Breaking WORLD PHARMA NEWS

New switch for programmed cell death identified

The activation and deactivation of apoptosis is a promising field of research in basic biomedical research. The team led by Prof. Franz Hagn from the Chair of Structural Membrane Biochemistry at the TUM School of Natural Sciences has now discovered a new switch: "Many research teams worldwide are working on the exciting topic of apoptosis and its targeted control. The big advantage is that we are dealing with a highly efficient, evolutionarily developed regulatory mechanism. So, we don't have to invent something completely new, but can use the appropriate structural methods to learn from nature's optimized processes."

Read more …

Pfizer files lawsuit against Metsera and its directors and Novo Nordisk for breach of merger agreement

Pfizer Inc. today announced that it has filed a lawsuit against Metsera, Inc., its Board of Directors, and Novo Nordisk, S.A. in the Delaware Court of Chancery. The lawsuit asserts claims for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and tortious interference in contract arising from Metsera’s breach of its obligations under the merger agreement between Pfizer and Metsera.

Read more …

Pfizer receives early clearance from U.S. Federal Trade Commission for Metsera acquisition

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) today announced the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has granted early termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (the “HSR Act”), with respect to Pfizer’s pending acquisition of Metsera (NASDAQ: MTSR).

The termination of the waiting period under the HSR Act satisfies the regulatory review requirements under the previously announced proposed acquisition of Metsera, which was set to expire on November 7.

Read more …

Pfizer addresses proposal for Metsera

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) is aware of the reckless and unprecedented proposal by Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE: NVO) to acquire Metsera, Inc. (NASDAQ: MTSR). It is an attempt by a company with a dominant market position to suppress competition in violation of law by taking over an emerging American challenger. It is also structured in a way to circumvent antitrust laws and carries substantial regulatory and executional risk. The proposal is illusory and cannot qualify as a superior proposal under Pfizer’s agreement with Metsera, and Pfizer is prepared to pursue all legal avenues to enforce its rights under its agreement.

Read more …

AI-driven nanomedicine breakthrough paves way for personalized breast cancer therapy

A comprehensive review in "Biofunct. Mater." meticulously details the most recent advancements and clinical translation of intelligent nanodrugs for breast cancer treatment. This paper presents an exhaustive overview of subtype-specific nanostrategies, the clinical benefits of FDA-approved nanodrugs, and innovative approaches to address tumor heterogeneity and treatment resistance. This serves as a foundational framework and pragmatic guide for enhancing precision-based breast cancer therapies.

Read more …

Bayer's Lynkuet™ (elinzanetant) approved in the U.S. for treatment of moderate to severe vasomotor symptoms due to menopause

Bayer announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved elinzanetant as the first dual neurokinin (NK) targeted therapy(1), neurokinin 1 (NK1) and neurokinin 3 (NK3) receptor antagonist, under the brand name Lynkuet™ for the treatment of moderate to severe vasomotor symptoms (VMS, also known as hot flashes) due to menopause. Inhibition of Substance P and Neurokinin B through antagonism of NK1 and NK3 receptor signaling on kisspeptin/neurokinin B/dynorphin (KNDy) neurons with elinzanetant can modulate neuronal activity in the thermoregulation associated with hot flashes.

Read more …

Making cancer vaccines more personal

In a new study, University of Arizona researchers created a model for cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, a type of skin cancer, and identified two mutated tumor proteins, or neoantigens, that contain features of good candidates for a vaccine. At the same time, they used artificial intelligence to create 3D models to help them understand and predict which neoantigens could provoke T cells, a type of white blood cell critical to the immune system, to attack the cancer.

Read more …

Study finds COVID-19 mRNA vaccine sparks immune response to fight cancer

Patients with advanced lung or skin cancer who received a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine within 100 days of starting immunotherapy drugs lived significantly longer than those who did not get the vaccine, researchers have found.

The observation by researchers at the University of Florida and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center is a defining moment in a decade-plus of research testing mRNA-based therapeutics designed to "wake up" the immune system against cancer.

Read more …

Bias can lead to better therapies

About one-third of all drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration target the largest family of cell membrane receptors called G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs).

GPCRs are indispensable for maintaining human health as they play a role in nearly every physiological function. These receptors are embedded in the membranes of cells and detect a wide variety of biological signaling molecules arriving outside the cell.

Read more …

Epigenetic reprogramming safely modifies multiple genes in T Cells simultaneously for CAR-T therapies

Arc Institute, Gladstone Institutes, and University of California, San Francisco, scientists have developed an epigenetic editing platform that enables safe modification of multiple genes in primary human T cells, addressing a key manufacturing and scalability challenge in next-generation cell therapies. The research, published October 21, 2025, in Nature Biotechnology, demonstrates how CRISPRoff and CRISPRon can reprogram a patient’s own T cells for therapeutic purposes without the cell toxicity and DNA damage associated with traditional gene editing approaches.

Read more …