Novartis today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Regulus Therapeutics, a San Diego-based, publicly traded (Nasdaq: RGLS) clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing microRNA therapeutics. Regulus' lead asset, farabursen, is a potential first-in-class, next-generation oligonucleotide targeting miR-17 for the treatment of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD).

BlueRock Therapeutics LP, a clinical-stage cell therapy company and wholly owned subsidiary of Bayer AG, announced the publication of the 18-month data from its Phase 1 exPDite clinical trial for bemdaneprocel in the journal Nature.

"The concept of "rebuilding" brain networks that have been lost to disease is compelling," said Claire Henchcliffe, MD, chair of the UC Irvine School of Medicine's Department of Neurology at the University of California, Irvine and one of the study's Principal Investigators,

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) announced that the European Commission (EC) has issued a decision amending the marketing authorization for ABRYSVO®, the company's bivalent respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) prefusion F (RSVpreF) vaccine, to extend the indication to include prevention of lower respiratory tract disease (LRTD) caused by RSV in individuals 18 through 59 years of age. This expands the previous authorization for individuals aged 60 and older, and ABRYSVO now offers in the EU the broadest RSV vaccine indication, which includes:

Bayer and Suzhou Puhe BioPharma Co., Ltd., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, announced that they have entered into a global license agreement for Puhe BioPharma's oral, small molecule PRMT5 inhibitor that selectively targets MTAP-deleted tumors. Under the agreement, Bayer obtains an exclusive worldwide license to develop, manufacture and commercialize the MTA-cooperative PRMT5 inhibitor.

AstraZeneca and Alteogen Inc. have entered into an exclusive license agreement for ALT-B4, a novel hyaluronidase utilising Hybrozyme™ platform technology. Under the terms of the agreement, AstraZeneca will acquire worldwide rights to use ALT-B4 to develop and commercialise subcutaneous formulations of several oncology assets. Alteogen will be responsible for clinical and commercial supply of ALT-B4 to AstraZeneca.

Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) announced that it has entered into an exclusive collaboration and licensing agreement with Zealand Pharma (Nasdaq Copenhagen: ZEAL) (CVR-no. 20045078). Under the terms of this agreement, the two companies will collaborate to co-develop and co-commercialise petrelintide, Zealand Pharma's amylin analog as a standalone therapy as well as a fixed-dose combination with Roche’s lead incretin asset CT-388.

Bayer and Hurdle have published groundbreaking research that represents a great advancement in aging research. The research introduces and validates a novel saliva-based DNA methylation biomarker designed to quantify systemic chronic inflammation (SCI), that the researchers have named, InflammAge. This innovative approach provides a non-invasive method for quantifying and tracking inflammation-related epigenetic biomarkers associated with aging.