At the ongoing European Association for the Study of the Liver meeting, researchers from Suzhou Ribo Life Science Co. Ltd. presented preclinical data on RBD-1016 in two models of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection.

Researchers from Inipharm Inc. presented preclinical data for INI-822, a small-molecule inhibitor of HSD17B13, being developed for the treatment of liver disease.

While the liver is mostly known as the core of metabolism, contributing to the storage of nutrients and excretion of toxic substances, there is an increasing interest in how it interacts with the central nervous system through the liver-brain axis. At the 2023 European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) meeting in Vienna, Austria, group leader Kristina Schoonjans and her colleague Hadrien Demagny from the Laboratory of Metabolic Signaling at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland, gave talks setting out the context of inter-organ communication in liver disease, adding new findings from their research in the liver-brain axis.

Just over a month after expressing “substantial doubt that the company can continue as a going concern,” Aeglea Biotherapeutics Inc. came back from the brink with a deal to take over Spyre Therapeutics Inc. in a stock-for-stock transaction, signed concurrently with an agreement to raise $210 million via the sale of series A preferred shares.

The early detection of chronic liver disease (CLD) could help in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases (CVD), according to a study published in the Journal of Hepatology. Using Perspectum Ltd.’s Livermultiscan, a noninvasive MRI scan, researchers analyzed liver data and found that liver disease activity measured by MRI corrected T1 (cT1) is associated with higher risk of major CVD events.

Mozart Therapeutics Inc. has reported preclinical pharmacologic and tolerability data for MTX-101, a bispecific CD8 regulatory T-cell (Treg) modulator targeting inhibitory KIR2DL(1/2/3) and CD8 expressed on CD8 Tregs. The autoimmune checkpoint inhibitor aims to restore CD8 Treg function, acting early in the autoimmune disease process to halt downstream inflammation and prevent further complication. The initial therapeutic focus for MTX-101 is gastrointestinal autoimmune disorders.

At the ongoing EASL meeting, researchers from Hepagene Therapeutics Inc. presented preclinical data for the novel thyroid hormone receptor β (THR-β) agonist HPG-7233, being developed for the treatment of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).

During the first talk of the Basic Science Seminar sessions at the 2023 EASL International Liver Congress, focusing on the gut-liver axis, Prof. Maria Rescigno from Humanitas University presented data on the interaction between the gut and the liver and the role of microbiota and intestinal permeability in health and disease.

Regulatory T-cell specialist Quell Therapeutics Ltd. has sealed a potential $2 billion agreement under which Astrazeneca plc is taking rights to two autologous Treg cell therapies for treating inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and type 1 diabetes. Quell will receive $85 million up front, the majority of which is in cash, with a modest (undisclosed) equity investment. Reaching the $2 billion headline figure will involve a series of development and commercial milestones and royalties on sales.