Modex Therapeutics Inc. has been awarded a contract from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to advance a platform and specific candidates designed to address a range of public health threats in viral infectious diseases.
Lyme disease, caused by the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi and transmitted by Ixodes ticks, is expanding in many countries, posing a significant global health concern. The outer surface protein A (OspA) of B. burgdorferi is currently the most promising target for vaccine development, primarily because of its broad conservation among different bacterial strains that cause the disease. In a recent publication, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and collaborators proposed using a lipid nanoparticle-encapsulated nucleoside-modified mRNA (mRNA-LNP) platform, similar to that of clinical vaccines against SARS-CoV-2, to develop a vaccine against Lyme disease.
Viruses of the Betacoronavirus genus that bind to angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) are the coronaviruses posing the most significant pandemic risk. Sarbecoviruses of this genus caused the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic and the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Therefore, new vaccines with broader protection from ACE2-binding sarbecoviruses and emerging variants of concern are urgently needed.
The fungus Candida auris has become an urgent clinical problem at a shocking speed. It was not even mentioned in the U.S. CDC’s 2013 reports on antimicrobial threats, but was one of five pathogens on the agency’s 2019 top-tier Urgent Threat List.
The Global Health Innovative Technology (GHIT) Fund has announced new investments in the development of a new prophylactic vaccine against malaria, a new anti-malarial drug, and product development projects against neglected tropical diseases.
An2 Therapeutics Inc. has received a research grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to discover novel, boron-containing small molecules for the treatment of tuberculosis (TB) and malaria.
Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) causes difficult-to-treat infections due to its inherent resistance. Thus finding new strategies to overcome MRSA resistance is critical. Researchers from China Agricultural University reported on the discovery and optimization of a novel series of pleuromutilin derivatives containing benzoxazole-2-thiol.
TANK-binding kinase 1 (TBK1) serves prominent innate immune functions via complex interactions with adaptor proteins to affect phosphorylation of NF-κB (NF-κB). TBK1 is at the nexus of multiple pathways connecting interferon pathway activation and this is ultimately beneficial or hyperinflammatory-pathological in the context of viral infections.
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