Immunoprecise Antibodies Ltd.'s Polytope TATX-03 antibody combination therapy has been shown to neutralize SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern, including the omicron BA.5 subvariant, in an authentic virus assay.
Since the very beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to the attempts to rapidly develop a vaccine that was effective against current strains, researchers have been looking for a vaccine that could protect more broadly against multiple coronaviruses.
Since the very beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to the attempts to rapidly develop a vaccine that was effective against current strains, researchers have been looking for a vaccine that could protect more broadly against multiple coronaviruses. That has prompted attempts to harness the potential of the more conserved S2 subunit of the spike protein via which SARS-CoV-2 enters human host cells.
Targetingone Corp. Ltd.’s new testing kit based on digital polymerase chain reaction (dPCR) techniques has received approval from China’s NMPA. It is the first dCPR-based testing kit to receive the country’s class III medical device registration certificate. The Beijing-based company collaborated with Tsinghua University, several hospitals and the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) participated to research and develop the testing kit.
LONDON – New research shows the extent to which an individual’s immune response to the SARS-CoV-2 virus is affected by which variants they are initially exposed to, a finding that has consequences for attempts to update vaccines against emerging variants of concern.
LONDON – The latest epidemiological data from South Africa show it has entered a fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, fueled by the Omicron variant of concern that was first detected in the country in late November. “We have moved from a total of 2,465 new cases last Thursday, when this variant was announced, to yesterday’s high of 11,535 [PCR confirmed infections],” said health minister Joseph Phaahla, in a briefing on Dec. 3.
LONDON – Cases of the new variant of SARS-CoV-2, which has an unprecedented number of mutations in the spike protein that is the target of most COVID-19 vaccines, have now been reported across Europe and in Canada, following its initial detection in South Africa.
LONDON – The U.K. Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has designated an offspring of the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 as a “variant under investigation” after uncovering some early evidence it may have an increased growth rate.
LONDON – Relaxing of control measures such as mask wearing and social distancing at a time when most of a population has been vaccinated against COVID-19 greatly increases the probability of the emergence of a vaccine-resistant strain, according to a new modeling study.
LONDON – Curevac NV blamed the high number of circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants after its COVID-19 vaccine failed to meet the primary endpoint in the interim analysis of the phase IIb/III trial. The vaccine, Cvncov, was only 47% effective in preventing COVID-19 infections in the 40,000-person study.
