Nanjing Tian Yin Jian Hua Pharma Tech Co. Ltd. has disclosed receptor-interacting serine/threonine-protein kinase 1 (RIPK1; RIP-1) inhibitors acting as necroptosis inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ulcerative colitis, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis and Alzheimer’s disease, among others.
Researchers from Mercer University have presented a middle cerebral artery/ferric chloride (MCA/FeCl3) thromboembolic mouse model of COVID-19-induced stroke and cerebrovascular complications.
Investigators at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disorders (NIDDK) have used a gene-constrained analysis to identify nine new Alzheimer’s disease (AD) risk genes that are possibly linked to the higher prevalence of AD in people with African ancestry. One of those genes, GNB5, regulates the stability of certain G protein-signaling proteins, which are activated by G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). The authors showed that mice with only one copy of Gnb5 developed more amyloid plaques and tau tangles than those with two copies.
When founders of Latigo Biotherapeutics Inc. first set out a few years ago to establish a biopharma firm focused in the area of pain, the plan had been to get a head start by in-licensing promising assets in the space. But that proved easier said than done. “With the exception of very early chemical matter” from the Lieber Institute for Brain Development, “we really couldn’t find anything else of quality to bring in, which I think is a testament to how little pain research and investment was ongoing in pharma and academia,” said Sean Harper, co-founding managing director at Westlake Village Biopartners, which founded Latigo in 2020 and led the firm’s $135 million series A round.
South Korean biopharmaceutical firm GNT Pharma Co. Ltd. on Feb. 13 reported positive findings from a domestic phase III trial of its neuroprotectant therapy, nelonemdaz (NEU-2000), for patients with acute ischemic stroke.
Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc has identified fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of anxiety, autism spectrum disorders, depression, schizophrenia, substance abuse and dependence, psychosis, parasomnia and trauma and stress related disorders.
Oligomeric amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide causes synaptic dysfunction, accumulates within synapses, and has been associated with synapse loss around plaques in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, there is a need to identify synaptic binding partners of Aβ that mediate synaptotoxicity in the brain. A team of investigators from the University of Edinburgh and affiliated organizations aimed to identify synaptic receptors that bind Aβ in human AD.