CROI 2026: Science and funding cuts reverse decades of progress against HIV
The massive cuts to science, global health, and HIV programs that unfolded in 2025 triggered a crisis with worldwide repercussions. The dissolution of USAID, the shutdown of PEPFAR, and the suspension of thousands of NIH research projects led to an immediate collapse of essential services, from HIV prevention to access to treatment. At the 33rd Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) held Feb. 22-25, 2026, in Denver, scientists, activists, and health professionals presented data illustrating the scale of the damage and warned of a historic setback in the global HIV response.

Boehringer Ingelheim licenses Sitryx small-molecule program
Boehringer Ingelheim Ltd. has acquired an exclusive license for a preclinical small-molecule program from Sitryx Therapeutics Ltd. The program offers a novel oral immunometabolic approach to modulating disease-driving immune cells with potential for multiple autoimmune and inflammatory disease indications.

CROI 2026: Science and funding cuts reverse decades of progress against HIV
The massive cuts to science, global health, and HIV programs that unfolded in 2025 triggered a crisis with worldwide repercussions. The dissolution of USAID, the shutdown of PEPFAR, and the suspension of thousands of NIH research projects led to an immediate collapse of essential services, from HIV prevention to access to treatment. At the 33rd Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) held Feb. 22-25, 2026, in Denver, scientists, activists, and health professionals presented data illustrating the scale of the damage and warned of a historic setback in the global HIV response.
Boehringer Ingelheim licenses Sitryx small-molecule program
Boehringer Ingelheim Ltd. has acquired an exclusive license for a preclinical small-molecule program from Sitryx Therapeutics Ltd. The program offers a novel oral immunometabolic approach to modulating disease-driving immune cells with potential for multiple autoimmune and inflammatory disease indications.
SIK2 inhibitor mitigates pathology in ulcerative colitis models
Salt-inducible kinase 2 (SIK2) is a serine/threonine kinase that regulates transcriptional programs in myeloid cells by phosphorylating transcriptional coregulators. In macrophages, SIK2 promotes the expression of proinflammatory cytokines and contributes to the balance between inflammatory and regulatory responses. Researchers from Nimbus Therapeutics LLC presented the preclinical efficacy of NTX-147, a SIK2 selective inhibitor, in ex vivo models of ulcerative colitis (UC).
Gubra files CTA for GUB-UCN2 for weight loss
Gubra A/S has announced the submission in Germany of a clinical trial application (CTA) for a first-in-human study of GUB-UCN2, the company’s lead asset for weight loss. The planned phase I/IIa trial will enroll both healthy volunteers and individuals with obesity, with and without related co-morbidities. GUB-UCN2 is expected to enter clinical development in the first half of this year.
Triana Biomedicines patents ALK degradation inducers
Triana Biomedicines Inc. has disclosed ALK tyrosine kinase receptor degradation inducers intended for use in the treatment of cancer.
Beam Therapeutics reveals new program for PKU
Beam Therapeutics Inc. has added a new program to its liver-targeted genetic disease franchise, BEAM-304, for the treatment of phenylketonuria (PKU).

Conferences

CROI 2026 highlights depression and cognitive vulnerability in HIV
Science
The effects of aging pose an additional challenge for people with HIV due to the neurological and psychological consequences that persist despite antiretroviral therapy. At the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) held Feb. 22-25, 2026, in Denver, the scientific community...
Spyre reports enhanced efficacy of anti-TL1A and anti-IL-23 combination
Gastrointestinal
Researchers from Spyre Therapeutics Inc. reported on the therapeutic efficacy of combining anti-TL1A and anti-IL-23 antibodies in preclinical models of colitis.
GS-8670 restores epithelial barrier function in IBD models
Gastrointestinal
The farnesoid X receptor (FXR) is a nuclear receptor that plays a central role in bile acid regulation, intestinal barrier integrity, immune modulation and microbiome balance, all key factors involved in the development of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Researchers from Gilead Sciences Inc....
MDL-001: oral polymerase inhibitor with dual HBV/HCV activity
Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections
Researchers from Model Medicines Inc. have presented preclinical efficacy data for MDL-001, a first-in-class, oral non-nucleoside inhibitor that targets an allosteric site in the Thumb-1 domain of the viral polymerase.

Cancer

Nanobody-based CLL-1-targeted CAR T cells enhance AML killing with reduced off-target effects
Nanotechnology
To overcome the challenges of current CAR T-cell strategies and enhance their efficacy and specificity for acute myeloid leukemia, researchers at the Sino-American Cancer Foundation and collaborating institutions have developed a nanobody-based CAR T-cell platform directed against C-type...

Infection

SYN-002 proves effective at preventing HCMV reactivation
Researchers from Synklino A/S have published preclinical data supporting the potential of SYN-002, a targeted antiviral therapy that eliminates human cytomegalovirus (HCMV)‑infected cells by specifically targeting US28, a CMV‑encoded receptor expressed during infection.

