A team of scientists at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School has discovered the putative cancer target UDP-glucuronate decarboxylase 1 (UXS1) in cancer cells expressing high levels of UDP-glucose 6-dehydrogenase (UGDH). UXS1 is a Golgi enzyme that appears downstream of UGDH and converts UDP-glucuronate (UDPGA) to UDP-xylose. The study also showed that UXS1 not only cleared away UDPGA but also limited its production through negative feedback on UGDH. They published their results on Oct. 25, 2023, in the online edition of Nature. Read More
Traditionally developed antibiotics generally act inhibiting essential bacterial enzymes. However, new strategies are urgently needed to discover novel antibiotics against bacterial infections, such as Lyme disease caused by Borrelia burgdorferi. The chaperone high-temperature protein G (HtpG) is a nonessential bacterial protein containing a desirable druggable domain. Read More
Sosei Group Corp. and Kallyope Inc. have announced the successful identification, validation and nomination of a first G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) target to enter a therapeutic discovery program for gastrointestinal (GI) diseases. The nominated target will advance into a structure-based drug discovery program. Read More
Pasithea Therapeutics Corp. has selected a lead therapeutic candidate for its PAS-003 program, a proprietary humanized monoclonal antibody that targets α5β1 integrin, a protein overexpressed in both humans and mice with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Read More
Sodium channel protein type 10 subunit α (SCN10A; Nav1.8) blockers have been reported in a Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. patent as potentially useful for the treatment of pain, arrhythmia, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, cough, urinary incontinence and multiple sclerosis. Read More
Researchers from Biocytogen Pharmaceuticals (Beijing) Co. Ltd. and Doma Biopharmaceutical (Suzhou) Co. Ltd. reported the discovery and preclinical data of DM-005, a novel fully human EGFR × MET bispecific antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) being developed for the treatment of cancer. Read More
Sichuan Haisco Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. has developed pyrazinone derivatives acting as protein mono-ADP-ribosyltransferase TIPARP (PARP-7; ARTD14) inhibitors. They are reported to be useful for the treatment of cancer. Read More
Sirius Therapeutics Inc. has submitted an application in Australia to begin a first-in-human trial of SRSD-107 for the prevention and treatment of thromboembolic disorders. Read More
Researchers from the University of Michigan and affiliated organizations presented data from a study that identified a link between a new neurodevelopmental disorder and biallelic variants in the EPB41L3 gene, which encodes band 4.1-like protein 3 that plays important roles in neuronal development, myelination and cytoskeletal organization. Read More
Mindset Pharma Inc. has patented new indoline derivatives acting as 5-HT1A receptor agonists and thus reported to be useful for the treatment of neurological and psychiatric disorders. Read More
MYC amplification and p53 mutations are common in several human cancers. DNA topoisomerase II-β-binding protein (TopBP1) functions at the intersection of Rb, PI3K/Akt and p53 pathways and thus could be a promising cancer therapeutic target. Read More
Work at Beijing Tide Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. has led to the development of proteolysis targeting chimera (PROTAC) compounds comprising an E3 ubiquitin ligase binding moiety coupled to an EGFR (HER1; erbB1)-targeting moiety through a linker. Read More
Protein tyrosine kinase 7 (PTK7) is a pseudo tyrosine kinase overexpressed in many cancer types such as ovarian, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), non-small-cell lung cancer, small-cell lung cancer and bladder cancer, but limited expression in normal tissues. Read More
Previous research found that transplanting human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neural stem/progenitor cells (hiPSC-NS/PCs) promoted motor functional recovery in animal models of spinal cord injury (SCI). hiPSC-NS/PC transplantation has been recently evaluated for subacute SCI in a first clinical trial. However, animal studies revealed that the effectiveness of NS/PC transplantation varies depending on the state of the injured spinal microenvironment, with reduced therapeutic effects in severe models. Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a potent growth factor that promotes tissue regeneration through the MET receptor and constitutes an interesting candidate to enhance the efficacy of NS/PC transplantation. Read More
A Shanghai Qilu Pharmaceutical Research and Development Centre Ltd. patent describes new ectonucleotide pyrophosphatase/phosphodiesterase family member 1 (ENPP1) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of cancer Read More
