Work underway on vaccines, antivirals against rare Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak
Less than two weeks after the outbreak was officially declared, animal studies of a newly designed vaccine against the Bundibugyo Ebola virus are now underway in the U.S. and U.K., and the Serum Institute of India is standing ready to manufacture the vaccine for clinical trials. If the animal tests are positive, the vaccine will be ready for clinical trials in two to three months.

Work underway on vaccines, antivirals against rare Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak
Less than two weeks after the outbreak was officially declared, animal studies of a newly designed vaccine against the Bundibugyo Ebola virus are now underway in the U.S. and U.K., and the Serum Institute of India is standing ready to manufacture the vaccine for clinical trials. If the animal tests are positive, the vaccine will be ready for clinical trials in two to three months.
Eli Lilly offers to buy three vaccine makers
Eli Lilly and Co. has offered to buy three vaccine companies for up to $3.8 billion combined, including up to $1.55 billion for Vaccine Company Inc., whose in vivo nanoparticle (IVN) technologies are designed to enable antigens that elicit durable immune responses, much like virus-like particle (VLP) vaccines, but avoid the VLP manufacturing burden.
Newcelx submits pre-IND package for NCEL-101 to FDA
Newcelx Ltd. has submitted a pre-IND briefing package to the U.S. FDA to support a proposed first-in-human trial of NCEL-101 in combination with tegoprubart, an investigational anti-CD40L monoclonal antibody being developed by Eledon Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Other news to note for May 27, 2026
Additional early-stage research and drug discovery news in brief.
Coultreon Biopharma discloses new p53 Y220C mutant stabilizers
Coultreon Biopharma BV has synthesized new macrocyclic cellular tumor antigen p53 (TP53) (Y220C mutant) stabilizers potentially useful for the treatment of cancer.
Circio and Aavigen to collaborate on targeted cardiac AAVs
Circio Holding ASA and Aavigen GmbH have entered a research collaboration focused on developing circVec-enhanced AAV vectors engineered for targeted, low-dose gene therapies for heart diseases.
Biomunex enters AI partnerships to advance cancer immunotherapies
Biomunex Pharmaceuticals SAS has entered into strategic collaborations with two AI-specialized companies – Gordion Bioscience Inc. and Tangramed Biotech SAS – as part of its strategy to integrate AI into its R&D activities and support the development of next-generation immunotherapies in oncology.

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Conferences

Addition Therapeutics presents approach for Fabry disease
Endocrine/metabolic
Fabry disease is a lysosomal storage disease tied to the X chromosome and caused by pathogenic variants in the GLA gene encoding galactosidase A. It is characterized by progressive accumulation of galactosidase A substrates, including Gb3 and lyso-Gb3, mainly in the kidney, heart and nervous system.
Gemma Biotherapeutics’ GB-703 shows promise for DMD
Genetic/congenital
AAV-based therapies for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) have shown efficacy, but have limitations such as poor delivery to target tissues and toxicity associated with the vector. Gemma Biotherapeutics Inc. has developed a gene therapy candidate, GB-703, which uses a new myotropic,...
Asgard’s AT-108 shows promise as immunotherapeutic
Cancer
Defects in antigen presentation lead to resistance to cancer immunotherapy, where type I conventional dendritic cells (cDC1s) are crucial drivers of antitumor immunity and their presence is tied to favorable responses and better outcomes. Intratumoral delivery of adenoviral vector, Ad5-PIB,...
Dual-targeting, rapamycin-enhanced CAR T for multiple myeloma
CAR T
Umoja Biopharma Inc. performed preclinical studies to evaluate the antitumor activity of UB-VV500, an off-the-shell lentiviral vector CAR T-cell product. It is based on its Vivovec technology and designed to engineer fully human anti-B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA)/G protein-coupled receptor class...

Cancer

TNBC reliance on RNase H2 offers new dual therapeutic strategy
Previous work showed that RNase H2 activity helps triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells manage high levels of replication stress, offering new therapeutic insights. Researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Cleveland Clinic now show that cells escaping senescence...

Infection

Cocrystal Pharma discovers new pan-viral inhibitors
Cocrystal Pharma Inc. has reported the discovery of direct-acting antivirals that demonstrate pan-viral activity against multiple viruses, including hantavirus, bunyavirus and influenza. These compounds target a highly conserved region of the viral replication enzyme – the L-protein of Andes virus,...

Dual adjuvant-HA stem nanoparticle vaccine generates protective immune response
Immune
Although influenza virus infection can be particularly life-threatening among young infants, approved vaccines are lacking for infants under 6 months. Aiming to overcome the required annual updates to the influenza vaccine, recent efforts have focused on generating vaccines that promote broadly...
Sizing up an epidemic, with diagnostics and bioinformatics
Analysis and data insight
It is not surprising that a large Ebola outbreak would be considered a public health emergency of international concern. But the current PHEIC is notable for the speed with which it was declared, speaking to the urgency of the situation. World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom...

