Ocugen Inc. has received IND clearance from the FDA for OCU-500, an inhaled mucosal vaccine for COVID-19. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) will sponsor and conduct a phase I trial of OCU-500 administered via inhalation into the lungs and intranasally as a spray.
There are currently three approved vaccines against the H5N1 avian influenza virus. However, they present challenges for large-scale virus cultivation in case of an outbreak and rapid update of vaccine strains to keep pace with the virus’s evolution. Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine platforms may offer a promising alternative to traditional vaccine methods to face H5N1 threats.
An experimental tuberculosis (TB) vaccine with a dual mission – self-destruction after inducing immunity – improved the design of the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) immunotherapy, a vaccine also used against cancer. Scientists at the University of Pittsburgh engineered this strain with a double break, which is effective and safer after an intravenous administration, according to their results in nonhuman primates and mice.
Institut Pasteur Korea has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with four Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH)-affiliated research institutes with the aim of pursuing joint research on mRNA vaccine and treatment development.
Novel vaccines that can effectively target both coronaviruses and influenza viruses would be desirable to counteract the significant health burden these respiratory pathogens pose.
First, the good news about pandemics – and in 2024, there was big “good news.” Science Magazine named lenacapavir (Gilead Sciences Inc.) as the Breakthrough of the Year. In two separate trials, lenacapavir prevented HIV transmission with 100% efficacy in cisgender African women and 99.9% efficacy in men and gender-diverse persons when administered twice a year.
SK Bioscience has received approval from the Human Research Ethics Committee in Australia for a phase I/II trial of its mRNA-based Japanese encephalitis vaccine candidate, GBP-560.
Researchers from Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc. described the protective effect exerted by INO-4500, a DNA vaccine produced using the Syncon technology, against lethal Lassa virus in nonhuman primates.
Researchers from presented preclinical data for AVX-70371, a novel therapeutic vaccine being developed for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection.
CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Ltd.’s SYS-6026 has obtained clearance from China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) to enter clinical trials for the treatment of high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions associated with human papillomavirus (HPV) type 16 or 18.
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