New findings by scientists at the National Institutes of Health and their collaborators help explain why some people with COVID-19 develop severe disease. The findings also may provide the first molecular explanation for why more men than women die from COVID-19. The researchers found that more than 10% of people… Read More
A fifth (22%) of people have said that when a COVID-19 vaccine is approved, they’re unlikely to get it, with 10% of people saying they were ‘very unlikely’ to get vaccinated, find UCL researchers as part of the COVID-19 Social Study. Only half (49%) of people reported being ‘very likely’… Read More
A study conducted by researchers at São Paulo State University (UNESP) suggests that irisin, a hormone secreted from muscles in response to exercise, could have a therapeutic effect on COVID-19 patients. When they analysed adipose cell gene expression, the researchers found that irisin modulated genes associated with replication of the… Read More
White blood cells called monocytes released into the blood from bone marrow have abnormal features in people who have COVID-19. This is according to a new study by University of Manchester immunologists at the Lydia Becker Institute. The team from the Coronavirus Immune Response and Clinical Outcome (CIRCO) consortium says… Read More
Lu Rahman looks at the drug repurposing market. How attractive a proposition is it financially? More than ever the world is watching drug development and is aware of the time it takes to get a drug to market. The 10-15 years that this can involve is costly, so unsurprisingly, drug… Read More
With COVID-19 taking centre stage in global drug discovery, Lu Rahman looks at opportunities ahead for the sector and where attention might be focussed going forward. It is clear from the current pandemic that opportunities arise within drug discovery and development when we don’t always expect them. COVID-19 has created… Read More
PCR Biosystems has launched RiboShield RNase Inhibitor. Already a component of several PCR Biosystems kits, this robust and reliable RNase inhibitor is now available as a standalone product. RiboShield RNase Inhibitor is a recombinant protein that blocks the activity of a range of ribonucleases to reliably protect RNA from… Read More
As the world is rocked by one of the greatest healthcare challenges in living memory, how we treat infectious diseases is becoming one of the key medical questions of our age. Hannah Randles, Health and Life Sciences Champion at Liverpool City Region’s Growth Platform explains how the region’s infectious diseases… Read More
Sanofi and GSK have started the Phase I/II clinical trial for their adjuvanted COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine candidate, developed in partnership by Sanofi and GSK, uses the same recombinant protein-based technology as one of Sanofi’s seasonal influenza vaccines with GSK’s established pandemic adjuvant technology. The Phase I/II clinical… Read More
A new international has shown that treating critically ill patients with COVID-19 with the steroid hydrocortisone improves their chances of recovery. The study, led in the UK by Professor Anthony Gordon from Imperial College London with collaborators from the Intensive Care National Audit & Research Centre, found that… Read More
While everyone’s attention is focused on efforts to contain COVID-19, few probably noticed signs that the UK health system is about to undergo some major changes that will have an impact on both patients and the healthcare industry as early as next year. In preparation for the end of the Brexit… Read More
Oxford Biomedica has signed an 18 month supply agreement with AstraZeneca UK for large-scale commercial manufacture of the adenovirus vector-based COVID-19 vaccine candidate, AZD1222. The supply period for AZD1222 may be extended by a further 18 months into 2022 and 2023 by mutual agreement. AstraZeneca will pay Oxford… Read More
By Ibis Sanchez-Serrano and Rathnam Chaguturu Mitigation of COVID-19 pandemic requires a combination of effective epidemiological policies and the discovery/development of powerful drugs against the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that causes this disease. This article examines the major initiatives being explored at the public policy level to… Read More
NIAID intends to provide approximately $82 million over five years to support the network. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), in the US, has awarded 11 grants with a total first-year value of approximately $17 million to establish the Centers for Research in Emerging Infectious… Read More
The Medicines and Healthcare products Agency (MHRA) has approved the trial following new preclinical research that suggests a glucose kinase activator (AZD1656) could help diabetes sufferers infected with coronavirus by dampening the overactive response of the immune system typically acute in those patients with raised blood glucose levels. The trial… Read More
The first participants have been dosed in a Phase I trial of AZD7442, a combination of two monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) in development for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. The trial will evaluate the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of AZD7442.1 The trial will include up to 48 healthy… Read More
