Acute thrombosis, including heart attack and stroke, is a leading cause of mortality worldwide. Yet only a small fraction of patients can be treated with current therapeutic or surgical interventions. Enter Basking Biosciences Inc., a 2019 startup aimed at developing a short-acting, fast-onset thrombolytic drug alongside a reversal agent for treating acute ischemic stroke.
Researchers from Basking Biosciences Inc. presented preclinical data for BB-031, a novel RNA aptamer that binds and inhibits Von Willebrand Factor (VWF). BB-031 (0.5, 1.0 and 5.0 mg/kg) or placebo were administered to a canine model of large vessel occlusion (LVO) stroke at 6 hours post-LVO with an autologous clot.
Two-Photon Research Inc. (TPR) has launched a diagnostics platform it said improves coronavirus detection via aptamers, small molecules that change shape when binding to a protein at the surface of the SARS-CoV-2 molecule that causes COVID-19. Light shone onto a vial containing a patient’s saliva and the Aptamer Molecular Photonic Beacon (AMPB) generates negative or positive results that are instantly displayed on a smartphone and stored for planning purposes by public health officials.