Covid-19

As a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic, 41% of global clinical trials in fields other than COVID-19 (c.4,5001) have been delayed or put on permanent hold. Looking ahead, 74% of life science organisations say that COVID-19 will continue to compromise their ability to deliver on clinical trial objectives for the next six to 12 months. […]

Avacta’s BAMS assay to detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus has been launched as a research kit by its partner Adeptrix and the assay has been presented by Bruker Scientific, a mass spectrometer manufacturer, in a new application note. The bead-assisted mass spectrometry (BAMS) assay uses the Affimer reagents specific to the SARS-CoV-2 virus to capture the […]

Almost seven in 10 Americans would be interested in receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, a study finds. But researchers say there are concerning gaps in interest, particularly among Black Americans, who suffer disproportionately from the virus. Researchers from The Ohio State University surveyed more than 2,000 Americans, asking them about their willingness to be vaccinated and […]

Daniel Jamieson is the CEO and Founder of Biorelate, a biomedical curation company that aims to accelerate insight and innovation in drug discovery. Lu Rahman spoke to him about his vision for the business, how COVID-19 has affected the landscape and the technology behind his drug discovery success. Biorelate was founded in 2014 from scientific […]

What a time to be involved in drug discovery. While COVID-19 has of course created unprecedented conditions on a global scale, it has also highlighted the extent to which this sector offers depth of knowledge, skill and innovation. It is a pleasure to learn more about the market – both COVID and non-COVID – and […]

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 who develop severe COVID-19 have […]

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’ to get vaccinated. Vaccine myths […]

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 novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 in human […]

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 the abnormalities are greater in […]

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 repurposing has become a credible […]