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First COVID-19 vaccine found to be safe, able to generate rapid immune response in phase 1 clinical trial

The first COVID-19 vaccine to reach phase 1 clinical trial has been found to be safe, well-tolerated, and able to generate an immune response against SARS-CoV-2 in humans, according to new research published in The Lancet.

22 May 2020

Computational immunology paves the way for SARS-CoV-2 peptide cocktail vaccine candidate

By employing an immunoinformatics approach, a new study available on the preprint server bioRxiv* shows how the combination of peptides designed from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) nucleocapsid phosphoprotein and spike glycoprotein may trigger an improved immunological response with respectable safety profile, informing, in turn, further vaccine development.

21 May 2020

Bio-Techne and Kantaro Biosciences announce partnership to develop and scale production of COVID-19 serology test

Bio-Techne Corporation and the Mount Sinai Health System in New York, through its commercial affiliate Kantaro Biosciences LLC (Kantaro), today announced a partnership to initiate scaled manufacturing and distribution of testing kits based on the Mount Sinai-developed COVID-19 serology test.

From Bio-Techne 21 May 2020

Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine candidate shows promise in phase I trial

Moderna, who partnered with the National Institutes of Health, announced that its candidate vaccine appeared to be safe when administered to eight healthy volunteers. The vaccine also stimulated an immune response to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

20 May 2020

Countries that develop a coronavirus vaccine may not share it, health expert warns

The pandemic has sparked a worldwide race to develop a vaccine against the novel coronavirus. But a health expert has warned that the world might face a risk of "vaccine nationalism," wherein countries who will produce a coronavirus vaccine will not share it with others.

20 May 2020

X-ray experiments demonstrate a new way to block the entry of SARS-CoV-2

As scientists across the globe race to develop a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, an international team led by Davide Corti at Vir Biotechnology and David Veesler at the University of Washington has been working around the clock on a complementary approach - identifying neutralizing antibodies that could be used as a preventative treatment or as a post-exposure therapy.

19 May 2020

Cross-neutralization of SARS and COVID-19 coronaviruses by a monoclonal antibody

An antibody first identified in a blood sample from a patient who recovered from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in 2003 inhibits related coronaviruses, including the cause of COVID-19.

18 May 2020

"Power-to-protein" approach offers a new way to feed the world's population

Proteins form an essential part of human nutrition. Up to now, we have generally consumed them in meat, animal products such as milk and eggs, or even in plants.

18 May 2020

Drugmakers tout COVID-19 vaccines to refurbish their public image

Johnson & Johnson researchers working on a vaccine against the coronavirus are "just like the heroes in the hospitals" fighting to save patients, J&J CEO Alex Gorsky said on the "Today" show a few weeks ago.

18 May 2020

Avacta's SARS-COV-2 neutralizing Affimer reagents show therapeutic potential for COVID-19

Avacta Group plc, the developer of Affimer biotherapeutics and reagents, is pleased to announce that several of the Affimer reagents recently generated for development of a point-of-care COVID-19 antigen saliva test have now also been shown to block the interaction between the virus’ spike protein and ACE2, a receptor on human cells that is key to the virus infection pathway.

From Avacta Life Sciences Ltd. 18 May 2020

Boehringer Ingelheim acquires Northern Biologics to expand cancer immunology portfolio

Boehringer Ingelheim today announced the acquisition of Northern Biologics Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Northern LP. By acquiring this entity, which focuses on therapeutic antibodies targeting the tumor microenvironment, Boehringer Ingelheim is now positioned at the forefront of the stromal biology space - an emerging area in cancer immunology.

From Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH 18 May 2020

Canadian Glycomics Network welcomes $16.3 million renewed funding from NCE

The Networks of Centres of Excellence recently announced its continued support in Canadian glycomics research with a three-year investment of $16.3 million through the Canadian Glycomics Network (GlycoNet).

15 May 2020

Transition to virtual care during COVID-19 does not limit glycemic outcomes of diabetes inpatients

Data collected over a 15-week period showed that using virtual care to manage diabetes patients in the hospital does not have a negative impact on their glycemic outcomes.

