On April 16, 2026 Nula Therapeutics (previously called Apollo Alpha), a biotechnology company developing a new class of medicines targeting the nuclear envelope of cells in order to treat chronic disease and extend healthspan, reported its launch with an up to $20 million award from the U.S. Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) under its PROSPR (PROactive Solutions for Prolonging Resilience) program, bringing total funding to more than $30 million. Additionally, Nula Therapeutics announced its plans for a phase 1b clinical trial with its lead, small molecule asset NLT-101 in Q4, 2026 in metabolic dysfunction, as the company works to address a broad spectrum of chronic, age-related diseases.

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Nula is built on a fundamental insight: the integrity of the nuclear envelope, the structure that organizes DNA and governs gene expression, plays a central role in maintaining cellular identity and metabolic homeostasis. Degeneration or dysfunction of the nuclear envelope results in metabolic dysfunction and age-related decline. Restoring function of the nuclear envelope represents a novel strategy to treat chronic disease biology. By developing targeted small molecules that restore the nuclear envelope, Nula aims to treat unmet patient needs and extend healthspan across conditions including metabolic disease, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), and neurodegeneration. With a clinic-ready asset, NLT-101, and a clinical study planned to begin later this year, Nula is positioned to generate meaningful data in support of its vision of next-generation medicines for chronic diseases.

"The nuclear envelope is one of the most fundamental and underexplored regulators of cellular health, and we believe it represents one of the most promising frontiers in medicine," said Christopher R. Shepard, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Nula Therapeutics and Principal Investigator on the Award. "Today’s announcement marks not only our debut as a company, but a significant external validation of our science. The ARPA-H award will allow us to rigorously explore NLT-101’s potential to preserve functional health across multiple organ systems, while our core clinical program in metabolic dysfunction moves forward in parallel."

Nils Regge, Founder and General Partner at Apollo Health Ventures, added, "PROSPR is highly relevant to our mission at Apollo Health Ventures. Establishing the evidence base and a clear regulatory pathway for therapeutics that improve healthspan, intrinsic capacity, and functional resilience is foundational to the field of longevity biotechnology. We are excited to see Nula’s program paving the way, and we look forward to seeing the company demonstrate the potential of NLT-101 beyond its initial clinical indication, with implications across multiple age-related conditions."

About the ARPA-H PROSPR Award

Under the ARPA-H PROSPR program, Nula Therapeutics will pursue a concurrent work stream designed to evaluate NLT-101’s impact on intrinsic capacity – a composite measure of physical, cognitive, sensory, and psychological function across multiple organ systems. Specific program objectives include:

Evaluation of NLT-101 in aged preclinical models across multiple intrinsic capacity domains
Advancement of NLT-101 through translational pharmacology and IND-enabling studies
Development of biomarker-driven strategies to quantify functional preservation and therapeutic response
This program integrates functional performance measures and systems-level biomarker analysis to build a robust translational dataset supporting potential clinical development in healthspan-focused indications, while Nula’s primary clinical development program in metabolic dysfunction advances along a well-established regulatory path.

The program culminates in a 12-month, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical study in healthy older adults, with Intrinsic Capacity as the primary endpoint. By assessing intrinsic capacity alongside emerging surrogate biomarkers, the initiative aims to help define measurable, regulatory-relevant endpoints for therapeutics targeting aging biology and functional resilience, potentially accelerating and streamlining future development programs.

(Press release, Nula Therapeutics, APR 16, 2026, View Source [SID1234664463])

On April 16, 2026 Crown Bioscience, a global contract research organization (CRO) and a JSR Life Sciences company, reported it will present new data at the AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting 2026 demonstrating how integrated, patient-derived platforms can accelerate the development of complex oncology modalities, including antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and radiopharmaceuticals. Across 12 poster presentations, the company highlights scalable approaches to improve target selection, optimize payload design, and overcome resistance, addressing key challenges in translational oncology.

