In gout, excessive levels of uric acid in the blood lead to deposition of urate crystals in joints, which can cause strong inflammatory pain. Effectively treating gout involves mitigating not only the pain due to inflammatory responses, but also reducing uric acid levels in the blood, such as by inhibiting the uric acid transporter URAT1.

Obesity is a major public health concern, and effective treatments are still elusive. AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a crucial regulator of energy homeostasis and has been proposed as a target for metabolic diseases, including obesity. However, most available AMPK agonists target multiple tissues to activate AMPK, which can cause adverse effects.

Bioage Labs Inc. is advancing its apelin receptor (APJ) agonist programs for obesity and other indications, and has entered into an option agreement with Jikang Therapeutics to license a novel APJ agonist nanobody.

Bioage Labs Inc. has completed IND-enabling studies for BGE-102, a structurally novel, orally available small-molecule NLRP3 inhibitor.

Kexing Biopharm Co. Ltd. has announced IND clearances this month by China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) and the U.S. FDA for GB-18, a biologic product for the treatment of cancer cachexia.