15 May 2020

Digital technology applications will play a key role in addressing COVID-19 crisis

Artificial intelligence, machine learning, blockchain, and other key digital technology applications will play a vital role addressing the new healthcare challenges triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a peer-reviewed Special Issue of OMICS: A Journal of Integrative Biology.

15 May 2020

New insights into SARS-CoV-2 viral diversity

The first comprehensive, large-scale analysis available on the preprint server bioRxiv attempted to identify specific genomic signatures of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) strains within and across individual hosts – revealing recombination events, specific geographic profiles, as well as multi-strain and/or superinfections characteristic for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

14 May 2020

Repurposed drug normalizes body weight, reverses metabolic damage in obese mice

An off-label experiment in mice using disulfiram, which has been used to treat alcohol use disorder for more than 50 years, consistently normalized body weight and reversed metabolic damage in obese middle-aged mice of both sexes.

14 May 2020

WPI receives NSF Grant to study how coronavirus pandemic impacts student learning

Worcester Polytechnic Institute researchers with expertise in fields ranging from psychology to architectural engineering will use a $199,999 grant from the National Science Foundation to study how the novel coronavirus global pandemic is affecting stress in college students and their ability to learn in remote settings.

13 May 2020

Study shows why older individuals are vulnerable to COVID-19

A group of tiny RNA that should attack the virus causing COVID-19 when it tries to infect the body are diminished with age and chronic health problems, a decrease that likely helps explain why older individuals and those with preexisting medical conditions are vulnerable populations, investigators report.

13 May 2020

Research examines molecules derived from ticks as potential COVID-19 treatment option

UK-based biotechnology firm ILC Therapeutics is working alongside the University of Oxford to examine the use of Evasins – molecules derived from ticks – as a potential COVID-19 treatment option for patients whose lungs are badly damaged by the virus and face a critical juncture in recovery.

13 May 2020

Optibrium’s StarDrop now powered by OpenEye Scientific’s cheminformatics toolkits

Optibrium and OpenEye Scientific, leading providers of software and services for drug discovery, today announced that StarDrop, Optibrium’s software for small molecule design, optimization and data analysis, is now powered by OpenEye Scientific’s cheminformatics toolkits.

From Optibrium Ltd. 13 May 2020

Biotechnology News and Research

First COVID-19 vaccine found to be safe, able to generate rapid immune response in phase 1 clinical trial

Computational immunology paves the way for SARS-CoV-2 peptide cocktail vaccine candidate

Bio-Techne and Kantaro Biosciences announce partnership to develop and scale production of COVID-19 serology test

Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine candidate shows promise in phase I trial

Countries that develop a coronavirus vaccine may not share it, health expert warns

X-ray experiments demonstrate a new way to block the entry of SARS-CoV-2

Cross-neutralization of SARS and COVID-19 coronaviruses by a monoclonal antibody

"Power-to-protein" approach offers a new way to feed the world's population

Drugmakers tout COVID-19 vaccines to refurbish their public image

Avacta's SARS-COV-2 neutralizing Affimer reagents show therapeutic potential for COVID-19

Boehringer Ingelheim acquires Northern Biologics to expand cancer immunology portfolio

Canadian Glycomics Network welcomes $16.3 million renewed funding from NCE

Transition to virtual care during COVID-19 does not limit glycemic outcomes of diabetes inpatients

Digital technology applications will play a key role in addressing COVID-19 crisis

New insights into SARS-CoV-2 viral diversity

Repurposed drug normalizes body weight, reverses metabolic damage in obese mice

WPI receives NSF Grant to study how coronavirus pandemic impacts student learning

Study shows why older individuals are vulnerable to COVID-19

Research examines molecules derived from ticks as potential COVID-19 treatment option

Optibrium’s StarDrop now powered by OpenEye Scientific’s cheminformatics toolkits

Event guide: 3rd IMPACCT Real World Evidence Summit Europe eBook

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

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