The Bio Report

For people with non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer, treatment can involve repeated procedures, a high risk of tumor recurrence, toxic therapies and, in some cases, removal of the bladder. Hamlet Biopharma is developing Alpha1H, a synthetic peptide inspired by a protein complex found in human breast milk. Catharina Svanborg, chair of Hamlet Biopharma, discusses how Alpha1H is designed to selectively target bladder tumor cells while sparing healthy tissue, the science that led to the program, and the clinical-development path ahead.

GLP-1 therapies have dramatically reshaped obesity care, but the next generation of medicines may be judged by more than how much weight patients lose. A central question is whether treatments can selectively reduce the visceral fat associated with cardiometabolic disease while maintaining the muscle needed for physical function, metabolic health, and durable weight management. Erik Ingelsson, chief scientific officer of Wave Life Sciences, discusses the biology behind a new RNA-based approach designed to remove a natural brake on fat breakdown, how the company is thinking about clinical endpoints and patient populations, and why precision approaches to fat loss could change the definition of success in obesity treatment.

T-cell engagers have delivered important advances in blood cancers, but extending their success to solid tumors has proved considerably more difficult. Physical barriers, immunosuppressive tumor microenvironments, and the risk of attacking healthy tissue have constrained the field. Deck Bio is developing multi-target T-cell engagers to address these limitations. Jack Silberstein, the company’s CEO, discusses Deck Bio’s efforts to create therapies that reach more cancer cells, reduce the likelihood that tumors will evade treatment, and minimize harm to healthy tissue.

For people with severe allergies and mast cell diseases, the risk of a dangerous reaction can shape everyday decisions about food, activities, and family routines. Current treatments generally manage symptoms or lower the likelihood of a reaction, rather than directly targeting the immune cells thought to drive the disease. Allergene AI Therapeutics is developing an in vivo mRNA CAR-T therapy intended to address that underlying biology. The approach aims to temporarily program a patient’s own T cells to target mast cells, with the goal of eliminating sensitized cells and enabling the immune system to rebuild a less reactive mast cell population. Sid Kerkar, founder and CEO of Allergene AI Therapeutics, discusses the scientific rationale for this proposed immune reset, the potential for mRNA and lipid nanoparticle delivery to simplify and broaden access to CAR-T therapy, and the work needed to move the approach from early research into clinical testing.

Antibody-drug conjugates have established themselves as an important cancer-treatment modality, but their effectiveness and tolerability in solid tumors can be constrained by inadequate tumor delivery, incomplete internalization, and off-target toxicity. NEOK Bio is seeking to overcome those challenges with its bispecific ADC platform that uses dual-antigen targeting, engineered antibodies, and next-generation linker technology. Mayank Gandhi, co-founder and CEO of NEOK Bio, discusses the company’s bispecific ADC platform, its two clinical programs, and its strategy to develop more selective therapies for patients with advanced solid tumors.