Fox Chase Chemical Diversity Center Inc. and University of Pittsburgh have jointly described new proteolysis targeting chimeras (PROTACs) consisting of Nef (HIV-1)-targeting moiety covalently linked to cereblon (CRBN)-binding moiety.
Universidade Nova De Lisboa has disclosed rhenium complexes described as potentially useful for the treatment of cancer and gram-positive bacterial infections.
Immuron Ltd. has signed a new research collaboration agreement with Monash University to develop new therapeutic drug candidates targeting antimicrobial-resistant pathogens. This work will utilize the Immuron technology platform, and the experience of the Biomedicine Discovery Institute research team.
Investigators at The Scripps Research Institute and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have designed novel covalent inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 papain-like protease (PLpro) and assessed their drug properties in preclinical models.
Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARB-X) will award a seed grant of $610,000 to Justus Liebig University Giessen (JLU) to support the definition of a lead optimization path for the development of a direct-acting peptide therapeutic based on a natural-product scaffold targeting gram-negative pathogens.
TC Biopharm (Holdings) plc intends to begin proof-of-concept preclinical studies for its lead therapeutic TCB-008, to treat H5N1, or bird flu. TCB-008 is an allogeneic, unmodified cell therapy comprised of activated and expanded γδ T cells.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), multidrug-resistant pathogens caused over 1.27 million deaths worldwide in 2020. And figures are rising, with projections pointing to antimicrobial resistance surpassing cancer as the leading cause of death by 2050. Now, researchers at the HUN-REN Biological Research Center have unveiled the role of pre-existing genetic variabilities and specific cross-resistance patterns among several antibiotics designed to combat gram-positive bacteria.
There are currently three approved vaccines against the H5N1 avian influenza virus. However, they present challenges for large-scale virus cultivation in case of an outbreak and rapid update of vaccine strains to keep pace with the virus’s evolution. Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine platforms may offer a promising alternative to traditional vaccine methods to face H5N1 threats.
An experimental tuberculosis (TB) vaccine with a dual mission – self-destruction after inducing immunity – improved the design of the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) immunotherapy, a vaccine also used against cancer. Scientists at the University of Pittsburgh engineered this strain with a double break, which is effective and safer after an intravenous administration, according to their results in nonhuman primates and mice.