Infex Therapeutics Ltd. has published positive phase IIa data for its lead program, RESP-X, in the treatment of exacerbations of chronic respiratory infections caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa and is now laying the ground for phase IIb development, after raising £4.3 million (US$5.8 million) in new capital.
Antimicrobial-focused Tennor Therapeutics Ltd. will debut in Hong Kong May 22, having priced a HK$626.84 million (US$80 million) IPO. The Suzhou, China-based biotech is waiting on China’s National Medical Products Administration approval of lead asset rifasutenizol (TNP-2198), which has potential to become the first targeted combination regimen to treat H. pylori infection.
It is not surprising that a large Ebola outbreak would be considered a public health emergency of international concern. But the current PHEIC is notable for the speed with which it was declared, speaking to the urgency of the situation. World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared the outbreak a PHEIC on Sunday, May 17, without first convening an emergency committee. That step is unprecedented.
It is not surprising that a large Ebola outbreak would be considered a public health emergency of international concern. But the current PHEIC is notable for the speed with which it was declared, speaking to the urgency of the situation. World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared the outbreak a PHEIC on Sunday, May 17, without first convening an emergency committee. That step is unprecedented.
Maxwell Biosciences Inc. has reported findings from a study showing that its broad-spectrum small molecules, named Claromers, are able to destroy Epstein-Barr virus. Claromers destroy pathogenic bacteria, viruses, fungi and biofilms, without harming healthy cells or the microbiome.
The threat posed by the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has intensified, with the confirmation that it is caused by the Bundibugyo species of the virus, for which there are no approved vaccines or antiviral therapies. At the same time, the high positivity rate, with eight laboratory confirmed cases out of 13 samples collected in various areas, and more reports of suspected cases and clusters of deaths, all point to a potentially much larger outbreak than currently is being detected and reported.
It’s back to the drawing board for the U.S. CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). After a year of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy gutting the panel and restocking it mostly with people who share his views on vaccines, the CDC published a notice in the May 19 Federal Register saying it’s withdrawing the amended ACIP charter renewal issued April 6 and is instead “re-establishing” the committee.
On Sunday, May 17th, 2026, the World Health Organization classified the ongoing Bundibugyo ebolavirus outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC). The rapid escalation to PHEIC is due to several factors. Given the high number of cases, the outbreak has likely been going undetected for some time, and may be a “much larger outbreak than what is currently being detected and reported, with significant local and regional risk of spread,” according to the WHO statement. The outbreak appears to already have crossed the border from the DRC into Uganda at least twice. And all this is happening with a virus for which there are no approved treatments or vaccines.
On the heels of the ouster of Marty Makary as the U.S. FDA commissioner and the serial leadership vacancies at the CDC and the FDA’s drugs and biologics centers, the government’s adherence to science took another blow May 16 when Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., lost the Louisiana primary, ending his bid for re-election.
On Sunday, May 17th, 2026, the World Health Organization classified the ongoing Bundibugyo ebolavirus outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC). The rapid escalation to PHEIC is due to several factors. Given the high number of cases, the outbreak has likely been going undetected for some time, and may be a “much larger outbreak than what is currently being detected and reported, with significant local and regional risk of spread,” according to the WHO statement. The outbreak appears to already have crossed the border from the DRC into Uganda at least twice. And all this is happening with a virus for which there are no approved treatments or vaccines.
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