Pfizer Inc. has acquired rights to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) drug candidate sisunatovir from Lianbio Co. Ltd. in a deal worth up to $155 million covering development and commercialization rights in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Singapore. With this agreement, Pfizer now holds global development and commercialization rights to the candidate, an orally administered fusion inhibitor is designed to block RSV replication by inhibiting F-mediated fusion with the host cell.
Jiangsu Recbio Technology Co. Ltd. has received clinical trial approval for its novel adjuvanted recombinant shingles vaccine, REC-610, from the Food and Drug Administration of the Philippines. A phase I trial will be conducted in healthy volunteers.
Symbio Pharmaceuticals Ltd. has entered into a sponsored research agreement with Tufts University to conduct joint research on the intravenous formulation of the antiviral drug brincidofovir.
Qrons Inc. has established a collaboration with scientists at a public research university in Israel, by which Tellurium-based compounds in combination with Qrons' QS-200 product candidate and other configurations will be explored as treatment for diffused axonal injuries (concussions), which accounts for approximately 89% of traumatic brain injuries (TBIs).
Everest Medicines Ltd. has achieved a preclinical proof-of-concept milestone for its mRNA rabies vaccine program. This new vaccine candidate for rabies post-exposure prophylaxis was developed in partnership with Providence Therapeutics Holdings Inc. utilizing a clinically validated mRNA technology platform.
Currently, most patients with urinary tract infections (UTIs) require long-term antibiotic treatment, which poses risks of resistance development and alters the patients' microbiota. Therefore, vaccines that raise safe, effective and long-lasting immune responses across populations for UTI prevention constitute a critical medical need. However, developing such vaccination strategies remains challenging because the responses need to be specific to a broad range of UTI-causing bacteria and include both blood and mucosal responses in the urogenital tract.