LONDON – A study of genetic variants in patients with life-threatening COVID-19 has shed light on the mechanisms that underpin severe disease, uncovered new drug targets and pointed to approved drugs, including JAK inhibitors and phosphodiesterase type 4 inhibitors, as therapies that could aid recovery.
Data presented at the 2020 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS) – held, of course, in cyberspace and not San Antonio this year – added to the evidence that adding Verzenio (abemaciclib, Eli Lilly and Co.) to endocrine therapy for up to two years benefited women with high-risk, early stage hormone receptor-driven and HER2-negative breast cancer.
Despite concerns to the contrary, none of the mutations currently documented in the SARS-CoV-2 virus appear to increase its transmissibility in humans, according to a new analysis of viral genomes from 46,723 people in 99 countries who contracted COVID-19.
BioWorld looks at translational medicine, including: Overfeeding slows down liver’s response to glucose changes; Oncolytic virus combines best of both immune worlds.
LONDON – The Google artificial intelligence company Deepmind has developed an algorithm that can predict the 3D structure of a protein from its amino acid sequence, making it possible to solve the structures of proteins, such as G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), which are a mainstay of drug targeting but whose structure is challenging to determine with current methods.