The advanced biotech analysis company is harnessing the power of a formidable supercomputer to discover potential treatments for the virus and mutations.
Several COVID-19 vaccines have been approved and administered to millions of people around the globe. Since the virus’s arrival, researchers also have been on the hunt for drugs that can effectively battle the disease in patients that receive a positive diagnosis.
Berg, a company that uses proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) tech to identify and pursue potential drug candidates, recently used its proprietary AI model to pinpoint drugs that could be repurposed to combat the numerous COVID-19 variants that have popped up around the world.
Novel protein construct prevents lethal COVID-19 in mice
Researchers in the United States have developed a novel protein that prevented lethal disease among mice infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – the agent that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
The team engineered a soluble, short, and dimeric version of the native host cell receptor that is bound by a surface structure on SARS-CoV-2 called spike during the initial stage of the infection process.
The team – from the Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, the University of Chicago, and Northwestern University in Evanston – suspected that a soluble, truncated version of this membrane-bound receptor – called angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) – would serve as a decoy for SARS-CoV-2 spike binding and potentially neutralize infection.
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Four abstracts accepted as poster presentations for the Endocrine Society s Annual Meeting
LYON, France and NEWTON, Mass., March 16, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) Amolyt Pharma, a global company specializing in developing therapeutic peptides for rare endocrine and metabolic diseases, today announced that it will be presenting four abstracts at the Endocrine Society s Annual Meeting, ENDO 2021, being held virtually from March 20-23, 2021.
Amolyt will present preliminary data from its Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating AZP-3601, a parathyroid hormone analog specifically designed for the treatment of hypoparathyroidism, in addition to two abstracts detailing a retrospective natural history study of chronic hypoparathyroidism. Amolyt will also present preclinical data for AZP-3404, a peptide with a new and unique mechanism of action on fat and glucose metabolism. Details of the abstracts are as follows:
Research looks at inflammatory nature of lipid nanoparticle component in mRNA vaccines
Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) are the carrier vehicles that protect messenger RNA (mRNA) molecules from degradation and aid intracellular delivery and endosomal escape in the nucleoside-modified mRNA-LNP vaccine platforms currently used by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna, against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). These two vaccines surpass the rest with their effective support for T follicular helper cells (Tfh) and the protective humoral responses observed in the preclinical trials.
While the vital role of LNPs in these vaccines action is established, the potentially inflammatory nature of these LNPs is not assessed. Also, in the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines human trials, it is reported that side effects often linked to inflammation, such as pain, swelling, fever, and sleepiness, are common.
Mar 14 2021 Read 559 Times
Biopharmaceutical company CVasThera, specialising in therapies for cardiovascular and bowel pathologies, has secured €1.3 million ($1.6M) in its first funding round that will be used to finance the preclinical trials for its CVT120165 compound, a drug candidate in the treatment of Crohn s disease. Safety data is already available from phase I trials involving healthy volunteers, which were conducted in 2008 in another indication. The company plans to proceed directly to a pilot phase II trial with Crohn’s patients in 2022.
The primary investor is OCSEED, a venture capital company supporting start-ups in the Occitanie region of France; working capital from the company’s founders, an investment loan from Bpifrance, funding from the Occitanie region and a contract with the countries Agence Nationale de la Recherch Agency, are also providing financial input.