Francisella tularensis, the causative agent of tularemia, is capable of causing severe illness at extremely low infectious doses through inhalation. No licensed tularemia vaccines exist in most Western countries, and current candidates lack efficacy against pneumonic forms. This highlights an urgent need for more effective vaccine strategies.
Chronic infection with the parasitic protozoan Cryptosporidium can cause debilitating diarrhea and lead to cognitive impairment and cachexia. Researchers at the University of Washington and collaborators have identified the 5-aminopyrazole-4-carboxamide BKI-1708 as an inhibitor of calcium-dependent protein kinase 1, which is highly expressed during proliferation of the parasite.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is the leading cause of nosocomial infections, with an increasing prevalence worldwide. Researchers aimed to apply a new approach called “pseudo-natural product” (PNP) scaffolds for antibacterial development, and hypothesized that the indotropane class of PNPs might show potential activity against bacterial strains.
Infectious disease biopharma stocks bounced back in June and July, with the BioWorld Infectious Disease Index (BIDI) closing July up 4.34%. This marked a sharp reversal from earlier in the year, as the BIDI had dropped 17.83% by the end of April and 21.04% by the end of May.
Cancel culture continues at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as it observes National Immunization Awareness Month with another strike against vaccines. This time, a $500 million strike specifically targets 22 mRNA vaccine R&D programs at the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), marking the beginning of the end of BARDA’s funding for mRNA vaccines.
Chronic infection with hepatitis B virus affects around a quarter of a billion people globally, and it can increase risk of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Such infection is typically treated with nucleoside analogues, which do not eliminate it entirely. Therefore researchers have been searching for effective vaccines that could work not only in the classical sense of preventing infection from becoming chronic, but also in a therapeutic sense of curing already chronic infection.
Chinese vaccine company Ab&B Bio-tech announced an IPO listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX:2627) under which it hopes to raise up to HK$518.36 million (US$66 million) to commercialize its influenza and human rabies vaccines in China and internationally.
Around 10 million people globally live with the life-threatening human T-cell lymphotropic virus type-1 (HTLV-1), yet it remains a poorly understood disease that currently has no preventative treatments and no cure.
The other shoe dropped on the U.S. CDC’s Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP) when at least nine liaison organizations were informed by email late July 31 that they would no longer be involved in ACIP’s process of reviewing scientific evidence and informing vaccine recommendations.
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