A new test based on gene targeting technology CRISPR could diagnose Covid-19 infections in 45 minutes. It was recently outlined in a paper in the journal Nature Biotechnology.
Pfizer’s JAK inhibitor Xeljanz reduced the risk of severe outcomes in hospitalised adult patients with COVID-19 pneumonia who were not on ventilation, according to new study data. The STOP-COVID trial was conduction by Pfizer and the ARO from the Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein in Sao Paolo, Brazil, which was also the trial coordinating centre. Patients were randomised to receive either Xeljanz (tofacitinib) 10mg twice daily plus standard of care (SoC) or placebo twice daily plus SoC for up to 14 days or until hospital discharge. The trial demonstrated a reduced cumulative incidence of death or respiratory failure through day 28 with Xeljanz (18.1%) compared to placebo (29.9%). In addition, death from any cause occurred in 2.8% of Xeljanz-treated patients compared to 5.5% in the placebo group. In the study, serious adverse groups occurred in 14.1% of patients in the Xeljanz group and 12% in the placebo group. Protocol-specified adverse events ...
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Vir Biotechnology have expanded their existing COVID-19 collaboration to include a new research and development agreement, focused on therapies for influenza and other respiratory viruses. The expanded collaboration will give GSK exclusive rights to collaborate with Vir on the development of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) for the prevention or treatment of influenza. That includes an investigational mAb – VIR-2482 – designed as a universal prophylactic for influenza A, which has completed a Phase I trial. The agreement will also includes next-generation antibodies for the prevention or treatment of influenza during a three-year research period. While GSK will have the exclusive option to co-develop VIR-2482, following Vir’s completion and report of the Phase II trial outcomes, the company will share development costs for all other influenza mAbs. The companies will also conduct two additional research programmes as part of the expanded agreement. The first of these is an expansion ...
New research has revealed ‘dramatic changes’ in the delivery of radiotherapy treatments for cancer during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in England. The study – led by the University of Leeds with Public Health England and the Royal College of Radiologists – is the first to evaluate the impact of the pandemic on radiotherapy services in England. Researchers discovered that the use of much shorter radiotherapy courses increased – in particular for breast cancer patients. The use of a shorter treatment course went from 0.2% of all breast cancer radiotherapy courses in April 2019, up to 60.0% of all courses in April 2020. The change to shorter courses of treatment was also observed in other types of cancer, with clinicians likely making the switch to keep patients safe and services running during the pandemic. According to the researchers, this change was made possible in part by results of ...
Vicore Pharma’s lead candidate drug C21 has scored some promising results in a study evaluating the medicine in hospitalised COVID-19 patients. The ATTRACT study recruited a total of 106 hospitalised patients with a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis and signs of an acute respiratory infection without the need for mechanical ventilation. The patients were randomised to receive either oral treatment with C21 or placebo for seven days, on top of standard-of-care. In an expanded data analysis of this study, the data showed a restoration of lung function in COVID-19 patients treated with C21. In a statement, Vicore said that these results suggest “C21 can become an important complement to vaccines to combat the COVID-19 pandemic”. In a subgroup analysis of patients requiring supplemental oxygen, C21 also produced a greater reduction of C-reactive protein (CRP) compared to the placebo arm. In previously reported results, C21 treatment reduced the number of patients needing mechanical ...
Researchers in Canada have conducted a study suggesting that novel Cannabis sativaextracts may decrease levels of the host cell receptor that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) uses to gain viral entry to target tissues. SARS-CoV-2 is the agent responsible for the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic that continues to sweep the globe threatening public health and the worldwide economy. The team – from the University of Lethbridge and Pathway Rx Inc., Lethbridge – developed hundreds of new C. sativa cultivars and tested 23 extracts in artificial 3D human models of the oral, airway and intestinal tissues. As recently reported in the journal Aging, 13 of the extracts downregulated expression of the SARS-CoV-2 host cell receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). “The observed down-regulation of ACE2 gene expression by several tested extracts of new C. sativa cultivars is a novel and crucial finding,” say the researchers. “While our most effective extracts require further large-scale validation, ...
The coronavirus antibody test is performed to determine the blood level of antibodies that are developed against the virus. This test determines if a person was infected by a coronavirus in the past. Image Credit: joel bubble ben/Shutterstock.com What is coronavirus? Coronaviruses are a group of viruses that cause respiratory infections in humans. The infections can range from mild (common cold) to severe (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)). Importantly, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a severe, highly infectious disease caused by very recently identified coronavirus namely severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV 2). How coronavirus is detected in COVID-19 patients? Presently, two types of viral tests are approved by the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA): molecular test and antigen test. In molecular tests, the viral genetic material is detected using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The test is done using biological fluid collected from ...
RELATED TAGS: Lucira Health, Us, emergency use authorization, COVID-19 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the Lucira COVID-19 All-In-One Test Kit: the first COVID-19 diagnostic test for self-testing at home. Lucira says the kit takes around two minutes to use; and gives rapid results within 30 minutes. The $50 kit – which fits in the palm of the hand – provides a simple ‘positive’ or ‘negative’ reading. The kit is a molecular (real-time loop mediated amplification reaction) single use test that is intended to detect the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19. It is authorized for prescription home use with self-collected nasal swab samples in people aged 14+ who are suspected of having COVID-19 by a healthcare provider. “While COVID-19 diagnostic tests have been authorized for at-home collection, this is the first that can be fully self-administered and provide results at ...
A man works in a laboratory of Sinovac Biotech in Beijing on Sept. 24. The Chinese company is developing an experimental coronavirus vaccine. (Thomas Peter/Reuters) By Eva Dou November 18, 2020 at 5:09 p.m. GMT+8 Sinovac Biotech, one of China’s coronavirus vaccine front-runners, published mixed findings from its two first clinical trials Tuesday, raising the stakes in Indonesia, which has already declared plans to roll out Sinovac’s vaccine. While the vaccine appeared to be safe in these early clinical trials, the company reported that it generated lower levels of protective antibodies in the bloodstream compared with those arising in recovered coronavirus patients. In comparison, Moderna and Pfizer, which have separate experimental vaccines, had reported antibody levels on par with or higher than those produced in recovered coronavirus patients. These early results put Sinovac on the back foot to prove its vaccine is effective in ongoing Phase 3 trials. “That is a concern,” ...
Researchers in China and the United States have called for more research into the potential prophylactic effects of natural products and herbal medicines on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and subsequent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In an article recently published in the journal Frontiers in Pharmacology, the team discussed natural products that have exhibited an inhibitory effect on SARS-CoV-2 and herbal medicines that have been tested as potential therapies for COVID-19. “In this review, we aimed to provide a new perspective regarding COVID-19 prevention,” writes Jia-xu Chen from Jinan University in Guangzhou, and colleagues from the University of Houston, and the University of California. The researchers suggest that while the world awaits effective treatments and a commercially available vaccine, the repurposing of natural products and herbal medicines as prophylactics represents a promising approach to at least slow the transmission of SARS-CoV-2. “In the interest of public health, this ...
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