Neurology/psychiatric

AVB-406: AAV-miRNA targeting MAPT in Alzheimer’s disease
Tau pathology, driven by MAPT, is central to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and closely associated with cognitive decline. Supported by extensive preclinical evidence across tauopathies, reducing MAPT expression represents a promising disease‑modifying strategy for AD, frontotemporal dementia (FTD),...
Sangamo presents primate data for prion suppressor ST-506
Conferences
Sangamo Therapeutics Inc. discussed gene regulation approaches for neurodegenerative diseases when presenting findings on their clinical candidate ST-506 for the treatment of prion disease.
Unmasking the X: EPAC2 shifts the fragile X landscape
Science
Researchers at UCLA have shown that divergent neuronal signaling in fragile X mice converges on EPAC2, a druggable target whose inhibition restores circuit activity and alleviates core behavioral impairments.
Roche reports new TREM2 agonists
Patents
F. Hoffmann-la Roche Ltd. and Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. have identified new triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (TREM2) agonists potentially useful for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, frontotemporal dementia, multiple sclerosis, prion disease, stroke,...
HSPCs delivering tissue-penetrating frataxin ameliorate Friedreich’s ataxia symptoms
Genetic/congenital
Researchers at the University of London and collaborating institutions have developed a gene and cell therapy approach that enables sustained systemic frataxin protein delivery, improving motor performance and tissue pathology, and supporting a promising translational strategy for long-term disease...

Endocrine/metabolic

Menstrual ‘footprints’ may act as broad personal health markers
Science
WAVES, an algorithm designed to extract menstrual-cycle metrics from physiological signals such as basal body temperature, which oscillates with sex hormones, shows how different parameters change with age and helps determine whether each person maintains a stable individual pattern or personal...

Biomarkers

Circulating sncRNA transcriptome in diabetic kidney disease and SGLT2 inhibitor treatment
Nephrology
Small noncoding RNAs (sncRNAs), including miRNAs, piRNAs and snoRNAs, can provide further biological insights into the mechanisms of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in diabetes. Researchers from Leiden University Medical Center and collaborating institutions previously discovered that various classes...

Detecting the invisible: minimal residual disease at AACR 2026
Conferences
Minimal residual disease (MRD) has become a central concept in modern oncology, reshaping how clinicians evaluate response, relapse risk and treatment precision. As increasingly sensitive technologies reveal traces of cancer that persist after therapy, MRD is emerging as both a biological challenge...
Aberrant HORMAD1 expression in TNBC increases sensitivity to mitotic kinase inhibitors
Cancer
HORMA domain-containing protein 1 (HORMAD1) is a protein that promotes meiotic recombination and its expression is usually restricted to germ-line cells, although it has been shown to be actively expressed out of context in about 60% of triple-negative breast cancers (TNBCs). A team at The...

Gastrointestinal

Mabwell’s 9MW5211 gains IND clearance for IBD
Regulatory
Mabwell (Shanghai) Bioscience Co. Ltd. has obtained IND clearance from the FDA for 9MW5211 for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Kymera’s IRF5 degrader shows potential in IBD treatment
Conferences
At the recently concluded Digestive Disease Week, researchers from Kymera Therapeutics Inc. presented preclinical efficacy data on KT-579, a selective oral IRF5 degrader, in models of IBD.
Montai’s MTAI-1025 demonstrates efficacy in ulcerative colitis
Conferences
The combination of impaired epithelial barrier function, mucosal inflammation and elevated oxidative stress is determinant for the pathogenesis of ulcerative colitis (UC). NF-E2-related factor 2 (NRF2) is an important transcription factor for...
Novel method BOOSTs organ growth after transplantation
A closer look
A major challenge in tissue engineering is not only achieving the correct cellular organization of an engineered tissue, but also expanding it to a clinically useful size after implantation. Researchers from the Wyss Institute at Harvard...
Elpiscience’s bispecific antibody ES-302 reduces disease activity in IBD model
Conferences
Researchers from Elpiscience Biopharmaceuticals Inc. hypothesized that dual targeting of the TL1A/DR3 and IL-23 signaling pathways with a single bispecific antibody would exert superior efficacy by reshaping the immune landscape in disorders such...
Mayinglong Pharmaceutical presents new 5-HT4 receptor agonists
Patents
Mayinglong Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd. has reported new 5-HT4 receptor agonists that are potentially useful for the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease, constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, dyspepsia, delayed gastric emptying...

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