Creyon Bio Inc. has entered into a global licensing and multitarget research collaboration with Eli Lilly & Co. focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel RNA-targeted oligonucleotide therapies for a broad range of diseases.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is adopting a new initiative to expand innovative, human-based science while reducing animal use in research. Developing and using alternative nonanimal research models aligns with the FDA’s recent initiative to reduce testing in animals.
Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is a growing global health concern, with an estimated prevalence of around 25% worldwide. This chronic liver condition is characterized by lipid deposition in the liver, which can lead to inflammation, scarring and even liver cancer if left untreated.
Ensem Therapeutics Inc. has gained IND clearance from the FDA for ETX-636, a novel allosteric pan-mutant-selective PI3Kα inhibitor and degrader. A first-in-human trial will begin this quarter. The phase I/II study will evaluate ETX-636 administered alone and in combination with fulvestrant in participants with advanced solid tumors, including breast cancer, harboring a PI3Kα mutation.
Elix Inc. has entered into a drug discovery collaboration with Prism Biolab Co. Ltd. to accelerate AI-driven drug discovery for challenging protein-protein interaction targets. The partnership will combine Elix’s AI drug discovery platform with Prism’s proprietary small-molecule peptide mimetic Pepmetics technology for controlling protein-protein interactions.
In a roadmap to change animal testing requirements for INDs, the U.S. FDA said its new approach will improve drug safety, hasten the evaluation process, and lower costs for companies and patients. It’s another step in a process of changing rules put in place decades ago.
Writing in Molecular Therapy Nucleic Acids, researchers hypothesized that using poly(A) tail mimetics to enhance mRNA expression from haploinsufficiency-associated genes could be a disease-modifying treatment strategy.
Orexo AB has announced promising in vivo proof-of-concept data for a powder-based intranasal vaccine candidate based on Abera Bioscience AB’s BERA vaccine platform and formulated with Orexo’s Amorphox technology.
Sangamo Therapeutics Inc. has entered into a license agreement with Eli Lilly and Co., allowing Lilly to use Sangamo’s novel proprietary neurotropic AAV capsid, STAC-BBB, to deliver intravenously administered genomic medicines to treat certain diseases of the central nervous system.
Cannabinoid CB1 receptors have been a potential target for nonopioid-based pain treatment, but actually targeting the pathway has been hindered by issues with tolerance and unwanted CNS side effects. Peripherally selective CB1 agonists developed to overcome these problems have not fully resolved these issues, meaning the peripheral selectivity has to be substantially enhanced.