Jilin Huisheng Biopharmaceutical Co. Ltd., a non-wholly owned subsidiary of Sihuan Pharmaceutical Holdings Group Ltd., has raised ¥500 million (US$70 million) in a series A round. Huisheng, which has developed a pipeline of programs addressing both diabetes and its complications, plans to use the new funds to speed up its clinical trials and purchase manufacturing equipment, according to Che Fengsheng, executive director and chairman of Sihuan Pharma.
Investigators at Washington State University (WSU) have identified a set of eight proteins that were expressed in the serum of Ursus arctos horribilis, better known as the grizzly bear, specifically during their hibernation period. In addition to reporting new basic insights into hibernation, the study, which was published in the Sept. 21, 2022, issue of iScience, could also give clues to insulin resistance and its relationship to body fat.
Akston Biosciences Corp. emerged from a successful small company that was sold to a pharma major. For Todd Zion, that’s a back-to-basics move that suits him just fine. Zion co-founded Smartcells Inc. in 2003 with technology developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The company went on to develop the once-daily injectable self-regulating insulin product, Smartinsulin, and sold it to Merck & Co. in what was at the time one of the largest preclinical pharmaceutical acquisitions ever.
A phase II trial this week showed that combining the diabetes drug semaglutide (Novo Nordisk A/S) with a fixed-dose combination of Cagrisema (cagrilintide/semaglutide) led to “numerically higher” reductions in both HbA1c and body weight than either component alone. And on the preclinical side, researchers from the Novo Nordisk Research Center and the Helmholtz Diabetes Center reported that linking the dual PPAR activator tesaglitazar to GLP-1 improved glucose control in male mice. Both bits of news illustrate that GLP-1R agonists, which are also called incretin mimetics and GLP-1 analogs, are likely to continue their success across multiple areas of medical care.
Carmot Therapeutics Inc. has raised $160 million in series D financing to support a trio of early to midstage clinical programs focused on treating diabetes and obesity with peptide-based small-molecule incretin receptor modulators.
Hua Medicine Ltd. presented findings from two phase III trials of its first-in-class dual-acting glucokinase activator dorzagliatin that show the drug significantly improved early phase insulin secretion and glucose sensitivity in patients with type 2 diabetes, thereby restoring glucose homeostasis to treat the underlying cause of diabetes.
New and updated preclinical and clinical data presented by biopharma firms at the American Diabetes Association's 82nd Scientific Sessions, including: Lilly, Sernova, Vertex, Zealand.
Code Biotherapeutics Inc. has raised an upsized and oversubscribed series A financing to develop programs for treating rare and genetic diseases that include Duchenne muscular dystrophy and type 1 diabetes.
New and updated preclinical and clinical data presented by biopharma firms at the American Diabetes Association's 82nd Scientific Sessions, including: Lilly, Sernova, Vertex, Zealand.
New and updated preclinical and clinical data presented by biopharma firms at the American Diabetes Association's 82nd Scientific Sessions, including: Biomea, Eli Lilly, Gelesis, Vtv.