To understand the focus of startup Insamo Inc., one need look no further than its name, which co-founder and CEO Timothy Craven described as “portmanteau of ‘internally satisfied molecules,’” highlighting its efforts to create orally administered and membrane-permeable cyclic peptides across a range of disease areas.

With the number of people with dementia in Australia expected to nearly double by 2054, the federal government is funding a new AU$50 million (US$32.76 million) biomedical and med-tech incubator program to develop new therapies, medical devices and digital health technologies to address dementia and cognitive decline.

Taipei-based precision oncology firm Anbogen Therapeutics Inc. drew $12.5 million in a series A funding round to propel two major clinical assets in its cancer pipeline.

Be it viral, nucleic acid or protein vaccines, recent efforts that led to the first regulatory approvals for not only COVID-19, but also for malaria and respiratory syncytial virus, positioned infectious diseases in the headlines for much of the last four years.