R&D

Assessing a compound's activity, not just its structure, could accelerate drug discovery

Assessing a drug compound by its activity, not simply its structure, is a new approach that could speed the search for COVID-19 therapies and reveal more potential therapies for other diseases.

This action-based focus - called biological activity-based modeling (BABM) - forms the core of a new approach developed by National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) researchers and others.

Real-world effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccine

The Clalit Research Institute, in collaboration with researchers from Harvard University, analyzed one of the world's largest integrated health record databases to examine the effectiveness of the Pfizer vaccine against COVID-19. The study provides the first large-scale peer-reviewed evaluation of the effectiveness of a COVID-19 vaccine in a nationwide mass-vaccination setting. The study was conducted in Israel, which currently leads the world in COVID-19 vaccination rates.

Could a nasal spray prevent coronavirus transmission?

A nasal antiviral created by researchers at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons blocked transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in ferrets, suggesting the nasal spray also may prevent infection in people exposed to the new coronavirus, including recent variants.

A machine-learning approach to finding treatment options for COVID-19

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck in early 2020, doctors and researchers rushed to find effective treatments. There was little time to spare. "Making new drugs takes forever," says Caroline Uhler, a computational biologist in MIT's Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and the Institute for Data, Systems and Society, and an associate member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.

One dose of COVID-19 vaccine provokes strong immune response in those previously infected

Although clinical trial data are encouraging, real-world evidence with regard to the COVID-19 vaccine remains scarce. In particular, response to the vaccine among those previously infected with SARS-CoV-2 is still not completely understood.

Researchers from Bar-Ilan University and Ziv Medical Center now report preliminary evidence that people previously infected with the virus responded very strongly to one dose of the Pfizer vaccine, regardless of when they were infected and whether or not they had detectable antibodies against COVID-19 prior to receiving the vaccine.

Scientists urge for investment now in highly potent vaccines to prevent the next pandemic

As new COVID-19 variants begin to throw vaccine efficacy in question, two leading scientists are calling for health agencies to invest in the development of vaccines that would be broadly effective against many different variants and strains of potential pandemic viruses.

In a commentary article published in the journal Nature, Dennis Burton, PhD, and Eric Topol, MD, of Scripps Research call for governments to provide significant funding support for rational vaccine design based on broadly neutralizing antibodies.

Anticancer drug may improve outcome for severe COVID-19 patients

Treating severe COVID-19 patients with the anticancer drug bevacizumab may reduce mortality and speed up recovery, according to a small clinical study in Italy and China that was led by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden between February and April 2020. On average, blood oxygen levels, body temperature and inflammatory markers significantly improved in patients treated with a single dose of bevacizumab in addition to standard care.

Research & Development

Assessing a compound's activity, not just its structure, could accelerate drug discovery

Real-world effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccine

Could a nasal spray prevent coronavirus transmission?

A machine-learning approach to finding treatment options for COVID-19

One dose of COVID-19 vaccine provokes strong immune response in those previously infected

Scientists urge for investment now in highly potent vaccines to prevent the next pandemic

Anticancer drug may improve outcome for severe COVID-19 patients

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