Researchers from Alumis Inc. have presented preclinical data for a novel, potential first-in-class tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2) inhibitor – A-005.

Semaphorin 3A signaling, through the plexin A1/neuropilin 1 (PLXA1/NRP1) receptor complex, is known to disrupt the differentiation and migration of oligodendrocyte precursor cells and mature remyelinating oligodendrocytes. Both semaphorin 3A and plexin A1 are up-regulated in the central nervous system of patients with multiple sclerosis.

Coave Therapeutics SA’s CTx-TFEB program has received support through a grant from the ALS Association.

San Diego-based Kenai Therapeutics Inc. raised $82 million in a series A round to move its disease-modifying cell therapy for Parkinson’s disease into the clinic. The company, which leverages induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology, will advance its next-generation allogeneic neuron replacement cell therapies for neurological diseases, specifically completing a clinical proof-of-concept trial for its lead candidate, RNDP-001. The series A was co-led by Alaska Permanent Fund Corp., Cure Ventures and The Column Group, with participation from Euclidean Capital and Saisei Ventures. Proceeds will enable Kenai to submit an IND for RNDP-001 and bring it through the completion of phase I trials, which are expected to begin sometime in 2024.

Separate teams of investigators have reported new insights into how the brain disposes of metabolic waste via the glia-based lymphatic system, or glymph system. In two papers published in Nature on Feb. 28, 2024, scientists from Washington University in St. Louis described how in sleeping animals, the synchronized activity of neurons drove ionic gradients that facilitated the movement of fluid through brain tissue. And researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology showed that, in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the glymphatic system mediated clearance of amyloid-β after sensory stimulation at a 40-Hertz rhythm.

Cancer patients receiving CAR T-cell therapy may develop and adverse event known as immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS).