Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARB-X), led by Boston University, is awarding $1.2 million to the Andrew G. Myers Research Group at Harvard University to develop a series of enhanced oral antibiotics that directly target a range of antibiotic-resistant bacteria which cause serious lower respiratory tract and skin and soft tissue infections.
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).
AN2 Therapeutics Inc.’s decision to pause enrollment in the phase III portion of its phase II/III testing epetraborole in treatment-refractory Mycobacterium avium complex lung disease, citing potentially lower-than-expected efficacy from a blinded aggregate analysis of the phase II portion, left analysts and investors with little to do but speculate on the program’s viability going forward.
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.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released a sweeping plan that is designed to help manage vector-borne pathogens, such as the Zika virus, with the ultimate goal of reducing the related disease burden to zero.
Aatec Medical GmbH has announced the start of its collaboration with the German Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovations (SPRIND), which will help advance the preclinical development of ATL-105.
Aligos Therapeutics Inc. and Katholieke Universiteit Leuven have jointly patented 3C-like proteinase (3CLpro; Mpro; nsp5) (SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19 virus) inhibitors for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID-19), middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection, norovirus and rhinovirus infections.
Chongqing Fuan Pharmaceutical (Group) Co. Ltd. has prepared and tested class of 7-((5-membered heterocyclic)methyl)-8-carboxylic acid-benzo cyclic borate derivatives reported to be useful for the treatment of bacterial infections.
A common molecular pathway associated with lung fibrosis may also hold the key to pulmonary vascular repair. A group of scientists at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) found that when a viral infection damaged these vessels, the injury could be restored by activating the transforming growth factor-β receptor 2 (TGF-βR2) in endothelial cells, which led to cell proliferation.