CROI 2026: Neurodegeneration, the challenge of aging with HIV
Conferences
Antiretroviral therapies against HIV have been in use for more than 30 years and have enabled people living with HIV to maintain undetectable viral levels. Many of them are aging in good health. However, others present symptoms of cognitive decline. HIV can reach the brain and establish a reservoir...
New funding supports Centauri’s antimicrobial CTX-187
Financings
Centauri Therapeutics Ltd. has extended its series A financing round to £30 million (US$40.5 million) with the addition of a new £6 million (US$8 million) investment. Centauri initially closed its £24 million (US$32 million) series A round in 2022.

Neurology/psychiatric

Rgenta presents data on candidate for Huntington’s disease
Rgenta Therapeutics Inc. has announced preclinical data on RGT-0474060, an oral PMS1 inhibitor for Huntington’s disease. RGT-0474060 is an orally bioavailable small molecule designed to inhibit PMS1 RNA and protein expression, to modulate splicing of CAG repeat expansion known to cause Huntington’s...
Slate Medicines launches with focus on headache disorders
Financings
Slate Medicines Inc. has launched with $130 million in series A financing and a focus on advancing next-generation therapeutics for migraine and other headache disorders.
Porosome Therapeutics’ new assets for secretory disorders
Endocrine/metabolic
Porosome Therapeutics Inc. has announced the development of novel first-in-class porosome-targeting small molecules and blood-brain barrier-traversing peptide drugs developed using the company’s Porosome.AI platform to treat various secretory disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease and type 2 diabetes.
Vesalic targeting toxic muscle exosomes in motor neuron diseases
Newco news
Newco Vesalic Ltd. has formed to take forward research indicating extracellular vesicles secreted by skeletal muscle cells carry toxic payloads that are key drivers of motor neuron diseases, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The discovery of this process, which is largely external to the...
Angelini and Quiver Bioscience partner in genetic epilepsies
Deals and M&A
Angelini Pharma SpA and Quiver Bioscience Inc. have entered into a collaboration and licensing agreement to advance novel therapeutics for genetic epilepsies. Under the multiyear collaboration, Angelini Pharma will leverage Quiver’s technology platform to gain deeper understanding of a broad set of...

Endocrine/metabolic

Insilico Medicine Inc. patents new GLP-1R agonists
Patents
Insilico Medicine Inc. has identified new glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonists potentially useful for the treatment of atherosclerosis, coronary heart diseases, dementia, diabetes, hypertension, obesity, hyperlipidemia and cerebral infarction.

Biomarkers

IL-22 and TL1A, a robust couple for diagnosing hidradenitis suppurativa
Conferences
Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease with strong association with psoriasis and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). While some signaling pathways are well defined in HS, the role of TNF-like ligand 1 (TL1A) is not well understood. A group of researchers has...

TL1A is overexpressed in hidradenitis suppurativa
Conferences
Despite the availability of advanced therapeutic options, about 40%-50% of patients with hidradenitis suppurativa do not achieve significant improvement in disease activity, thus there is a need for novel medications.
SCAN is core circuit affected in Parkinson’s disease
Drug design, drug delivery and technologies
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects movement, and tremor is one of its signatures. But it is a much more wide-ranging disorder, and patients experience problems with cognitive and emotional processes as well. SCAN, the somato-cognitive action network identified in...

Gastrointestinal

Targeting OGFOD1 improves hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury
Cardiovascular
Hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury (HIRI) is a severe pathologic condition associated with poor outcomes when individuals suffer from hemorrhagic shock, liver resection or transplantation surgery, leading to severe liver impairment and sometimes...
Discovery and characterization of FXR partial agonists for the treatment of MASH
Endocrine/metabolic
The farnesoid X receptor (FXR) is a nuclear receptor predominantly expressed in the liver, intestine and kidney. FXR is crucially involved in regulating bile acid homeostasis, controlling inflammatory responses in the liver, and regulating lipid...
Madrigal licenses six Ribo siRNA programs
License
Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Inc. has signed an exclusive global license agreement with Suzhou Ribo Life Science Co. Ltd. and its subsidiary Ribocure Pharmaceuticals AB for six preclinical small interfering RNA (siRNA) programs.
Innocare’s VAV1 degrader ICP-538 cleared for clinic in China
Regulatory
Beijing Innocare Pharma Tech Co. Ltd. has gained IND clearance in China to conduct clinical trials of ICP-538, an orally administered molecular glue degrader targeting VAV1, which is a key protein downstream of T-cell and B-cell receptors. ICP-538...
Novel JAK1/2 PROTAC degrader effectively improves IBD
Degradation inducer
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, is a chronic immune-mediated inflammatory disorder with limited long-term therapeutic options. Proteolysis-targeting chimeras (PROTACs) offer a promising strategy...
Sinorda Biomedicine and Wuxi Biologics collaborate on SND-006
Collaboration
Wuxi Biologics Co. Ltd. and Sinorda Biomedicine have established a strategic collaboration for the development and manufacturing of SND-006, a novel bispecific antibody, for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease and other autoimmune diseases.

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