San Diego-based Ansun Biopharma used its influenza research data to dive into attempts to develop a treatment for COVID-19 using an investigational nebulized enzyme asset as a potential treatment for severely infected patients.

Use of the hepatocyte growth factor mimetic ANG-3777 showed long-term improvement in kidney function in patients who underwent transplantation but had signs of possible kidney injury after transplant. “The two leading contributors to early graft failure are acute rejection and acute kidney injury (AKI) occurring during the transplantation process. While rejection can be managed utilizing immunosuppressant therapy, no therapies currently exist for [delayed graft function] DGF-associated AKI,” Jonathan S. Bromberg, MD, PhD, professor of surgery and microbiology and immunology and vice chair for research at the University of Maryland, and colleagues wrote.

Motus GI secured a U.S. patent for its Pure-Vu System’s sensing technology and suction control features. Three quick points: 1. Motus GI’s flagship Pure-Vu System can be integrated with standard and slim colonoscopes, a capability protected under the new patent.

Lawrence Blatt, Ph.D., cofounder and CEO of Aligos Therapeutics, a San Francisco-based biotech discovering and developing curative treatments for hepatologic diseases and viral infections, will be featured in an upcoming issue of Life Science Leader. Don’t miss out on learning about this executive’s fascinating entrepreneurial journey by becoming a subscriber today. 

BioMarin (NASDAQ: BMRN) of San Rafael paired with one-year-old Swiss company DiNAQOR AG to develop gene therapies to treat rare genetic heart diseases and Adverum Biotechnologies Inc. (NASDAQ: ADVM) of Redwood City reported that the latest cohort in its early-stage clinical trial of patients with a blinding eye disease had fewer adverse events and patients in an earlier cohort had gone a year since their one and only injection.

David Johnson of GigaGen discusses how recombinant forms of intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG) could overtake current IVIG therapies and be used in the treatment of COVID-19. In light of the recent COVID-19 pandemic there has been a rush to develop therapeutics to combat the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus causing the disease and, most recently, a discussion about the possibilities of using convalescent plasma as a treatment for severe COVID-19 patients.

A group of US academic researchers has sparked a nationwide effort to encourage people who have recovered from COVID-19 to donate plasma, which will be used to treat patients across the country. The convalescent plasma program was instigated by physicians and investigators from 40 institutions, including the Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins University, Washington University, Einstein Medical Center and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, among many others working closely with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and industry partners.