Vaxcyte Inc. has received FDA clearance of its IND application for VAX-31, a 31-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) candidate designed to prevent invasive pneumococcal disease.
Activated phosphoinositide 3-kinase δ syndrome type 1 (APDS1) is a rare disease caused by gain-of-function (GOF) mutations in the PIK3CD gene that presents with combined immunodeficiency due to decreases in IgA, IgG, naive CD4 and naive CD8 cells. Nearly all APDS1 patients suffer from recurrent respiratory tract infections with most presenting with bronchiectasis and chronic viral infections.
In the U.S., hospital-borne antimicrobial-resistant nosocomial infections affect over 700,000 people every year causing more than 90,000 deaths along with a $28-45 billion financial burden. This commonly involves either methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus or carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii.
Scientists at Egenesis Inc. have transplanted kidneys from genome-edited pigs into cynomolgus monkeys that remained functional for long periods after transplantation. The monkeys, whose own kidneys were removed during the surgery, survived for a median of 176 days after receiving one pig kidney. Maximal survival was just over 2 years. The data were published today in Nature. Egenesis CEO Mike Curtis told reporters that the study has achieved the longest survival to date “using clinically translatable immunosuppression … longer survival has been achieved using really aggressive immunosuppression that really isn’t clinically translatable.”
Zomagen Biosciences Ltd. has prepared and tested new NLRP3 inflammasome modulators reported to be useful for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, cardiovascular disorders, inflammatory disorders, liver diseases, lung diseases, metabolic diseases and neurological disorders.
For individuals who develop an unexpected psychosis, there is something to be said for testing them for autoimmune antibodies. And something against. At the 36th Congress of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) this week, the topic was worth a controversy session, where speakers presented the pros and cons of the approach. Currently used tests have a specificity of 99%. But as Ester Coutinho, consultant neurologist at the University of Coimbra, pointed out, the validity of diagnostic tests depends on the prevalence of the disorder one is looking for as well. Coutinho estimated that autoimmune psychoses account for 1% of psychoses overall.
Synthetic, multi-epitope peptide vaccines are becoming an attractive universal influenza vaccine strategy. Longhorn Vaccines & Diagnostics LLC has created LHNVD-105, an influenza vaccine candidate consisting of unconjugated multi-epitope influenza peptides.
Atomwise Inc. has nominated a development candidate focused on TYK2 inhibition, discovered by leveraging its proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) drug discovery platform, Atomnet.
Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibition is a provenly effective strategy for the treatment of B-cell malignancies with several compounds approved such as ibrutinib, acalabrutinib or zanubrutinib. BTK also plays a central role in immunity and has thus emerged as a potential therapeutic target in autoimmune and inflammatory disorders.
The calcineurin inhibitor tacrolimus is an immunosuppressive drug frequently used to prevent transplant rejection in solid organ transplant patients. Tacrolimus acts by suppressing T-cell activity within and around the transplanted organ. However, this drug also inhibits T-cell function in the skin, contributing to a high incidence of skin cancer among transplant recipients.