Immunology
Tetanus immunity treats pancreatic cancer in mice
Pancreatic cancer is difficult to treat, and patients have not benefited from the advances in immunotherapy seen in other diseases. Now, in new research, scientists have demonstrated how the childhood tetanus vaccine could be used to activate the immune system to fight against tumors, according to a study published recently in the journal Science Translational Medicine. Read More
Focus on drug-manufacturing optimization prioritizes patient health
As medical innovations and therapeutics advance rapidly and dramatically increase in scale, there is a critical need for manufacturing processes that can keep up with this pace. This often calls for updates, overhauls, and collaboration among companies to maintain such a high standard of production. Read More
Applied DNA and EvviVax publish data for potential cancer immunotherapy
Applied DNA Sciences and EvviVax have published a manuscript detailing a preclinical study showing that LinearDNA vaccines used for cancer immunotherapy produced a strong immune and specific antitumoral response in preclinical mouse models. The study investigated the use of the LinearDNA platform to produce DNA vaccines targeting either tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) or tumor-specific antigens (TSAs, or tumor neoantigens). Read More
mRNA-based therapeutics pioneer innovation in the biopharmaceutical industry
In the age of COVID-19, many novel therapeutics have been brought to the forefront, most notably mRNA-based therapies. This technology has been used in two of the most prominent COVID-19 vaccines currently available in the U.S. under the U.S. Food and Drug Administration emergency use authorization. As a result, some companies are expanding mRNA-based technology to apply it to other therapies while further strengthening its use in vaccines. Read More
How COVID-19 has shed light on importance of biotech tools, health equity
As the world enters the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is clear that the virus has taught humanity some very tough lessons, but there have also been significant scientific advances. A panel explored the current challenges facing the industry, along with the silver linings, on January 10 at Biotech Showcase 2022. Read More
COVID-19-related sales remain strong for lab tool firms in 2021
Laboratory tool companies have been among the biggest beneficiaries of U.S. government COVID-19-related spending on coronavirus testing and vaccine R&D and manufacturing. COVID-19-related sales have propelled sales at Thermo Fisher Scientific, Danaher, and PerkinElmer, already three of the world's largest scientific instrument and reagent providers. Read More
Gamma delta T cells may hold key to malaria immunity
Scientists have shown how a poorly understood group of immune cells -- gamma delta T cells -- are directly involved in immunity to malaria, according to research published December 1 in Science Translational Medicine. The results promise to spur the future development of next-generation malaria vaccines. Read More
Istari moves quickly to validate its poliovirus vaccine-based cancer immunotherapy
It's been a busy year for Istari Oncology, which is developing its PVSRIPO viral immunotherapy based on the poliovirus vaccine. Istari's President and CEO Matt Stober and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Garrett Nichols recently spoke with ScienceBoard about the progress of PVSRIPO for the treatment of solid tumors. Read More
Technology upgrades needed to address future pandemics, GAO report says
Vaccine R&D and manufacturing face many challenges despite the success of COVID-19 vaccines. This is according to a new U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report. Read More
Where is the immunotherapy field headed after COVID-19?
WASHINGTON, DC - Best known for his contributions to the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, former Moderna chief medical officer, Dr. Tal Zaks, PhD, chaired a session on RNA vaccines at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer's (SITC) 2021 annual meeting. Zaks shared his perspectives and hopeful outlook with ScienceBoard at the meeting. Read More
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