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VUMC receives $34 million grant for nationwide convalescent plasma study

Vanderbilt University Medical Center has been awarded a one-year, $34-million grant by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health, to conduct a nationwide study of "convalescent plasma" as a treatment for COVID-19.

21 Aug 2020

Avacta expands multi-target collaboration with LG Chem Life Sciences

Avacta Group plc, the developer of Affimer biotherapeutics and reagents, is pleased to announce the expansion of its existing multi-target collaboration and development agreement with LG Chem Life Sciences (LG Chem), the life sciences division of the South Korean LG Group, to include new programs incorporating Avacta’s Affimer XT serum half-life extension system.

From Avacta Life Sciences Ltd. 21 Aug 2020

Using engineered off-the-shelf therapeutic T cells to fight cancer

Personalized cancer treatments are no longer just options of the future. In the past few years, researchers have made significant progress in 'teaching' the body's immune T cells to recognize and kill specific cancer cells, and human clinical trials have shown that this approach can successfully eliminate tumors.

20 Aug 2020

Study shows why certain genetically predisposed individuals do not develop heart disease

Life can change dramatically when someone learns they are genetically predisposed to a disease, such as a condition called familial hypercholesterolemia, where a mutated gene can lead to elevated cholesterol and increased risk for a premature heart attack.

20 Aug 2020

Researchers identify mechanism that explains lower-quality immune response in COVID-19 patients

The release of massive amounts of proteins called cytokines can lead to some of the most severe symptoms of COVID-19.

20 Aug 2020

UIC's first-of-its-kind contraceptive receives FDA approval

A first-of-its-kind contraceptive developed at the University of Illinois Chicago has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

19 Aug 2020

CARE consortium launches to accelerate drug discovery and development for COVID-19

CARE a new consortium supported by the Innovative Medicines Initiative public-private partnership announced its launch today to accelerate the discovery and development of urgently needed medicines to treat SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

19 Aug 2020

Structural analysis of SARS-CoV-2 can help develop COVID-19 vaccines

At the start of a COVID-19 infection, the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 docks onto human cells using the spike-like proteins on its surface.

19 Aug 2020

Shielding stem cells with novel biomaterial can reduce heart attack damage

Bioengineers and surgeons from Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) have shown that shielding stem cells with a novel biomaterial improves the cells' ability to heal heart injuries caused by heart attacks.

18 Aug 2020

Identifying Alzheimer’s risk factors in young people

News-Medical speaks to the Alzheimer's association about their research which looked at risk factors that could aid in the early detection of Alzheimer's.

18 Aug 2020

Combination therapy effective for patients with cholangiocarcinoma marked by BRAF mutations

In a Phase II trial led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, the combination of dabrafenib, a BRAF inhibitor, and trametinib, a MEK inhibitor, achieved a 51% overall response rate (ORR) in patients with cholangiocarcinoma marked by the BRAF V600E mutation.

18 Aug 2020

Pigs appear to be immune to SARS-CoV-2

Now, a team of researchers at Kansas State University aimed to determine if pigs are potential carriers of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

18 Aug 2020

Mild COVID-19 cases can trigger robust memory T cell responses

Mild cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can trigger robust memory T cell responses, even in the absence of detectable virus-specific antibody responses, researchers report August 14 in the journal Cell.

17 Aug 2020

Standardized guidelines for phage therapy can speed up lifesaving treatment

When clinicians resort to phage therapy for patients who don't respond to antibiotics, the patients are usually very ill and time is of the essence. But the average time for labs to produce therapeutic phages is more than a month.

17 Aug 2020

ARDS may not be the primary lung iInjury in COVID-19

A new Italian study published on the preprint server medRxiv in August 2020 shows that this may not be an adequate explanation, since ARDS is a nonspecific diagnosis. Instead, they say, antemortem lung biopsy shows a “Covid pattern” of acute lung injury, which could guide the application of therapeutics.

16 Aug 2020

U.S. scientists to create coronavirus strain for human challenge trials

Now, a team of scientists in the United States plans to create a coronavirus strain that can be used for human challenge trials, a controversial type of study wherein health volunteers would be vaccinated and intentionally infected with the virus.

16 Aug 2020

Tiny packages of materials released by tumors may serve as biomarkers for detecting cancers

Because cancer is easier to successfully treat when it's caught early, a major goal in cancer research is to develop new ways to find tumors at early stages, before they start to spread.

13 Aug 2020

Researchers identify new mechanism that causes leukemia

Every year, 1.1 million new cases of blood cancers are diagnosed worldwide. Presently, chemotherapy remains the most common and effective course of treatment.

13 Aug 2020

Neil Bell appointed as Chief Development Officer of Avacta Life Sciences

Avacta Group plc, the developer of Affimer biotherapeutics and reagents, is pleased to announce the appointment of Neil Bell as Chief Development Officer of Avacta Life Sciences with immediate effect. Neil will be responsible for late stage pre-clinical and early clinical development of Avacta’s pipeline of pre|CISION pro-drugs and Affimer immunotherapies.

From Avacta Life Sciences Ltd. 13 Aug 2020

Combination regimen improves overall survival in certain patients with AML

A combination regimen of venetoclax and azacitidine was safe and improved overall survival (OS) over azacitidine alone in certain patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), according to the Phase III VIALE-A trial led by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

12 Aug 2020