The protection against SARS-CoV-2 provided by spike-based vaccines, although effective, tends to decrease as the virus evolves and new variants of concern appear. Researchers from Osivax SAS reported the first results on cross-protection with OVX-033, a new human SARS-CoV-2 vaccine generated via the oligoDOM platform.
Exevir Bio BV has been awarded a 2-year R&D grant of €1.6 million by Flanders Innovation & Entrepreneurship (VLAIO) for preclinical research towards prophylactic and therapeutic solutions for dengue.
Blue Water Biotech Inc. has released preliminary preclinical data supporting the use of its norovirus shell and protrusion (S&P) virus-like particle (VLP) platform to develop a novel mpox vaccine candidate.
SARS-CoV-2 and influenza (flu) viruses share similar clinical manifestations, common transmission mechanisms and target tissues, often overlapping during seasonal outbreaks. In addition, co-infection of these viruses worsens disease severity, emphasizing the pressing need for a vaccine that effectively tackles both.
TFF Pharmaceuticals Inc. has been awarded a Direct to Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to continue development of a novel, mucosal, multivariant influenza vaccine using the company’s thin film freezing (TFF) technology.
To address the absence of clinical trials evaluating immunotherapeutics for Acinetobacter baumannii infections, a team from the University of Texas at San Antonio conducted a study using immunoinformatics (EigenBio’s proprietary epitope prediction software) to identify peptides that contain both putative B- and T-cell epitopes from proteins associated with the pathogenesis of A. baumannii.
Two new polio vaccine candidates designed to prevent the emergence of vaccine-derived virulent polioviruses have been shown to induce immune responses in mice, raising the possibility of eradicating the virus. For that to happen, the transmission of all poliovirus serotypes must be blocked. However, the vaccine used to control polio prevents disease but does not stop transmission, enabling the virus to mutate and regain virulence.
Tuberculosis (TB) is the 13th leading cause of death in the world, and it is rising together with the increased prevalence of drug-resistant TB in many countries. The Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine is the only available TB vaccine, and it has been given to more people than any other vaccine. While the BCG vaccine has saved tens of millions of lives, it confers suboptimal protection against pulmonary TB as it is limited to providing protection only until early childhood. Significantly, the BCG vaccine is administered intradermally to confer exceptional mucosal immunity as compared to most other vaccines, which are more commonly administered intramuscularly. Novel strategies to improve the duration of TB mucosal immunity are urgently needed.
Defence Therapeutics Inc. has contracted Transbiotech Biotechnology Research and Transfer Center to test the potency of the company’s cellular anticancer ARM vaccine in animals with pre-established pancreatic tumors.
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.