Modulating G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) is one of the major challenges in biomedicine. These are flexible proteins with small, deep binding pockets. The scientific community has explored small molecules, antibodies and nanobodies to develop ligands. Skape Bio Inc. is betting on creating miniproteins, a strategy that brings precise solutions for different functions.

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified multiple loci associated with complex diseases, but these are mostly on regulatory genes in the non-coding part of the genome and it has proved difficult to identify the effector genes that they control. Now, researchers in the U.K. have shown how single cell sequencing at scale can be used to precisely link non-coding GWAS loci to specific protein coding genes and cell types.

The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) will provide up to $9.7 million in additional funding to Pop Biotechnologies Inc. to advance the company’s Pop Bio SNAP (Spontaneous Nanoliposome Antigen Particle) protein vaccine platform into a phase I trial.

IMU Biosciences Ltd. has closed its series A at £40 million (US$53.9 million), adding £28.5 million to the initial close in January 2024, and bringing the total raised since the company’s formation in 2021 to £45 million. Since that first close, IMU has built what is claimed as the world’s largest high-definition immune system dataset, with almost 25,000 profiles of healthy volunteers and disease-specific patient cohorts.

The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) has announced funding and support to urgently accelerate development of three investigational vaccines targeting the Bundibugyo Ebola virus.

Moderna Inc. has announced an expanded collaboration with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) to advance the development of a potential vaccine against Bundibugyo Ebola virus (BDBV), a cause of Ebola virus disease.

Protuoso Biosciences has announced the close of an oversubscribed $9.5 million seed financing round, the proceeds of which will be used to advance its multifunctional protein engineering platform and broad pipeline across cardiometabolic, oncology and autoimmune diseases.

Recent findings are reshaping current understanding of the post-infection landscape of SARS-CoV-2. Although previous studies had already suggested that autoimmunity might underlie the persistent neurological symptoms seen in long COVID, researchers at Yale University and Mount Sinai now reinforce this hypothesis. SARS-CoV-2 infection appears to trigger an autoimmune mechanism that drives chronic pain, fatigue and cognitive impairment in some patients.

Cell therapy based on fibroblasts has shown promise in the treatment of psoriasis due to immune modulation capability and strong expansion when cultured. Work at Fibrobiologics Inc. has focused on the impact of culture format and donors of human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs) on the therapeutic efficacy and immune responses in murine models of psoriasis.

Although influenza virus infection can be particularly life-threatening among young infants, approved vaccines are lacking for infants under 6 months. Aiming to overcome the required annual updates to the influenza vaccine, recent efforts have focused on generating vaccines that promote broadly reactive antibodies (Abs) targeting conserved regions of viral proteins, such as the stem domain of hemagglutinin (HA).