How we imagine the future matters The Lancet Planetary Health +...

How we imagine the future matters The Lancet Planetary Health https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/issue/vol10no5/PIIS2542-5196(26)X2005-8

Reviving a forgotten cancer therapy By stabilizing G-quadruplex DNA, a revived anticancer drug offers a new way to shut down a key oncogene. Written byBree Foster, PhD

https://www.drugdiscoverynews.com/reviving-a-forgotten-cancer-therapy-17272?utm_campaign=DDN_Newsletter_Dose&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8CY1VzKLmaRsoFTXDnaY9N4PIMIhKlDLVvvJLQdcd2sqN_9fDOJs7Y_M5eVVEsPiQOsWdDUPJZNYgYaGxQP6XFNkc8XA&_hsmi=427377385&utm_content=427377385&utm_source=hs_email DNA is usually taught as a tidy double helix: two strands neatly twisted around each other, carrying genetic instructions that cells read and copy. But in reality, DNA is far messier than textbook diagrams suggest. Under certain conditions, stretches of DNA rich in the base guanine can fold in on themselves, forming compact, knot-like shapes known as G-quadruplexes, or G4 structures. Instead of the familiar two-stranded helix, four strands of DNA stack together, creating a three-dimensional structure that can physically block the cell’s transcription machinery.

Biologic therapies push pharma to rethink inactive ingredients As therapies grow more complex, inactive ingredient innovation is needed to improve drug impact and access. Written byLisa Stehno-Bittel

Biologic therapies push pharma to rethink inactive ingredients As therapies grow more complex, inactive ingredient innovation is needed to improve drug impact and access. Written byLisa Stehno-Bittel https://www.drugdiscoverynews.com/biologic-therapies-push-pharma-to-rethink-inactive-ingredients-16887?utm_campaign=DDN_Newsletter_Dose&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-89N4pgchHPkdaBRoggYvr9bo878sEPPOn6mBQiBp631YhwTWxzcDPu1IZWPfj_tKpo9--AG861gEfnhXOkpDcP_U41LA&_hsmi=427377385&utm_content=427377385&utm_source=hs_email The pharmaceutical industry has undergone a seismic shift toward biologics, enabling entirely new classes of active ingredients. But the discovery and use of inactive ingredients, or excipients, has failed to keep pace, leaving drug developers trying to optimize next-generation therapies with toolsets designed for a different purpose. Excipient innovation is long overdue, but new options are finally available to developers, helping biologics reach their potential for the first time.

Weekly Rundown: Newly discovered mutation could explain aggressive prostate cancer in young men Data on a new oral pill for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a miss for a heart drug, a $10B acquisition of Crinetics, and more led the news this week. Written byDDN editorial team

https://www.drugdiscoverynews.com/weekly-rundown-newly-discovered-mutation-could-explain-aggressive-prostate-cancer-in-young-men-17315 Newly discovered mutation could explain aggressive prostate cancer in young men Researchers at the University of British Columbia, BC Cancer, and international collaborators have identified inherited mutations in the cyclin-dependent kinase 12 (CDK12) gene as a rare but significant driver of aggressive hereditary prostate cancer, according to a study published in Cancer Discovery. Until now, CDK12 mutations in prostate cancer were thought to arise only spontaneously within tumor cells. The team, led by senior author Alexander Wyatt and lead author Sofie Tolmeijer, analyzed genetic data from more than 4,500 people with aggressive prostate cancer and identified five unrelated men with inherited CDK12 mutations, all of whom had developed metastatic disease between the ages of 44 and 62. Tumor analysis revealed a distinctive genetic fingerprint confirming CDK12 inactivation was driving disease. The mutation appears in roughly one in every 1,000 people with aggressive prostate cancer, but because inherited variants can be traced through family lines, identifying one carrier creates an opportunity to screen relatives before cancer develops. The researchers also flagged a potential link to ovarian cancer, with several patients reporting family histories of the disease. Crucially, existing clinical sequencing technology can already detect CDK12 mutations, meaning adding it to standard hereditary cancer panels could be relatively straightforward. – Andrea Corona

Clinical Perspectives on the Use of PI3K/AKT Pathway Inhibitors in the Management of HR+/HER2− Metastatic Breast Cancer Authors: Peter Schmid, MD, PhD, FRCP; Kevin Kalinsky, MD, MS, FASCO; Frédérique Penault-Llorca, MD, PhD

https://www.medscape.org/viewarticle/clinical-perspectives-use-pi3k-akt-pathway-inhibitors-2026a100087h?page=1&src=mkmcmr_driv_stan_mscpedu_260708-OUS-HONC-clinical-perspectives-use-pi3k-akt-pathway-inhibitors-2026a100087h-cta&uac=148436CN

Future‑Ready Hematologists: Practical and Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Hematology and Oncology Authors: Jakob N. Kather, MD, MSc; Chan Cheah, MBBS, DMSc; Matthew Lunning, DO, FACP

https://www.medscape.org/viewarticle/1003401?src=mkmcmr_driv_cust_mscpedu_260708-Global-HONC-1003401-cta&uac=148436CN

Which Medications Increase Heat-Related Risk in Patients? Serge Cannasse

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/which-medications-increase-heat-related-risk-patients-2026a1000mup?ecd=WNL_trdalrt_pos1_ous_260709_etid8491308&uac=148436CN&impID=8491308 Periods of intense heat force the body to activate mechanisms to maintain its body temperature between 36.5 °C and 37.5 °C. These mechanisms include the active dissipation of heat through sweating and the passive transfer of excess heat to the skin, facilitated by increased blood flow resulting from a faster heart rate and vasodilation.