Two Potential Upcoming Approvals and Other January NDAs

This summary of September's major clinical updates features FDA approvals, drug withdrawals, anticipated regulatory decisions, notable trial results, new NDA submissions, clinical trial setbacks, and the initiation of new clinical trials.

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.

Billion-Dollar Molecules: Etavopivat, an Allosteric PKR Kinase Activator for Sickle Cell Disease Abstract. Novo Nordisk has acquired Forma Therapeutics for $1.1B for its primary investigational drug, etavopivat. Etavopivat, a past Molecule of the Month , is an oral, once-daily allosteric activator of pyruvate kinase-R (PKR), which is [...]

While gadolinium-based MRI contrast agents (GBCAs) are important for enhancing MRI and MRA imaging, several studies have shown that gadolinium can be retained in the brain and body for months to years after GBCA injection, prompting the FDA to issue box warnings to the drug class. Gadopiclenol, the ninth approved GBCA, was designed to enable use of a lower gadolinium dose than other agents. This highlight reviews how it works and why it’s notable.

Among the small molecule highlights in January’s news were a $100M+ Series A for a PARP1 + PI3Kα-focused company, clinical data with an SLC inhibitor for PKU, a 5-HT2C superagonist for seizures, and a NK1,3 dual antagonist for women’s health. A novel anti-obesity agent from phenotypic screening also made headlines, and the close of a major acquisition may bring relief to the industry. You can read about these notable scientific highlights and more below.