Optofluidics aids cell line development for antibody-based therapies Implementation of optofluidics in cell line development can help advance multiple lead candidate molecules with increased screening capacity. A researcher from GlaxoSmithKline discussed how her team uses an optofluidic system in a June 15 presentation at the BioProcess International Spring Digital Week's 2020 virtual meeting. Discuss
Transparency helps maintain scientific integrity of clinical trials A new study offers reassuring evidence about the integrity of registered clinical trials, with researchers finding no signs of widespread manipulation of results regarding statistical significance thresholds. The study results were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on June 2. Discuss
Preclinical innovations can speed COVID-19 drug development Preclinical testing for drug candidates has remained largely unchanged, despite numerous innovations in cell culture techniques. Researchers discussed how these innovations could help speed drug discovery efforts for the COVID-19 pandemic in an article published in Theranostics. Discuss
FDA researchers describe lessons learned from COVID-19 immunology Key immunological factors underlying the clinical stages of COVID-19 that could be targeted by therapeutic drugs were outlined in a review by U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) researchers and published in Frontiers in Immunology on May 29. Discuss
New repository may speed COVID-19 drugs to market As researchers race to find vaccines and treatments for COVID-19, drug repurposing has emerged as potentially the fastest route to get drugs to market. A new research effort aims to speed up the process by creating a repository for data on drugs that have already been used off-label to treat COVID-19. Discuss
New platform includes biological similarities to accelerate drug discovery A new open-access tool provides information on the effects of nearly 1 million compounds in a wide range of biological settings. The new tool, published in Nature Biotechnology on May 18, may change the drug discovery process by moving beyond reliance on chemical information alone. Discuss
U.S. launches project to promote pharma manufacturing The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on May 19 announced a new project to promote U.S.-based pharmaceutical manufacturing to secure the supply of essential medicines during crises like the COVID-19 pandemic. The project includes a $354 million contract with Phlow of Richmond, VA. Discuss
SARS-CoV mAb shown to block SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies from recovered SARS-CoV patients appear to block SARS-CoV-2 infectivity and could help in the development of antiviral treatments or vaccines, according to a new study. The findings were published in Nature on May 18. Discuss