Press Releases
NeuroVista Labs, a Brazilian biotechnology company developing a neuroplasticity-focused drug discovery program, announced that its synthesized research compounds have entered in vitro testing in Brazilian laboratories. This milestone marks the program's transition from computational research to experimental evaluation. The company, based in Curitiba, is conducting research in Brazil while building a development strategy centered on the U.S. pharmaceutical market. CEO Ravi Kaiut stated that advancing to laboratory testing provides an opportunity to generate experimental evidence to move the strategy forward. The program remains at an early preclinical stage, and the compounds' safety and efficacy in humans have not been established.
Precis Engineering + Architecture, an award-winning design firm with offices in Ambler, Pa., and Cary, N.C., has hired G. Edward Richert, PE, LEED AP, as Director – Engineering Services in its Cary office. Richert has 30+ years of pharmaceutical and biotechnology facility design and operations experience on both the owner/client and consulting engineering sides of the industry. In his role, he serves as a technical resource across all Precis disciplines, supports new business development, and oversees project deliverable quality controls. His background includes sustainable capital project engineering design, energy management, strategic planning, product/process validation, and FDA design control implementation, with design experience spanning utilities and infrastructure, laboratories, medical device facilities, active pharmaceutical ingredient plants, oral solid/liquid dosage facilities, sterile fill suites, and aseptic processing facilities. Richert holds M.S. and B.S. in Engineering Science degrees from the University of Florida, is a registered professional engineer in 11 states, and is a member of ASHRAE and ISPE.
NeuroGT, a clinical-stage gene therapy company, announced that the U.S. FDA has cleared the IND application for NGT-104. NGT-104 is an AAV9 gene replacement product intended for the treatment of MPS IIIB (Sanfilippo syndrome type B). The approved Phase I/II human clinical trial is expected to begin patient enrollment in January 2027.
TSRL, Inc., a preclinical CRO based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, announced it has received its second-year Notice of Award from the NIH (Grant Number 5R44DK143799-03) to advance its microneedle patch delivering Trospium Chloride for overactive bladder. The nearly $1.1 million in continued funding supports preclinical development including pharmacokinetics, efficacy, safety, and formulation optimization. Principal Investigator Dr. Elke Lipka emphasized the importance of continued support amid funding uncertainties and the potential of the platform to improve patient adherence and tolerability.
On August 4, 2026, Toralgen announced that its proprietary polymeric ursodeoxycholic acid (pUDCA) nanoparticle platform achieved successful oral delivery of multiple diabetes/obesity peptide drugs, including mono-agonists, dual-agonists, and tri-agonists. Research conducted in collaboration with bioanalytical CRO Veloxity Labs showed that a single nanoparticle formulation can deliver multiple peptide drugs without requiring peptide-specific optimization. Preliminary studies of semaglutide demonstrated a relative bioavailability of approximately 7%, with oral exposure 5-10 times higher than the commercial SNAC formulation, and minimal food effects (<20%). These results were presented at the American Diabetes Association's 85th Scientific Sessions.
Schrödinger, Inc. (Nasdaq: SDGR) announced on August 5, 2026, a strategic agreement with Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) to deploy its agentic AI co-scientist Bunsen within BMS research organizations. Building on the companies' long-standing collaboration, the agreement significantly expands the application of Schrödinger's computational platform, aiming to help BMS scientists explore more scientific possibilities, prioritize molecules with greater confidence, and accelerate discovery decisions.
The European Union announced the completion of a pilot project validating a continuous manufacturing platform for active pharmaceutical ingredients, which integrates continuous flow chemistry, AI monitoring, and real-time analysis, and successfully produced fentanyl, offering a new pathway for future pharmaceutical production.
On August 7, 2026, Greenstone Biosciences announced receipt of a Catalyze R61 grant from NHLBI to discover novel drug candidates for myocardial fibrosis and dilated cardiomyopathy in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). The project will combine iPSC disease models, proteomics, computational screening, and generative AI; if the R61 phase is successful, it will advance to the R33 phase for in vivo testing.
Kivo announced its participation at RAPS Convergence 2026, scheduled for September 15-17 in Charlotte, N.C. The company will demonstrate Kivo Headless GxP at Booth #706, highlighting how AI agents can work alongside humans in regulated environments.
Greenstone Biosciences has received a grant from Breakthrough T1D to construct 3D islet organoids using patient-derived iPSCs, integrate multi-omics technologies to investigate mechanisms of beta cell damage in T1D, and establish a shareable cell resource repository.