Research

mRNA COVID vaccines highly effective at preventing symptomatic infection in health workers

COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective in preventing symptomatic illness among health care workers in real-world settings.

The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that health care personnel who received a two-dose regimen of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine had an 89% lower risk for symptomatic illness than those who were unvaccinated.

New drug combination effective against SARS-CoV-2 infection

More countries with greater resources are opening up for a more normal life. But COVID-19 and the SARS-CoV-2 virus are still a significant threat in large parts of the world.

The lack of medicines that are effective, easy to distribute and easy to obtain are a significant part of the problem.

Discovery of mechanics of drug targets for COVID-19

A team of international researchers, including McGill Professor Stéphane Laporte, have discovered the working mechanism of potential drug targets for various diseases such as cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, and even COVID-19. The findings published in Molecular Cell uncover the inner workings of cell receptors that are involved in cancer progression and inflammatory diseases.

Therapy using dual immune system cells effectively controls neuroblastoma

A newly developed immunotherapy that simultaneously uses modified immune-fighting cells to home in on and attack two antigens, or foreign substances, on cancer cells was highly effective in mice implanted with human neuroblastoma tissue, report researchers from the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and the UNC School of Medicine.

COVID-19 nasal vaccine candidate effective at preventing disease transmission

Breathe in, breathe out. That’s how easy it is for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, to enter your nose. And though remarkable progress has been made in developing intramuscular vaccines against SARS-CoV- 2, such as the readily available Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, nothing yet - like a nasal vaccine - has been approved to provide mucosal immunity in the nose, the first barrier against the virus before it travels down to the lungs.

Scientific evidence to date on COVID-19 vaccine efficacy does not support boosters for general population

An expert review by an international group of scientists, including some at the WHO and FDA, concludes that, even for the delta variant, vaccine efficacy against severe COVID is so high that booster doses for the general population are not appropriate at this stage in the pandemic.

The review, published in The Lancet, summarises the currently available evidence from randomised controlled trials and observational studies published in peer-reviewed journals and pre-print servers.

First-in-human clinical trial for a vaccine to treat opioid use disorders enrolls first patients

The first patients have been enrolled in a phase 1 randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial to study a therapeutic vaccine for opioid use disorder developed by researchers at the University of Minnesota Medical School.

Funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Health, the trial will test the safety and potential efficacy of a vaccine that is designed to selectively prevent the euphoric and toxic effects of oxycodone.

Research & Development

mRNA COVID vaccines highly effective at preventing symptomatic infection in health workers

New drug combination effective against SARS-CoV-2 infection

Discovery of mechanics of drug targets for COVID-19

Therapy using dual immune system cells effectively controls neuroblastoma

COVID-19 nasal vaccine candidate effective at preventing disease transmission

Scientific evidence to date on COVID-19 vaccine efficacy does not support boosters for general population

First-in-human clinical trial for a vaccine to treat opioid use disorders enrolls first patients

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