By combining synthetic biology and RNA therapy, the team at startup Strand Therapeutics Inc. hopes to make mRNA therapy more effective. Strand recently announced an immuno-oncology deal with Beigene Ltd. that netted the company $5 million to begin with and could end up being worth more than $250 million. Beyond immuno-oncology, the company’s basic technology could be broadly useful for both mRNA- and cell-based therapies.
The Human Skin Cell Atlas, comprising transcriptomes of 528,253 single cells, shows that cellular processes involved in skin development in embryos are reactivated in inflammatory skin diseases. In addition to suggesting potential new drug targets for atopic dermatitis and psoriasis, the transcriptomes provide a new route to understanding other inflammatory diseases.
Aging is not just wear and tear. It is an active process that is driven, at least in part, by chronic inflammation that is the result of immune cell dysfunction. Now, investigators at Stanford University have identified the metabolic switch underlying immune cell switch from function to dysfunction.
In what is claimed as the first co-authored research between regulatory scientists at the U.S. FDA and a commercial manufacturer of organ-on-a-chip devices, CN Bio's Physiomimix system is shown to perform better than the current standard in vitro liver toxicity tests.
BioWorld looks at translational medicine, including: Tau end run prevents memory deficits, but not inflammation; SCLC subtypes have specific vulnerabilities; Turning tsetse fly meal to poison for sleeping sickness control.
LONDON – There’s mixed news about emerging variants of SARS-CoV-2, with Pfizer Inc. and Biontech SE reporting their vaccine Comirnaty maintains its protective effect against B 1.1.7, first detected in the U.K., while researchers in South Africa say virus variant 501Y.V2 is able to escape neutralization by both monoclonal antibodies and convalescent plasma from previously infected individuals.
Researchers at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases have shown that optimal control of tuberculosis (TB) infection necessitated immune regulation as well as immune activation – and that PD-1 checkpoint blockers exacerbated TB infections in macaque monkeys by disrupting the balance between the two.
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