In brain research, be it basic or clinical, neurons have long hogged the limelight. But at the 2023 European Meeting on Glial Cells in Health and Disease, neurons take a back seat to glia – cell types that have often been described as support cells and treated as an afterthought, but that play critical roles in all aspects of brain function, including information processing.
Institutional investors are not in the market for now, but a survey of 104 firms on both sides of the Atlantic shows all but 6% have an interest in psychedelic medicines. However, only 23% say they are “very likely” to invest in the sector in the future, whilst the majority are sitting on the fence.
After 50 years of censorship, there is now growing pressure on EU policymakers to stand up and play a role in promoting the development of psychedelics as medicines and in preparing the ground to ensure equitable access once there are approved products.
The British Museum in London, steeped in history and tradition, sits alongside world class biomedical and clinical research centers, where numerous technological advances and scientific breakthroughs have originated. “This unique combination of tradition and innovation […] also defines our industry today,” said Rivki Stern, co-founder and CEO of Shortwave Pharma Inc., which is working to develop psychedelic drugs as approved medicines that meet unmet medical needs of patients with treatment-resistant depression, addictions and eating disorders.
At the 2023 Annual Congress of the European Academy of Neurology, Mary Reilly described the relationship between bench and bedside as “a continuous circle of translation,” with each cycle beginning with patients and their needs.
Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to entice. On the exhibition floor at the 2023 Congress of the European Academy of Neurology, one company’s booth featured “Mindart” technology. A passersby could answer a short series of prompts, and get a unique image based on the input made by generative AI. Entertainment aside, medically speaking, AI applications “are still research,” Riccardo Soffietti told his audience at one of several sessions devoted to AI. “But obviously, research is the future.”
New and updated clinical data presented by biopharma firms at the European Association for the Study of the Liver Congress, including: 89bio, Arrowhead, Mirum, Takeda, Vir.
New and updated clinical data presented by biopharma firms at the American Diabetes Association's 83rd Scientific Sessions, including: Biomea, Carmot, Eli Lilly, Inversago, Novo, Sernova, Vertex, Zealand.
As earlier-stage efforts in oncology continue with BMF-219, Biomea Fusion Inc. rolled out new clinical data June 23 from the first two cohorts of patients with type 2 diabetes enrolled in the phase II part of its ongoing phase I/II study called Covalent-111 testing the same compound, an oral covalent menin inhibitor.
Curocell Inc. is inching closer to realizing Korea’s first domestically developed CAR T therapy, presenting “encouraging” interim phase II trial results for anbalcabtagene-autoleucel at the International Conference on Malignant Lymphoma in Lugano, Switzerland.
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