BioSpace recently spoke with Jonathan Rigby, Group CEO of Revolo Biotherapeutics, a biotherapeutic company working to revolutionize the treatment of autoimmune and allergic diseases by achieving superior long-term disease remission through resetting the immune system.

Scynexis announced in October that it submitted a new drug application to the FDA for ibrexafungerp for the treatment of vulvovaginal candidiasis. The target action date is set for June 1, 2021. According to the company’s website, another phase 3 trial investigating the efficacy of ibrexafungerp in preventing recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis is ongoing.

A similar approach—a broad-spectrum antiviral in the form of a nasal spray—has been taken by Leyden Labs in the Netherlands, who recently struck a deal for a €40M Series A funding round to advance its product.

The next generation of Covid-19 vaccines in development could come as a pill or a nasal spray and be easier to store and transport than the current handful of shots that form the backbone of the world-wide vaccination effort.

Vaxart is among the first to take an oral COVID-19 vaccine into the clinic. “Making the vaccine is only part of the problem,” says CSO and founder Sean Tucker. “The rate-limiting step will be how fast can you put it in people’s arms.”

By measuring the functional MAPK activity of different RAS mutations, researchers have developed a method they believe could help identify patients with RAS-mutated cancers likely to benefit from MEK inhibitors like trametinib (Novartis’ Mekinist).

Celularity is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focusing on the next evolution in cellular medicine by developing off-the-shelf placenta-derived allogeneic cell therapies, including genetically modified natural killer (NK) cells and T cells engineered with a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR-T cells) that target indications across cancer as well as infectious and degenerative diseases . . .