Research

Researchers design and test protein that may lead to COVID-19 therapeutic

A novel receptor protein that binds to the SARS-CoV-2 virus and prevents it from entering cells may hold promise for treating COVID-19 and other coronavirus-related diseases, according to research published online Aug. 4 in the journal SCIENCE.

As scientists race to find treatments for COVID-19, many are focused on a specific protein called angiotensin-converting enzyme 2, or ACE2, which is found on various cell surfaces throughout the human body.

Preliminary study of 300+ COVID-19 patients suggests convalescent plasma therapy effective

A preliminary analysis of an ongoing study of more than 300 COVID-19 patients treated with convalescent plasma therapy at Houston Methodist suggests the treatment is safe and effective. The results, which appear now in The American Journal of Pathology, represents one of the first peer-reviewed publications in the country assessing efficacy of convalescent plasma.

Scientists identify hundreds of drug candidates to treat COVID-19

Scientists at the University of California, Riverside, have used machine learning to identify hundreds of new potential drugs that could help treat COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, or SARS-CoV-2.

"There is an urgent need to identify effective drugs that treat or prevent COVID-19," said Anandasankar Ray, a professor of molecular, cell, and systems biology who led the research.

COVID-19: Immune system derails

Contrary to what has been generally assumed so far, a severe course of COVID-19 does not solely result in a strong immune reaction - rather, the immune response is caught in a continuous loop of activation and inhibition. Experts from Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, the University of Bonn, the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), along with colleagues from a nationwide research network, present these findings in the scientific journal Cell.

Locking down shape-shifting spike protein aids development of COVID-19 vaccine

The experimental vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 that was the first to enter human trials in the United States has been shown to elicit neutralizing antibodies and a helpful T-cell response with the aid of a carefully engineered spike protein that mimics the infection-spreading part of the virus.

UK and US healthcare workers report higher rates of COVID-19 compared to general population in early pandemic period

The authors say that health-care systems should ensure adequate availability of PPE and develop additional strategies to protect health-care workers from COVID-19, particularly those from Black, Asian, and minority ethnic backgrounds Frontline healthcare workers may have substantially higher risk of reporting a positive test for COVID-19 than people from the general population, according to an observational study of almost 100,000 healthcare workers in the UK and USA published today in The Lancet Public Health journal.

Single-shot COVID-19 vaccine protects non-human primates

The development of a safe and effective vaccine will likely be required to end the COVID-19 pandemic. A group of scientists, led by Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) immunologist Dan H. Barouch, MD, PhD, now report that a leading candidate COVID-19 vaccine developed at BIDMC in collaboration with Johnson & Johnson raised neutralizing antibodies and robustly protected non-human primates (NHPs) against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

Research & Development

Researchers design and test protein that may lead to COVID-19 therapeutic

Preliminary study of 300+ COVID-19 patients suggests convalescent plasma therapy effective

Scientists identify hundreds of drug candidates to treat COVID-19

COVID-19: Immune system derails

Locking down shape-shifting spike protein aids development of COVID-19 vaccine

UK and US healthcare workers report higher rates of COVID-19 compared to general population in early pandemic period

Single-shot COVID-19 vaccine protects non-human primates

More Pharma News ...