Evening Brief: Scientists May Have Discovered the Sixth Basic Taste; 'Prehistoric Simulation' Reveals Hominins Competed with Giant Hyenas for Carrion

Oct 08, 2023 19:59 CST Updated 19:59

SANEGENEBIO

Small Nucleic Acid Drug Developer

1. Novo Nordisk's RNAi Therapy, Acquired for $3.3 Billion, Receives FDA Approval for Market Launch

On October 2, 2023, Novo Nordisk announced that the U.S. FDA had approved the marketing application for its RNAi therapy, Rivfloza (nedosiran) injection (80 mg, 128 mg, or 160 mg), for reducing urine oxalate levels in pediatric and adult patients aged 9 years and older with Type 1 primary hyperoxaluria (PH1) who have relatively preserved kidney function. It is reported that Rivfloza is the first approved RNAi therapy developed by Novo Nordisk. The product was acquired from Dicerna Pharmaceuticals in 2021 for $3.3 billion.

2. SANEGENEBIO's First RNAi Drug Approved for Clinical Trials in China

On October 7, 2023, the CDE website showed that the Class 1 new drug SGB-3403 injection, independently developed by Suzhou SANEGENEBIO Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., received implied approval for clinical trial application (Acceptance No.: CXHL2300741) for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia.

3. Oxyrich Intelligent Medical Completes First Round of Seed Financing

Nanjing Yangfu Intelligent Medical Technology Co., Ltd. ("Yangfu Medical" or "the Company") – an internationally leading intelligent diagnosis and treatment platform for pulmonary vascular diseases, announced the completion of its first seed funding round. This round of financing was led by Nanjing Juyi Technology, with Riemann Hypothesis serving as the exclusive financial advisor for this funding. The funds will be used to support the research and development of the pulmonary artery imaging processing system and team building.

4. LifeShield Medical Completes Over 100 Million Yuan in Financing

LifeShield Medical ("LifeShield" hereinafter) announced the successful completion of a financing round exceeding 100 million yuan. This round was jointly led by Sherpa Investment and Yuanfeng Capital, with continued investment from existing investor StarVest Capital, and participation from Shanghai Lingang Blue Bay Capital. According to reports, LifeShield will use this round of financing for the construction of its interventional artificial heart system project factory, accelerating the clinical validation and commercialization process of ECMO, while further advancing the clinical validation of China's first carbon dioxide removal system for treating severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

5. Scientists May Discover the Sixth Basic Taste

At the beginning of the 20th century, Japanese scientist Kikunae Ikeda was the first to propose umami as the fifth basic taste in addition to sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. About 80 years later (in 1985), the scientific community formally agreed with his view. According to a report in the journal *Nature Communications* on the 5th, scientists from the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences at the University of Southern California have discovered evidence of a sixth basic taste: "ammonium chloride."

6. Chinese Researchers Achieve Precise Detection of Multiple Respiratory Viruses

Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has learned that a research team led by Yang Hui, a researcher at the Institute of Biomedical and Health Engineering, in collaboration with the research team from Shenzhen Children's Hospital, has developed a simple, fully enclosed, and highly integrated microfluidic system that achieves precise detection of various respiratory viruses and their variants. The relevant findings were recently published in the journal *Biosensors and Bioelectronics*.

7. "Prehistoric Mega-Simulation" Shows Humanity Once Challenged Giant Hyenas

A new evolutionary model published in Scientific Reports shows that during the late Early Pleistocene (1.2 million–800,000 years ago), hominins (including humans and our extinct relatives) in southern Europe may have competed with giant hyenas for carcasses abandoned by saber-toothed cats and jaguars. This finding suggests that medium-sized groups of hominins may have been the most successful "scavengers."