Having already notched approvals in the EU and U.K., Astrazeneca plc hopes to prime the pump for a U.S. approval of nirsevimab as a respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) prophylactic for infants when it makes its case June 8 before the FDA’s Antimicrobial Drugs Advisory Committee.

As it nears the end of its cash runway and its lead antibiotic, Nuzyra, approaches a phase IIb readout, Paratek Pharmaceuticals Inc. agreed to be acquired by Gurnet Point Capital and Novo Holdings A/S for up to $3 per share in a deal that will take the company private.

Becoming the second approved respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine for the 60 and older crowd, Pfizer Inc.’s Abrysvo (RSVpreF; PF-06928316) received a U.S. FDA nod on May 31 for RSV lower respiratory tract disease. In February, the agency’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee voted 7-4 that data support both the safety and efficacy of the vaccine. Behind this approval for the senior population is another potential approval, expected in August, for infants via maternal inoculation.

With the rise of antibiotic resistance, treatment options against Yersinia pestis bacteria that cause pneumonic plague could also become limited. Antibody treatment has been effective in animal models of plague, but no approved human vaccine exists against this fatal disease.

Researchers from NYU Grossman School of Medicine reported on a new strategy intended to provide long-term protection against the SARS-CoV-2 virus using an experimental decoy.

Snipr Biome ApS has published initial clinical data showing its Crispr-Cas modified bacteriophage product selectively kills Escherichia coli – including strains that are resistant to antibiotics – with no effect on the rest of the gut microbiome. That paves the way to test Snipr-001 in the prevention of bloodstream infections in hematological cancer patients who, as a result of increased intestinal permeability caused by chemotherapy, are at high risk of gut bacteria getting into the bloodstream.