This week in drug discovery (26-29 July)

News round-up by DDW’s Megan Thomas for 26-19 July

DDW’s Megan Thomas rounds up her top five stories this week which show how innovation in drug discovery is enhanced by collaboration, be it financial backing or through the combining of differing expertise to achieve a common goal.

  1. SARS-CoV-2 spike protein induces lipid stripping from cell membrane

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.

  1. Helping Indian biotherapeutic companies advance novel therapeutics

Fusion Antibodies and BioTickle, its distributor in India, are providing local biopharmaceutical organisations with access to biopharmaceutical development capabilities.

  1. Agreement signed to profile patients in immuno-oncology trial

Oncimmune Holdings has signed an autoantibody profiling contract with Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts. Dana-Farber, a clinical affiliate and research institute of Harvard Medical School, is a cancer research organisation and its cancer hospitals have more than 1,100 therapeutic and non-therapeutic clinical trials in progress.

  1. £1.9 million to combat infectious disease and antimicrobial resistance

The Bloomsbury SET, a knowledge exchange programme led by The Royal Veterinary College (RVC), has been awarded £1.9 million from Research England. Beginning in July 2021, the year-long project aims to commercialise research into infectious disease and antimicrobial resistance.

  1. Gene therapy enables new treatments for neurodegenerative diseases

The University of Sheffield and the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult have launched a gene therapy programme which could pave the way for novel treatments for neurodegenerative diseases.

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