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Collectively, the data underscore the need for predictive, clinically relevant models that better reflect tumor biology and treatment response. By combining patient-derived xenografts (PDX), 3D tumor organoid models, multi-omics, and imaging approaches, Crown Bioscience demonstrates how integrated workflows support more informed decision-making earlier in development, particularly as the industry advances increasingly complex therapeutic modalities.

A central focus this year is advancing ADCs through improved target validation, payload selection, and resistance modeling. New findings introduce a high-throughput organoid platform to rapidly screen payloads or ADCs and support the prediction of in vivo efficacy. The results demonstrate clear differentiation across payload classes and ADC performance in a broad panel of organoid models spanning multiple solid tumor indications, enhancing translational predictability from in vitro screening to in vivo validation, and ultimately to clinical response in patients.

Complementing this work, Crown Bioscience presents ADC-resistant tumor models spanning engineered cell lines, organoids, and PDX models established from previously treated patients. These models seek to replicate clinically relevant resistance mechanisms, including efflux-driven payload resistance and antigen loss, providing insight into treatment failure and a foundation for evaluating next-generation strategies and combination approaches designed to overcome resistance.

Further strengthening the workflow, large-scale multi-omics data validate tumor-associated antigen (TAA) expression across approximately 1,000 PDX models and matched organoid systems, providing insight to support more informed target selection and translational decision-making.

In parallel, Crown Bioscience is co-presenting a poster with Medicines Discovery Catapult on an end-to-end translational workflow for radiopharmaceutical development. This work integrates radiochemistry, imaging, and patient-derived models to evaluate the theranostic pair PSMA-617, demonstrating how the combination of in vitro and in vivo systems improves predictive accuracy and enables more confident progression of radiopharmaceutical candidates.

Together, these studies reflect a shift toward integrated, platform-based approaches that address persistent industry challenges, including limited translational predictability, incomplete understanding of resistance, and inefficiencies in candidate selection. By aligning model systems with clinically relevant biology, Crown Bioscience de-risks the path from target to patient.

Attendees are encouraged to visit Booth #3236 to learn more about these studies and speak with Crown Bioscience’s scientists to gain deeper insights into the integrated platforms and services available to advance oncology programs from discovery through to clinical development.

(Press release, Crown Bioscience, APR 16, 2026, View Source [SID1234664432])

On April 16, 2026 Revvity, Inc. reported its latest innovations in cancer research at the AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting 2026, to be held in San Diego, April 17-22. The Company’s comprehensive suite of research use only (RUO) oncology solutions are designed to elevate preclinical and translational research workflows, helping scientists accelerate discoveries that drive the future of cancer science.

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The full scope of Revvity’s integrated oncology solutions and reagents that will be on display are designed to support the entire cancer research workflow from sample preparation and assay development, to advanced imaging, detection, and data analysis. By combining innovative technologies with AI-driven insights, Revvity helps researchers generate high-quality, reproducible data and uncover deeper biological insights faster.

"Our focus is on empowering researchers with connected, end-to-end solutions that remove complexity and accelerate progress," said Kevin Quick, vice president, platforms at Revvity. "At AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper), we’ll demonstrate how our technologies are helping advance cancer research and ultimately contribute to improved patient outcomes."

Attendees will experience several of Revvity’s latest innovations, including:

Opera Phenix OptIQ high-content screening system for advanced 3D and live-cell imaging
Living Image Synergy AI software for multimodal in vivo imaging data analysis
EnVision Nexus One multimode plate reader for high-sensitivity detection and performance
AssayMate automated workstation for simplified, accessible sample preparation
Dharmacon ON-TARGETplus 2.0 siRNA for potent on-target mRNA knockdown with siRNA designed against the modern genome
Next-generation reagents and assay solutions, such as ATPlite and Spark PLUS UV395, designed to enhance workflow consistency and data quality
Together, these solutions reflect Revvity’s strategy to deliver integrated technologies that connect workflows, reduce variability, and enable more confident decision-making in cancer research, including advanced cellular imaging, AI-enabled in vivo analysis, high-performance detection, automation, and genomics tools.

