HIV

While scientists have struggled in the past to create an effective vaccine against HIV, a novel vaccine design strategy shows new promise, according to data from a first-in-human clinical trial.  In a paper published in Science, the researchers reveal critical new insights into their novel vaccine strategy, which involves a stepwise approach to producing antibodies […]

Positive study findings for N6LS, an investigational, broadly neutralising antibody (bNAb), could indicate a potential new approach for the treatment of HIV.  ViiV Healthcare, a specialist HIV company owned by GSK, Pfizer and Shionogi, presented positive findings from its Phase IIa proof-of-concept study of N6LS at the 30th HIV Glasgow Conference.  The drug is being […]

News round-up by DDW’s Reece Armstrong for 1-5 August Research paves way for easier brain tumour diagnosis New research could pave the way to the earlier diagnosis of brain tumours through the development of a simple blood test for glioblastomas. IFC invests $30 million to improve healthcare in Latin America The International Finance Corporation (IFC) […]

In a presentation at AIDS 2022, the 24th International AIDS Conference in Montreal, scientists with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases’ (NIAID) Vaccine Research Center (VRC) and their collaborators described how their use of technology revealed insights into cellular reservoirs of HIV and what those observations could mean for the next steps in […]

News round-up by DDW’s Reece Armstrong for 20-24 June. Covid-19 vaccine development and research, gene therapies for dementia and a ‘game-changing’ treatment for HIV are some of the themes of this week’s news round-up. Moderna to set up mRNA vaccine centre in UK  Pharmaceutical company Moderna is to set-up a manufacturing and research development centre […]

A one-time treatment for HIV and AIDS may be possible thanks to gene editing, according to research conducted by scientists from Tel Aviv University (TAU).   Researchers from Tel Aviv University used CRISPR systems to engineer type B white blood cells into producing HIV-neutralising antibodies in the immune systems. Through this technique, the team hopes that […]

Pharmaceutical company ViiV Healthcare has been granted Japanese approval for its treatment of HIV-1 as a combination therapy.   The approval comes from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) in Japan and enables the company’s Vocabria (cabotegravir injection and tablets) to be used in combination with Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson’s Rekambys and Edurant .  […]

Biotech company ReiThera is collaborating with contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) Exothera on a project to develop Covid-19 and HIV vaccines for low-and middle-income countries (LMIC). The collaboration will see the companies develop and deliver new low-cost vaccines based on ReiThera’s GRAd technology platform for LMICs in Africa. Exothera will scale-up the manufacturing process […]

As we celebrate World Health Day, Lu Rahman looks at some of the key drug discovery and development successes over the last year that have significantly helped improved the health and wellbeing of the global population.   Malaria breakthroughs  According to The World Health Organization (WHO) more than a million people in Africa die from malaria every year, including 3,000 children […]

IAVI and Moderna have announced that first doses have been administered in a clinical trial of experimental HIV vaccine antigens at George Washington University (GWU) School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, DC.  The trial  The Phase I trial, IAVI G002, is designed to test the hypothesis that sequential administration of priming and boosting […]

New UCLA-led research in mice suggests that adding a certain type of tomato concentrate to the diet can reduce the intestinal inflammation that is associated with HIV. Left untreated, intestinal inflammation can accelerate arterial disease, which in turn can lead to heart attack and stroke. The study is published in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS Pathogens.  The […]

An experimental HIV vaccine based on mRNA shows promise in mice and non-human primates, according to scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. The results The results, published in Nature Medicine, show that the novel vaccine was safe and prompted desired antibody and cellular […]

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a long-acting HIV prevention medication for the first time.   The drug  Developed by ViiV Healthcare, the medicine is long-acting cabotegravir injected once every two months. The FDA has approved the medicine for use by adults and adolescents weighing at least 35 kilograms who are at risk of sexually […]

An investigational HIV vaccine tested in the “Imbokodo” clinical trial conducted in sub-Saharan Africa did not provide sufficient protection against HIV infection, according to a primary analysis of the study data. It posed no safety concerns. The Phase IIb proof-of-concept study, which began in November 2017, enrolled 2,637 women ages 18 to 35 years from […]

News round-up by DDW’s Megan Thomas for 16-20 August  DDW’s Megan Thomas selects five news stories which spotlight the deals, collaborations and funding keeping the industry moving forward, enabling academics and drug developers to continue with life-saving research.   1. OGT training initiative with CytoCell University  OGT has expanded its activities with CytoCell University, an initiative that provides training to scientists […]

Covimro, a British biotech start-up, has developed a food-grade compound which has demonstrated its efficacy against the flu virus in an animal model study carried out by A-IR Clinical Research and Pharmidex Pharmaceutical Services.  The in vivo testing analysed Covimro’s antiviral capability against an infection of Influenza A H3N2, a flu variant consistent with the seasonal, non-lethal viruses familiar to humans. Once […]