University of Helsinki

The Transdermal Drug Delivery Pipeline Report, 2024 Update, offers comprehensive insights into pipeline products, development stages, clinical trials, and key companies shaping the transdermal drug delivery market.

About 70% of obese people have metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), also found in lean individuals. Effective treatments for MASLD may not change body weight or even cause weight gain. A review in 'The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology' discusses MASLD heterogeneity, its pathogenesis, outcomes, and metabolism-based treatment responses, emphasizing precision medicine for risk prediction, prevention, and treatment. MASLD is a global epidemic, linked to cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, and extrahepatic cancers. Researchers identify three major pathomechanisms: genetic, metabolic (hepatic de novo lipogenesis), and metabolic (adipose tissue dysfunction). Future personalized treatments and lifestyle modification programs could target these subtypes.

Scientists found a link between two E.coli strains and specific cancers, suggesting a vaccine could reduce cancer risk. These strains, common in industrialized countries, produce colibactin, a substance causing DNA breaks linked to colorectal cancer. Targeting these strains through vaccination or probiotics could reduce cancer risks and infections.

Data-driven cluster analysis identifies distinct types of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease. Authors: Violeta Raverdy, Federica Tavaglione, Estelle Chatelain, Guillaume Lassailly, et al. Published in *Nature Medicine*, December 2024. DOI: 10.1038/s41591-024-03283-1.

TILT Biotherapeutics presents data at ESMO-IO 2024 on personalized treatment strategies with TILT-123, an oncolytic virus, showing improved clinical trial outcomes. The study identifies immunological markers linked to better patient responses and supports the formation of immunological memory. TILT plans to advance TILT-123 into international Phase II trials for ovarian cancer, with expected Phase Ib results by H2 2025.

Matej Zore's doctoral thesis at the University of Helsinki explored fingolimod and etrasimod, drugs initially for autoimmune diseases, for their antibacterial potential against MRSA and VRE. His research involved synthesizing derivatives to enhance potency, with an etrasimod derivative showing promise against MRSA. Zore emphasizes the urgent need for alternative therapies due to rising antibiotic resistance, highlighting drug repurposing as a potential solution. Further studies are needed to evaluate effectiveness in animal models.

Medistim ASA announces the PATENT study, an open, prospective, multicenter trial evaluating the immediate clinical benefits and long-term prognostic value of intraoperative completion control using transit time flow measurement (TTFM) and high-frequency ultrasound (HFUS) imaging in patients undergoing bypass surgery for Critical Limb Threatening Ischemia (CLTI) below the knee. The study aims to enroll approximately 450 patients across 15 sites in the USA, Europe, and Asia, with enrollment set to begin by the end of 2024.

Researchers at the University of Oulu developed a pipeline using live-cell barcoding to analyze drug responses in primary patient tumor samples, enabling personalized medicine by mapping gene regulatory dynamics driving cancer drug resistance and sensitivity.

Finnish study shows drug sensitivity testing in lab can predict AML treatment effectiveness with venetoclax and azacitidine, improving outcomes and reducing side effects. The method accelerated venetoclax access for Finnish patients by three years and has potential for broader drug testing.

Faron Pharmaceuticals Ltd. hosts Capital Markets Day 2024, presenting BEXMAB follow-up data showing high overall response rate in relapsed and refractory myelodysplastic syndrome (r/r MDS) patients. The company updates on drug development pipeline, partnering discussions, and introduces a new Scientific Advisory Board. Faron aims to complete BEXMAB Phase II enrolment and conclude a global partnership deal for Phase III clinical research and commercialization of bexmarilimab.