks, according to data from the first four cohorts of the phase I trial.

Sciwind Biosciences Co. Ltd.’s injectable glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analog, ecnoglutide (XW-003), achieved positive top-line results in a phase III trial in Chinese adults with type 2 diabetes. A long-acting, cAMP signaling biased GLP-1 analog, ecnoglutide is being developed for treating type 2 diabetes and obesity. GLP-1 receptor agonists are increasingly gaining attention in the obesity therapy area.

Biomea Fusion Inc.’s diabetes treatment produced enhanced glycemic control at week 26 courtesy of its 200-mg cohort. It’s the latest advance for the company’s candidate that also has strong prospects in treating leukemia. Top-line data from the ongoing phase II Covalent-111 study of BMF-219, a covalent menin inhibitor for regenerating insulin-producing beta cells, demonstrated that about 40% of participants, four of 11 patients, in the 200-mg cohorts showed a durable reduction, 1% or more, in the amount of blood sugar attached to the type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients’ hemoglobin. The data came from participants who had received the last dose in a four-week treatment.