CAR T-cell therapy can be applied to treat some chronic infectious diseases, particularly to provide a functional cure for HIV-1 in people living with HIV. However, the effectiveness of CAR T cells for persistent suppression of HIV still faces many constraints, including the high mutation rate of reverse transcriptase, which enables the emergence of immune escape viral variants.

A team at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University applied a drug repurposing strategy and screened a library of 2,528 small molecules targeting G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and related signaling pathways for the ability to inhibit the growth of Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

Tessera Therapeutics Inc. has received a grant from the Gates Foundation to support early-stage research exploring multiple genetic approaches aimed at developing a scalable cure for HIV. This research will evaluate several potential strategies leveraging Tessera’s Gene Writing platform to engineer immune cells in vivo.

KSP-1007 is a new bicyclic boronate-based broad-spectrum β-lactamase inhibitor that, in combination with meropenem, is under development for the treatment of infections caused by carbapenem-resistant gram-negative bacteria that produce serine- and metallo-type carbapenemases.

Aptar Pharma, part of Aptargroup Inc., has established a technical collaboration with Covirix Medical Pty Ltd. under a letter of intent to develop inhaled antiviral treatments.

Atea Pharmaceuticals Inc. recently presented preclinical data on two of its compounds, AT-2490 and AT-587, which have shown promising antiviral potential for treating hepatitis E virus infection.

Aiming to develop a vaccine candidate against human adenovirus-55 (HAdV-55) infections, researchers from the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University (China) and collaborators have generated a replication-incompetent rAd55-5E4.