Trawsfynydd Therapeutics Inc. has received approval to initiate a first-in-man phase I trial of the novel best-in-class COVID-19 treatment, TRX-01, an inhibitor targeting the SARS-CoV-2 viral main protease (3CL, Mpro).

COVID-19 severity remains open to several questions. Researchers at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) have revealed how SARS-CoV-2 causes acute inflammation instead of the symptoms of a common cold. This effect could be initiated by the peptide fragments of the coronavirus released when the host eliminates the virus, which can form pro-inflammatory complexes that trigger an amplified immune response.

Capricor Therapeutics Inc.'s Stealthx exosome-based multivalent vaccine for the prevention of SARS-CoV-2 has been selected to be part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Project Nextgen initiative aimed at developing COVID-19 vaccines offering broader and more durable protection.

Several highly pathogenic viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, share a conserved mechanism of infection via the fusion of the viral and host membranes employing a six-helix bundle (6-HB) heptad repeat.

The COVID-19 virus may keep mutating, but new findings from Korean researchers at the Institute of Basic Science (IBS) offer a silver lining: human immunity is adapting, too.

Researchers at ETH Zurich have identified a proteomic signature that could recognize long COVID six months after acute infection. Biologically, the signature indicated that the complement system remained active in patients with long COVID six months after infection. Translationally, it could lead to a diagnostic test for long COVID, and suggests that targeting the complement system could be a therapeutic approach to prevent or treat the disorder.