News

The use of opioids as powerful painkillers can lead to overdose, causing respiratory depression and death due to the need to increase dosage as tolerance rises. A recent study contradicts existing thinking about how opioid drugs cause tolerance and respiratory depression and suggests a new, balanced approach to developing safer analgesics.

Previous research has shown that the spike (S) protein of SARS-CoV-2 binds to a host cell receptor, and facilitates viral entry. Now, new research shows that hamsters inoculated with S gene mutants display resistance to subsequent infection with both the parental strain and the currently emerging alpha and gamma variants.

The FDA has approved the first COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine (once known as the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine) will now be marketed as Comirnaty, for the prevention of disease in individuals 16 years of age and older.

Researchers have established one of the world’s largest collections of living tumors from prostate cancer patients, accelerating the testing of new treatments for prostate cancer.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is a leading cause of death worldwide, leading to over 1.5 million fatalities annually. Researchers have created a novel strategy for developing an effective vaccine for a widespread form of tuberculosis.

The first patient has been dosed in a Phase 1/2 study of the investigational mRNA therapeutic for methylmalonic acidemia, a life-threatening, inherited metabolic disorder.

The UK government’s independent expert scientific advisory body, the MHRA has approved Ronapreve as the first monoclonal antibody combination product indicated for use in the prevention and treatment of acute COVID-19 infection for the UK.

Researchers have identified an antibody that is highly protective at low doses against a wide range of SARS-CoV-2 viral variants. Moreover, the antibody attaches to a part of the virus that differs little across the variants, meaning that it is unlikely for resistance to arise at this spot. The findings could be a step toward developing new antibody-based therapies that are less likely to lose their potency as the virus mutates.

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® has joined the growing call for mandatory COVID-19 vaccination for all eligible healthcare workers. The organization issued an official statement calling on all healthcare systems to ensure their workforces are immunized.

Researchers have identified two antibodies that protect animals from disease caused by alphaviruses, mosquito-borne viruses that can trigger brain infections and arthritis.