Global Health Drug Discovery Institute (GHDDI) has presented 3C-like proteinase (3CLpro) (SARS-CoV-2) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and SARS-CoV-2 infections (COVID-19).
Medshine Discovery Inc. has synthesized macrocyclic compounds acting as HIV integrase inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of HIV infections.
Researchers from PDS Biotechnology Corp. and affiliated organizations have detailed the development and preclinical evaluation of recombinant protein vaccines formulated with enantio-specific cationic lipid R-DOTAP.
Insilico Medicine Inc. has received IND clearance from China's National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) for ISM-3312, an orally available 3CLpro inhibitor for the treatment of COVID-19. ISM-3312 has a novel molecular structure and was optimized from compounds designed by Chemistry42, Insilico’s generative chemistry AI platform.
In the larger picture, the fight against HIV has been a triumph of modern medicine. A patient diagnosed with HIV in the 1980s had a remaining life expectancy of 1 to 2 years. In 2023, they can expect to live another half century. But so far, an HIV vaccine has remained elusive. In the newest phase III failure, Janssen Pharmaceutical Cos. of Johnson & Johnson closed down its Mosaico trial more than a year ahead of schedule, following a data and safety monitoring board’s (DSMB) report saying the study was not expected to hit its primary endpoint.
An international team of researchers has created two bat stem cell lines that reveal an unusual number of viral sequences in bat cells compared with those of other mammals. Writing in an article posted online Feb. 21, 2023, in Cell, the scientists suggested that the unusual amount of viral genetic material found in the bat stem cells could explain why these mammals are largely unaffected by most viral infections, despite being able to transmit them.
Ascletis Pharma Inc. presented subgroup data from a phase II trial showing its subcutaneous PD-L1 antibody envafolimab (ASC-22) was able to functionally cure chronic hepatitis B, according to hepatitis B surface antigen decline following 24-week treatment.
The emergence of new variants of concern (VOCs) of SARS-CoV-2 may limit the efficacy of monoclonal antibodies and vaccines currently used in the clinic.
Anthony Fauci has retired from his position as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and as chief medical advisor to the U.S. president. But Fauci, who has advised every president since Ronald Reagan, continues to share his encyclopedic knowledge with the HIV research community, as he has since the beginning of the HIV pandemic. Fauci co-founded the first National Conference on Human Retroviruses and related infections in 1993. At the Opening Session of the 30th edition of the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI), he highlighted the advances that have collectively extended the life expectancy of newly diagnosed patients by decades.
RSS
