Top-line data from the phase II Kickstart study of Effector Therapeutics Inc.’s tomivosertib as a frontline treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer failed to produce data strong enough to continue development in the indication. The company has decided to halt the study, move ahead with a separate, investigator-sponsored study of tomivosertib in acute myeloid leukemia and focus on another drug in its pipeline for treating breast cancer. Effector’s stock (NASDAQ:EFTR) crumpled on the NCSLC news as shares plunged 82% on April 4 to close at $2.96 each. The closing value was the lowest the company has seen in the past 12 months.
A multi-institutional group led by the University of California at San Francisco’s Quantitative Biosciences Institute (QBI) has identified more than 200 host proteins that interacted with SARS-CoV-2 viral proteins during infection, creating “a blueprint of how SARS-CoV-2 hijacks human cells.”
A multi-institutional group led by the University of California at San Francisco’s Quantitative Biosciences Institute (QBI) has identified more than 200 host proteins that interacted with SARS-CoV-2 viral proteins during infection, creating “a blueprint of how SARS-CoV-2 hijacks human cells,” QBI Director Nevan Krogan told reporters. They then used that blueprint to identify 10 drugs, some FDA approved and some in clinical trials, that were able to inhibit viral growth in cell culture assays, marking them for further study as potential antivirals. The work also identified one compound, dextromethorphan, that appeared to facilitate viral growth.