Central nervous system (CNS) conditions are among the most significant unmet medical needs globally, with neurological conditions now one of the leading causes of disabilities, and having an impact on over 3.4 billion people worldwide. After decades of limited progress, the CNS field is experiencing a renaissance marked by novel technological advances that are overcoming barriers to effective drug development. Sophisticated blood-brain barrier crossing technologies are finally solving the fundamental delivery challenge, while AI-powered platforms are making unprecedented advances in drug discovery and biomarker identification. Most critically, the development of blood-based biomarkers is enabling early diagnosis and precision patient monitoring, addressing key issues that have historically limited CNS therapeutic success rates.

The Phase II TRIFOUR trial assessing nadunolimab in triple negative breast cancer has completed patient recruitment

Biotech’s recovery path – a conversation with Ailsa Craig and Marek Poszepczynski of International Biotechnology Trust

Curative therapies work best when administered early. Imagine therefore the benefits of a simple blood test that can detect cancer even before the first physical symptoms appear. Termed liquid biopsies, these tests have proved their mettle in disease monitoring and as companion diagnostics but their potential in early cancer screening remains to be unlocked. A possible roadblock is the need to enlist next-generation sequencing (NGS), to optimize sensitivity and specificity, which may make these tests, when positioned as mass-market diagnostics, too expensive, both for patients and payors. VolitionRx, a diagnostics company focused on epigenetics, is working on a solution that claims to physically isolate circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) from background noise (no need for NGS), making for a convenient, fast and cost-effective test. Initial proof-of-concept data from a leukemia model have been encouraging, although significant clinical work is still required. Nevertheless, we see enough potential to warrant keeping an eye on the test’s development pathway.