GARDP, Bugworks to collaborate on development of new broad-spectrum antibiotic
CIDRAP (7/27), features GARDP and Bugworks
Last week, the Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP) and Bugworks announced an agreement to accelerate the development of a broad-spectrum antibiotic compound, BWC0977, which has shown potential in treating patients with serious infections caused by pathogens that have become increasingly hard to treat due to growing antibiotic resistance to multiple classes of drugs. GARDP has agreed to invest up to $20 million for further clinical and pharmaceutical development. If the antibiotic is ultimately approved, Bugworks plans to launch it in the United States, the European Union, Japan, and China, while GARDP will manufacture and commercialize the compound in 148 countries, including nearly all low- and middle-income countries, with both partners emphasizing their hope to ensure rapid access and appropriate use in high-burden countries like India and South Africa,
where access to novel antibiotics is often limited.
Broad-spectrum influenza vaccine candidate shows safety, immunogenicity data across three dose levels
NewsMedical (7/27)
Promising results from a phase 2a trial of a broad-spectrum influenza vaccine candidate were published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases last week. The trial, which tested the biopharmaceutical company Osivax’s candidate vaccine OVX836 at various doses in 137 healthy adult subjects, found that it was safe and immunogenic at all dose levels tested, warranting further testing in larger phase 2b and 3 trials. The vaccine, which fits the universal influenza target product profile set by the US National Institutes of Health, could be a promising new tool to address influenza if further tests continue to confirm its potential.
New mRNA vaccine for malaria uses cancer immunotherapy adjuvant to improve efficacy
Fierce Biotech (7/24)
New research found that a novel mRNA-based malaria vaccine, which takes a unique approach by using an ingredient developed to boost the immune response to cancer, was effective in mouse models. The novel vaccine generated an immune response in mouse models, prevented infection with one form of the Plasmodium parasite, and unlike many other malaria vaccines, proved effective in animals that had already been exposed to malaria, underscoring the potential of this tool in malaria-endemic regions. While this research is still in very early stages, scientists plan to next test the vaccine in humanized mouse models and hope to be able to advance to clinical trials in the coming years.
