Scientists have discovered a new antibiotic called evybactin that is able to selectively target Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacteria that causes tuberculosis (TB) lung infections. As described in NatureChemicalBiology on Aug. 22, 2022. the work is still at an early stage and requires further validation. But, if successful in clinical trials, evybactin could form part of a new group of specific antibiotics designed to target TB.
Interim analysis of a phase III trial testing a single dose of Pfizer Inc.'s bivalent respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine candidate, RSVpreF, in older adults has revealed efficacy good enough to support a planned BLA submission for the vaccine to the U.S. FDA in fall 2022, the company said. Preparation for further submissions to other regulatory agencies are underway.
Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.’s dengue fever vaccine, Qdenga, was approved in Indonesia Aug. 23, making it the first global approval for the tetravalent vaccine. The approval marks Takeda’s first marketed vaccine outside of Japan. Indonesia’s National Agency for Drug and Food Control approved the vaccine for prevention of dengue disease caused by any serotype in individuals 6 years to 45 years of age.
Etherna Immunotherapies NV has raised €39 million (US$39 million) in new financing as it pivots to an mRNA-platform strategy. It has added a couple of heavy hitters to its board and its roster of investors, indicating that the move has already gained traction in the marketplace.
The first randomized placebo-controlled trial assessing the effectiveness of the antiviral drug Tpoxx (tecovirimat) in treating monkeypox has begun in the U.K., with the first patients enrolled on Aug. 21.
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s Inmazeb and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics LP’s Ebanga earned a ringing endorsement from the World Health Organization (WHO) in its first ever guideline on Ebola therapies. In releasing the guideline Aug. 19, WHO officials celebrated the fact that Ebola is no longer “a near certain killer” – provided treatment starts as soon as possible following diagnosis.
After nearly four decades as director of the U.S. NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), 81-year-old Anthony Fauci will be stepping down in December. He also announced Aug. 22 that he will be handing over the reins as chief of the NIAID Laboratory of Immunoregulation and as chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden.
The Project to Accelerate New Treatments for Tuberculosis is progressing two investigational tuberculosis combination treatment regimens into phase II trials under a joint development agreement.
It’s been a patchy year for vaccine specialist Valneva SE, in which it saw European orders for its delayed
COVID-19 vaccine dry up but then received a €90.5 million (US$92.1 million) investment from Pfizer Inc. as its Lyme disease vaccine entered phase III. The firm has now hit another setback after the U.S. Department of Defense decided not to take an option for a second year in contract to supply a Japanese encephalitis vaccine, Ixiaro.
Blue Water Vaccines Inc. is ready to try its hand at developing a monkeypox vaccine. The company is launching an exploratory program to develop a vaccine attempting to present antigens within its norovirus shell and protrusion virus-like particle (VLP) platform.
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