UK researchers have highlighted the importance of continued surveillance of emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants and vaccine performance as the virus continues to evolve. The Francis Crick Institute and the National Institute for Health and Care Research Biomedical Research Centre at University College Hospitals London (UCLH) published their… Read More
Recent SARS-CoV-2 variants such as BA.4 and BA.5 developed abilities missing from the first Omicron variants that allowed them to overcome humans’ innate immunity, according to research from University College London (UCL). The study examined viral evolution in eight Omicron variants to better understand how the… Read More
Biotech company ExeVir Bio has revealed new data demonstrating that its antibodies are effective in neutralising currently circulating Covid-19 Omicron variants. The company says that all authorised SARS-CoV-2 therapeutic antibodies that have been used in the clinic show severe to complete loss of virus neutralisation potency… Read More
Naobios, a CDMO providing bioprocess development and GMP production of clinical batches of virus-based products, has received a $1.87 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in support of vaccine development. Naobios will manufacture a human viral challenge agent that will be used to evaluate… Read More
Novavax has become the next company to have an updated version of its Covid-19 vaccine approved in the US. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) amended the emergency use authorisation (EUA) of the Novavax Covid-19 Vaccine, Adjuvanted, for use in individuals 12 years of age and… Read More
Approval has been granted by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for an adapted Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine that targets the Omicron XBB 1.5 subvariant. The new version of Comirnaty was found to meet the UK regulator’s standards of safety, quality and effectiveness and has… Read More
An update on the latest Covid-19 news by DDW Digital Content Editor Diana Spencer With winter around the corner and cases once again on the rise, the last few weeks have seen some interesting developments related to Covid-19. We found out that Omicron infection protects against flu,… Read More
The latest Omicron variants of Covid could be protective against serious influenza infection, a leading testing expert says. The milder variants have now made Covid-19 less dangerous than the flu, though there is still the risk of developing long Covid. Dr Quinton Fivelman PhD, Chief Scientific Officer at London Medical… Read More
New preclinical authentic ‘live’ virus data from Washington University School of Medicine demonstrated that Evusheld (tixagevimab co-packaged with cilgavimab) retains potent neutralising activity against the emerging and highly transmissible Omicron SARS-CoV-2 BA.2 subvariant.1 The data also showed that Evusheld retains activity against Omicron BA.1 and BA.1.1.1. The findings were… Read More
The startup company Novel Concepts Medical has announced breakthroughs in its research of Covid-19, which include stopping Covid-19, the Omicron Variant, and long Covid-19 symptoms, including memory loss. The treatment Its novel plant-based treatment has resulted in successfully inhibiting the Covid-19 Omicron variant and blocking… Read More
Moderna has dosed the first participant in a Phase II study of the company’s Omicron-specific booster candidate (mRNA-1273.529). Additionally, Moderna announced the publication of neutralising antibody data against the Omicron variant six months following a booster dose in The New England Journal of Medicine. The mRNA-1273.529 trial This extension… Read More
A third ‘booster’ dose of Covid-19 vaccine successfully raises antibody levels that neutralise the Omicron variant, according to laboratory findings from the Francis Crick Institute and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) UCLH Biomedical Research Centre, published as a Research letter in The Lancet. The results Researchers found that antibodies generated in people… Read More
Revelar Biotherapeutics and Twist Bioscience have announced that RBT-0813 binds to and neutralises the Omicron and Delta variants of SARS-CoV-2 in live virus studies. What is RBT-0813? RBT-0813 is a bispecific antibody discovered by Twist Biopharma and licensed to Revelar Biotherapeutics that targets epitopes on the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Revelar has continued… Read More
The first results of an early trial of a multivariant Covid-19 vaccine booster, launched in Manchester in September 2021, has shown it is driving a comprehensive immune response. The results US-based biotechnology company Gritstone bio, in collaboration with The University of Manchester and Manchester University… Read More
New research from Qatar, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, has found that the natural immunity from prior infection of Covid-19 has a 92% efficacy against reinfection of the Beta variant, and a 98% efficacy against reinfection of the Alpha variant. The study … Read More
Researchers from the University of Oxford have analysed the impact of the Omicron Covid-19 variant of concern on one of the immune responses generated by vaccination. The study Using blood samples from individuals who had previously received two doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines as part… Read More
