RNA

With the recent clinical approval of sotorasib, the first drug targeting KRASG12C, a milestone was reached in the treatment of lung cancer.  While initial drug response is remarkable, resistance occurs rapidly and most patients relapse. A better understanding of the mechanisms of action involved in the response and the development of resistance to these drugs is required. Interestingly, KRASG12C inhibitors induce profound changes in the expression of genes involved […]

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 NHS Foundation Trust, revealed the initial Phase I clinical data […]

Sixfold Bioscience (Sixfold), a company using computation and advanced chemistry to design RNA therapeutic delivery systems, has raised $10.5 million in its seed funding round, which will support the continued development of the company’s Mergo RNA therapeutics delivery platform.  Investors   Investors in the seed round included Cantos Ventures, Y Combinator, Lombard Street Ventures and Pi Campus, as […]

Dr Andy Lane, Commercial Director at The Native Antigen Company, discusses the development of a new generation of vaccine platforms that can be rapidly adapted to novel threats on-demand and at low cost.  Vaccines are one of the most effective healthcare interventions for reducing the morbidity and mortality associated with infectious diseases. Immunity to disease not […]

CureVac and GSK have published preclinical data investigating immune responses as well as the protective efficacy of CureVac’s first-generation vaccine candidate, CVnCoV, and second-generation vaccine candidate, CV2CoV, against SARS-CoV-2 challenge in non-human primates.   The study, conducted in collaboration with Harvard Medical School, assessed cynomolgus macaques vaccinated with 12µg of either the first or second-generation […]

DDW Editor Lu Rahman selects three Canadian start-ups worth watching: AbCellera Biologics, BlueRock Therapeutics and Deep Genomics. AbCellera Biologics AbCellera Biologics was founded in 2012 as a spin out from the University of British Colombia. The company searches, decodes, and analyses natural immune systems to find antibodies that can be developed into drugs to prevent […]

eTheRNA immunotherapies, a clinical-stage company developing mRNA-based immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases, has opened a subsidiary, eTheRNA Asia, with offices located in the Sheung Wan area of Hong Kong. The Asia-Pacific region is growing in importance in the global healthcare sector and this new subsidiary will serve as a focus for […]

Scientists at the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL), in collaboration with the Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI), the Institut de Biologie Structurale (IBS) and the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), have published new data on how the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein interacts with mammalian lung cell membranes, allowing the viral RNA to enter human cells.  The purpose […]

The latest DDW Sitting Down With podcast features Melina Mathur, Product Manager for Biopharma at Twist Bioscience. Mathur talks about Twist’s antibody expertise, drawing on the company’s experience and looking at the importance of collaboration. The company has created some successful partnerships and she explains what these look like, why they have been fruitful, and […]

Now a key pillar in the early stages of therapeutics development, the limitations of introducing a DNA double strand break mean that workflows are broadening away from CRISPR–Cas as a gene knockout technology and towards platforms that enable genetic modulation and safer genetic alterations. Nicola McCarthy, Horizon Discovery, explains. Navigating from target identification to validation […]