Gene editing can repair mutations that prematurely halt protein synthesis, resulting in incomplete peptides that cause various diseases. However, other approaches achieve the same effect without altering the genome. Startup Alltrna Inc. has developed a strategy based on transfer RNA (tRNA) to bypass the premature stop codons that end early protein translation. The company already has a first clinical candidate that could treat metabolic diseases such as methylmalonemia (MMA) or phenylketonuria (PKU).

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder marked by progressive degeneration of upper and lower motor neurons, resulting in paralysis and death typically within 3-5 years of symptom onset. Historically, treatment options have been extremely limited. However, the identification of genetic contributors to ALS pathogenesis has enabled the application of antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) to selectively modify or reduce the expression of disease-associated genes at the RNA level.

Peptidream Inc. has announced a preclinical development milestone in its collaboration with Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. under their siRNA conjugate discovery collaboration.

Taigen Biotechnology Co. Ltd. and its Taigen Biopharmaceuticals subsidiary have entered into an exclusive in-licensing agreement with Insilico Medicine Inc. for ISM-4808, a prolyl hydroxylase domain (PHD) inhibitor.

Shenzhen Targetrx Inc. has disclosed proteolysis targeting chimera (PROTAC) compounds comprising an E3 ubiquitin ligase-binding moiety covalently linked to a Bcr-Abl (Bcr-Abl1) kinase and its mutant targeting moiety through a linker reported to be useful for the treatment of cancer and immunological disorders.

Antibodies targeting CD269 and GPRC5D have shown unprecedented clinical efficacy in the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM), but many patients still develop progressive disease. It was hypothesized that dual-targeting T-cell immunotherapies might improve the efficacy by addressing the difficulty of heterogenous target expression and preventing resistance development due to antigen escape.