In the past year, the FDA, the EMA or the MHRA authorised fifty-three (53) novel drugs. While this 2024 harvest is not as rich as that of 2023, when 70 new chemical entities were approved, the number of “orphan” drug authorisations in 2024 (21) is similar to that of 2023 (24), illustrating the very dynamic development of therapeutics in areas of high unmet need. Clearly, the most striking characteristic of the 2024 drug yield is the creative pharmacological design, which allows these medicines to employ a novel approach to target a disease. Some such 2024 notable examples are: the first drug successfully using a ”dock-and-block” mechanism of inhibition (zenocutuzumab), the first approved drug for schizophrenia designed as an agonist of M1/M4 muscarinic receptors (xanomeline), the first biparatopic antibody (zanidatamab), binding two distinct epitopes of the same molecule, the first haemophilia therapy that instead of relying on external supplementation of clotting factors, restores Factor Xa activity by inhibiting TFPI (marstacimab), or the first ever authorized direct telomerase inhibitor (imetelstat) that reprogrammes the tumour cells’ oncogenic drive. In addition, in 2024 an impressive percentage of the novel drugs were first-in-class (28 out of 53, or 53% of the total) and a substantial number of them can be considered disease-agnostic, indicating the possibility of future approved extension of their use into additional indications. Overall, the 2024 harvest demonstrates the therapeutic potential of innovative pharmacological design, which allows the effective targeting of intractable disorders and addresses crucial, unmet therapeutic needs

The pathological mechanisms involved in Heart failure (HF) are complex and remain controversial. Caused by a variety of predisposing and exacerbating factors for HF development, the selection of animal models in current preclinical R&D has been a major challenge. In this review, we give a comprehensive overview of different models in various species currently used in HF research, and discuss their general applicability. In addition, we summarize the preclinical research review of approved drugs for HF, which provides theoretical and practical guidance for researchers considering preclinical studies for the treatment of HF.

Background and Purpose: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has resulted in high mortality worldwide. However, information regarding cardiac markers for precise risk-stratification is limited. We aimed to discover a sensitive and reliable early-warning biomarker for optimizing management and improving COVID-19 patients’ prognosis. Experiments Approach: This retrospectively single-center case series was conducted between February 4 and April 10, 2020. 3,046 consecutive COVID-19 patients who were receiving treatment at Wuhan Huoshenshan Hospital in China were included. Serum levels of cardiac markers and coronary artery disease (CAD) diagnosis were collected after admission. Single-cell RNA-sequencing was performed to analyze severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) receptor expression. Key Results: Median patient age was 60 years; 1,461 (49.5%) were female, and 1,515 (51.3%) were in a severe/critical condition. Compared to mild/moderate patients, severe/critical patients showed significantly higher levels of cardiac markers within the first week after admission. Among severe/critical COVID-19 patients, those with abnormal serum levels of brain natriuretic peptide had a significantly higher mortality than patients with normal levels. Severe/critical COVID-19 patients with pre-existing CAD (165/1,515) had more cases of abnormal brain natriuretic peptide levels than those without CAD. Enhanced SARS-CoV-2 receptor expression was observed in patients with CAD. Regression analysis revealed patients with elevated brain natriuretic peptide were at a higher risk of death. Conclusion and Implications: Brain natriuretic peptide is an effective biomarker for early risk assessment in COVID-19 patients with or without pre-existing CAD. Monitoring BNP status will improve the risk-stratification management and prognosis of patients within one week after admission.