Thirtyfivebio Ltd. has announced the award of a £643,371 (US$817,000) grant by Innovate UK to support work on first-in-class small-molecule inhibitors of G protein-coupled receptor 35 (GPR35).
Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) has a prevalence of about 25% in the adult population, with steatosis present in >5% of hepatocytes, hepatocyte ballooning and fibrosis as the main hallmarks. Scientists have tested effects of the galectin-3 inhibitor modified citrus pectin (MCP) in ApoE knockout mice fed a western diet.
Two drugs were pushed back by the EMA last week, with a recommendation that Ocaliva, currently the only second line standard of care for treating primary biliary cholangitis, be withdrawn from the market, and a refusal to grant conditional approval for masitinib in the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Merit Medical Systems Inc. acquired the Esophyx Z+ device from Endogastric Solutions Inc. for $105 million in cash, adding a durable, non-pharmacological treatment for gastroesophageal reflux disease to its line-up of gastrointestinal products.
Snipr Biome ApS has received funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop a microbiome-directed intervention designed to improve environmental enteric dysfunction by reducing gut entero-pathogen burden in pregnant women from low- and middle-income countries.
Shigella flexneri is the leading cause of endemic diarrhea and dysentery in some countries with low-to-middle incomes. There is still a lack of a licensed vaccine against this pathogen.
Positive top-line results from Calcimedica Inc.’s placebo-controlled phase IIb of Auxora in acute pancreatitis couldn’t support the stock for the day. The selective small-molecule inhibitor of Orai1-containing calcium release-activated calcium (CRAC) channels hit the randomized, double-blind, dose-ranging Carpo study’s primary endpoint, the median time it took to tolerate solid food, as patients who received Auxora had a statistically significant dose response compared to those who received placebo.
Monte Rosa Therapeutics Inc. has submitted an IND application to the FDA for MRT-6160, a highly selective and orally bioavailable molecular glue degrader directed against VAV1 in development for systemic and neurological autoimmune diseases.
Resolution Therapeutics Ltd. has received approval from the U.K. Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to initiate a phase I/II study of its lead candidate RTX-001 in patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis.
Innovent Biologics Inc.’s glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor and glucagon receptor dual agonist, mazdutide, saw 80% reduction in liver fat content in patients with more than 10% liver fat content in the phase III Glory-1 obesity trial.