Any decision on whether to expand a five-year World Trade Organization (WTO) waiver of intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines to diagnostics and therapies likely will be delayed longer than proponents had hoped. WTO members originally were scheduled to vote on expanding the waiver in December, but the deadline was extended indefinitely when key members, including the U.S., pushed for a delay.
Suzhou Spring-Sea Bio-Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. has divulged prodrugs of N4-hydroxycytidine (NHC) reported to be useful for the treatment of viral infections.
Emory University has identified deuterated and/or methylated N4-hydroxycytidine (NHC) analogues reported to be useful for the treatment of viral infections.
Shionogi & Co. Ltd.’s orally administered COVID-19 antiviral, 3CL protease inhibitor Xocova (ensitrelvir/S-217622), scored emergency regulatory approval from Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare for SARS-CoV-2 infection, and the Japanese government has agreed to purchase 1 million courses of Xocova for domestic supply of the antiviral.
Pfizer Inc. and Clear Creek Bio Inc. have entered into a research collaboration and exclusive license agreement to advance the discovery and development of potential inhibitors of the SARS-CoV-2 papain-like protease (PLpro) for the oral treatment of COVID-19.
Atriva Therapeutics GmbH, a small firm founded in 2015 to develop a host-targeted antiviral approach for treating respiratory viral infections, seems to have found itself in thick of it. As the U.S. CDC and other health agencies warn of an uptick in respiratory viral infections – the so-called “tripledemic” of influenza, respiratory syncytial virus and COVID-19 – the German company is gearing up to launch a basket trial testing lead candidate zapnometinib in all three indications.
With its acquisition of Subintro Ltd., Rigimmune Inc. put a building block in place to further its development of stem-loop RNA therapeutics that selectively activate the innate immune sensor RIG-I. Subintro specializes in development and delivery of antiviral therapeutics for respiratory diseases caused by RNA viruses, including influenza, rhinovirus and SARS-CoV-2. Subintro’s technology allows the company to consider topical and nasal delivery.
The U.K. is launching a coordinated national program of research into the unprecedented outbreak of monkeypox that has spread across Europe and North America – regions where the disease is not endemic – over the past six months. Taking a lead from the SARS-CoV-2 playbook, there will be work to sequence the viral genome and to study how it is evolving, linking this to changes in the transmission and pathology of the virus.
The U.K. is launching a coordinated national program of research into the unprecedented outbreak of monkeypox that has spread across Europe and North America – regions where the disease is not endemic – over the past six months. Taking a lead from the SARS-CoV-2 playbook, there will be work to sequence the viral genome and to study how it is evolving, linking this to changes in the transmission and pathology of the virus.
Researchers from Enanta Pharmaceuticals Inc. presented preclinical data for the small molecule non-nucleoside respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) L-protein inhibitor, EDP-323, being developed for the treatment of RSV infection.