By bringing together instrumentation, reagents, software, and services, Revvity supports researchers at every stage of the scientific journey, helping overcome complex research challenges, increase productivity, and translate discoveries into meaningful impact.

(Press release, Revvity, APR 16, 2026, View Source [SID1234664448])

On April 16, 2026 Fate Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: FATE), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to bringing a first-in-class pipeline of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived cellular immunotherapies to patients with cancer and autoimmune diseases, reported that preclinical data from the Company’s next-generation, off-the-shelf CAR T-cell product candidate, FT839, will be featured at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting, being held in San Diego, CA on April 17-22, 2026.

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The Company has been selected to participate in a poster presentation featuring preclinical data from FT839, its next generation, 13-point edited, off-the-shelf CAR T-cell product candidate for the broad treatment of hematological malignancies and autoimmune diseases. In addition, FT839 incorporates Sword and Shield technology to evade and eliminate host allogeneic immune responses, promote functional persistence, and thereby eliminate the need for conditioning chemotherapy.

A link to the abstract can be found here: Fate AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) Abstract Poster presentation details are as follows:

Poster Presentation

Title: FT839: A next-generation, off-the-shelf CAR T-cell uniquely engineered with a dual CAR system targeting CD19 and CD38 for the treatment of hematological malignancies and autoimmune diseases without conditioning chemotherapy

Session: CAR T-Cell Functional Enhancement

Presentation Date / Time: Tuesday, April 21, 2026 / 9:00 a.m. to Noon PDT

(Press release, Fate Therapeutics, APR 16, 2026, View Source [SID1234664433])

On April 16, 2026 Ankyra Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering anchored immunotherapy to deliver better outcomes for people with cancer and other serious diseases, reported two poster presentations will be featured at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting, taking place April 17-22 in San Diego.

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The presentations cover data from the ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial of tolododekin alfa, a novel IL-12 anchored immunotherapy, and preclinical data on anchored immunotherapy in combination with HDAC for the treatment of checkpoint-refractory solid tumors. Patients interested in enrolling in the Phase 1 clinical trial at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), may contact the toll-free number 1-800-4-Cancer (1-800-422-6237) (TTY: 1-800-332-8615) and/or visit the web site: View Source and/or email [email protected].

Presentation details:

Title: Immune Escape via Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells in Solid Tumor Cancer Patients Treated with Anchored IL-12 (Tolododekin Alfa)?

Type: Poster Presentation
Session: First-in-Human Phase 1 Clinical Trials
Date and time: April 20, 2:00-5:00pm PST
Abstract number: CT123
Lead author: Wiem Lassoued, Ph.D., Center for Immuno-oncology, National Cancer Institute
Title: Intratumoral IL-12 in combination with HDAC inhibition overcomes checkpoint-refractory tumors

Type: Poster Presentation
Session: Combination Immunotherapies
Date and time: April 20, 9:00am-12:00pm PST
Abstract number: 1563
Lead author: Ainara Meler, Ph.D., Center for Immuno-oncology, National Cancer Institute
About tolodoken alfa

Tolododekin alfa is an investigational, first-in-class interleukin-12 (IL-12)-anchored immunotherapy. IL-12 is a highly potent proinflammatory cytokine, but its therapeutic use has been limited by toxicity. With Ankyra’s anchoring technology, tolododekin alfa has been shown to deliver and retain high doses of IL-12 in the tumor microenvironment. Early results from an ongoing Phase 1 study show durable retention within tumors, encouraging clinical activity, and a favorable safety profile, with no dose-limiting toxicities across multiple difficult-to-treat solid tumor types. Ankyra is also evaluating tolododekin alfa for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma.

(Press release, Ankyra Therapeutics, APR 16, 2026, View Source [SID1234664449])