Adicet Bio Inc. has obtained FDA clearance of its IND application to evaluate ADI-270, an armored allogeneic λδ CAR T-cell therapy candidate targeting CD70-positive cancers, for the treatment of relapsed or refractory renal cell carcinoma (RCC).
4D Molecular Therapeutics Inc. has obtained IND clearance by the FDA for 4D-175, an R100 vector-based intravitreal genetic medicine, for the treatment of patients with geographic atrophy.
Immutep Ltd. has signed a license agreement with Cardiff University granting the company exclusive rights to develop and commercialize anti-LAG-3 small molecules.
Astrazeneca plc has added a novel target for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) to its discovery portfolio through its collaboration with Benevolentai Ltd. The novel target was discovered using Benevolentai’s artificial intelligence (AI) drug discovery platform and experimentally validated by Astrazeneca.
EG 427 SAS has received IND clearance from the FDA for EG-110A, a gene therapy for the treatment of neurogenic detrusor overactivity in patients with spinal cord injury. A phase Ib/IIa study is being initiated.
A recent paper has identified the enhancer ETS2, located in a so-called gene desert, as a contributor to five separate immune disorders. It also showed that one of ETS2’s target genes mediating this inflammation was the eminently druggable MEK, a kinase that is the target of the FDA-approved inhibitors Mekinist (trametinib, GSK plc), Mektovi (binimetinib, Array Biopharma Inc.), Cotellic (cobimetinib, Roche Holding AG) and Koselugo (selumetinib, Astrazeneca plc/Merck & Co. Inc.).