Merck’s Oral PCSK9 Macrocyclic Peptide Efficiacious in Ph. IIb, Roche’s RNA Splicing Modifier Continues to Work 4 Years into Ph. III for SMA, and 9 More Molecules in Motion

PRMT5 is an epigenetic “synthetic lethality” target that has attracted much attention among drug hunters. The first generation of PRMT5 inhibitors was limited by systemic toxicities resulting in a cooling of industry interest, until the recent identification of tumor-specific inhibitors. These second-generation compounds target the MTA:PRMT5 complex in MTAP-deleted cancers—15% of all tumors—leading to a revival of the target. Read on to find out which companies are prevailing in the search for a first-in-class PRMT5 inhibitor and how their clinical compounds differentiate.

This article highlights million-dollar molecules that were recently in the news with related patent applications that give clues to their structures and properties. This edition includes Maze’s glycogen synthase 1 (GYS1) inhibitors that were recently licensed to Sanofi, allosteric androgen receptor (AR) modulators that may be of interest to targeted protein degradation researchers, brain-penetrant HER2 and ROCK2 inhibitors, and MDM2 degraders.

Drug Hunter has sifted through news articles, press releases, financial disclosures, SEC filings, and more to bring you a roundup of 2023’s biggest mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the drug discovery world. In part 3 of this 4-part series, we bring you the top-ranked small molecule-focused deals by value. Covering a range of targets and modalities, this article gives Drug Hunter members in-depth background and analysis of the hottest science opening checkbooks in 2023.

To get you up to speed, here’s a recap of July’s molecules on the move, including potential upcoming approvals, key interim trial readouts, new IND submissions, and trial setbacks.

To choose Molecules of the Month for June, our team reviewed hundreds of molecules from thousands of papers, press releases, conference presentations, and other sources. In this article, you'll find a curated selection of over 60 additional molecules from June that piqued our interest, along with highlights of some of our favorites and explanations of why they're worth keeping an eye on.