Biomedical research seems like it should be the ultimate bipartisan issue. But under the Trump administration, unless and until Congress regains its will to make use of its constitutional powers, bipartisan support for research seems to be a thing of the past. On March 3, members of the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine warned that the second Trump administration has been waging a “wholesale assault” on American research.
COVID-19 has continued to alarm public health, and although several therapeutics and vaccines have been developed, the development of effective vaccines or antibodies is challenging due to mutations in the surface of the spike protein in the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Syndax Pharmaceuticals Inc. has disclosed extended purine tricyclic and bicyclic nucleosides as prodrugs reported to be useful for the treatment of viral infections.
Arrepath Inc. has disclosed UDP-2,3-diacylglucosamine hydrolase (LpxH; bacterial) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of gram-negative bacterial infections.
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is associated with liver diseases, including chronic hepatitis, which notably increases the risk of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development. Although some of the current treatment strategies promote virological suppression, they are insufficient to halt HCC development.
An Institut Pasteur team has developed an original vaccine platform known as MOPEVAC, that will strengthen the organization’s pandemic preparedness initiatives, with the platform’s first vaccine candidate, which targets Lassa fever, set to enter the clinic.
The ability of influenza virus to rapidly undergo antigenic shift to evade immunity raises the need for effective influenza antivirals with a broad spectrum. In a recent Nature Microbiology article, Cidara Therapeutics Inc. provided preclinical data for their drug-Fc conjugate compound CD-388, which has the potential to be a robust therapeutic option for the universal prevention of both seasonal and pandemic influenza.
Vaxcyte Inc. characterized its latest phase II data with VAX-24 as positive but Wall Street wasn’t so sure about the dose-finding outcomes with the 24-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV), and shares of the San Carlos, Calif.-based firm (NASDAQ:PCVX) closed March 31 at $37.76, down $31.70, or 46%.
Peter Marks’ March 28 letter giving one week’s notice of his resignation as director of the U.S. FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) is sending more ripples of uncertainty throughout the industry. Marks, who has helmed CBER for nearly a decade, blamed his departure on recently confirmed Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert Kennedy, who has made a career out of his anti-vaccine stance.
The University of Hong Kong has patented RNA polymerase β subunit/RNA polymerase sigma factor RpoD (bacterial) interaction inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of gram-positive bacterial infections.
RSS
