Category Archives: Genetic Engineering

June 2, 2020 Three teams with ties to Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public HealthVincere Health, Concerto Biosciences, and SanaRxwere among the finalists in the 2020 Presidents Innovation Challenge presented by the Harvard Innovation Labs, and two were awarded prizes.

At the May 21 virtual awards ceremony, 25 teams from across 13 Harvard schools showcased their ventures in five tracks: Social Impact or Cultural Enterprise; Health & Life Sciences; Open Track; Launch Lab X (Alumni); and Pagliuca Harvard Life Lab. The Bertarelli Foundation furnished prizes totaling $510,00, with $75,000 going to each Grand Prize winner and $25,000 to each runner-up. Harvard President Larry Bacow offered congratulatory remarks at the opening of the event, and Matt Segneri, the Bruce and Bridgitt Evans Executive Director of the Harvard Innovation Labs, served as emcee.

Vincere Health

Vincere Healthfounded by Jacob Keteyian, MPH 19, Shalen De Silva, MPH 19, Hadi Javeed, and Trevor Campbellreceived the Grand Prize in the Launch Lab X (Alumni) Track, earning $75,000 for their venture. Vincere Healths virtual care delivery model helps smokers quit with a combination of counseling, remote health monitoring, behavioral nudges, and financial incentives. Through a mobile app paired with a carbon monoxide monitor as well as counseling, Vincere Heath offers patients a custom incentive program. The software and programming can be compatible with many different health devices.

This telehealth model, which has the potential to be applied to a variety of chronic conditions, is timely: with the COVID-19 pandemic, insurer coverage has expanded to accommodate reimbursement for an increasing number of telehealth services.

Our clients and strategic partners have been eager to roll out our digital tools to keep people out of the clinics and offer smoking-cessation support to reduce the risks associated with COVID-19 exposure, which are higher for smokers, said Keteyian.

The two credit fellow MPH studentsincluding Katie Klatt, MPH 21; Nimerta Sandhu, MPH 20; Puay-Shi Ng, MPH 20; and Tsung-Hsien Tsai, MPH 20with providing help along the way. Being a finalist and winning the competition in our alumni venture track was a huge honor and a privilege, given the exquisite caliber of all the other participants and finalists, said De Silva. We would love for this result to highlight the importance of entrepreneurship and health care innovation coming out of the Harvard Chan School. The prize money will enable to team to find additional support to meet increasing demand and hire additional permanent employees.

Concerto Biosciences

Concerto Biosciencesfounded by Adil Bahalim, DrPH 20, Bernardo Cervantes, Cheri Ackerman, and Jared Kehewas the runner-up in the Health & Life Sciences Track, receiving $25,000 to advance their venture. Using a patented platform that constructs and screens millions of specific microbial communities, the team aims to discover groups of microbes that work in concert to accomplish important functions in human healthsuch as promoting the growth of a beneficial microbe or suppressing the growth of a pathogenas well as in agriculture and industry.

We are focused on revolutionizing the way the world relates to microbes, said Bahalim. We want to harness the power of microbes working together to solve the worlds most challenging problems.

One example comes from the human skin microbiome, a community of microbes on the skin that collectively protects against pathogens and teaches the immune system not to attack beneficial microbes. Weve recently observed that people with conditions like eczema or psoriasis have different skin microbiome compositionsthey lack microbes that would otherwise protect the skin, said Bahalim. If we discover combinations of microbes responsible for skin health, we can manufacture them at scale and deliver them as therapeutics to people with skin diseases.

SanaRx

SanaRx, founded by Rick Pierce, Jeffrey Wagner (a former postdoctoral fellow in the Eric Rubin Lab), Fred Mermelstein, and Carl Novina, was a finalist in the Pagliuca Life Lab category. SanaRx leverages synthetic biology and genetic engineering to improve detection, visualization, and treatment of three rare diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. The current standard of care for these diseases requires frequent invasive proceduressuch as colonoscopiesunder anesthesia, whereas SanaRx products use bacterial genetic engineering to detect the diseases noninvasively, reduce the frequency of invasive interventions, and treat the diseases.

Jan Reiss

Photos courtesy Shalen De Silva (Vincere Health) and Adil Bahalim (Concerto Biosciences)

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Harvard Chanaffiliated teams compete in finals of President's Innovation Challenge - HSPH News

The latest generation of tetracyclines a class of powerful, first-line antibiotics was designed to thwart the two most common ways bacteria resist such drugs. But a new study from researchers at Washington University in St. Louis and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has found that genes representing yet another method of resistance are widespread in bacteria that live in the soil and on people. Some of these genes confer the power to destroy all tetracyclines, including the latest generation of these antibiotics.However, the researchers have created a chemical compound that shields tetracyclines from destruction. When the chemical compound was given in combination with tetracyclines as part of the new study, the antibiotics lethal effects were restored.

The findings indicate an emerging threat to one of the most widely used classes of antibiotics but also a promising way to protect against that threat.

We first found tetracycline-destroying genes five years ago in harmless environmental bacteria, and we said at the time that there was a risk the genes could get into bacteria that cause disease, leading to infections that would be very difficult to treat, said co-senior author Gautam Dantas, PhD, a professor of pathology and immunology and of molecular microbiology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Once we started looking for these genes in clinical samples, we found them immediately. The fact that we were able to find them so rapidly tells me that these genes are more widespread than we thought. Its no longer a theoretical risk that this will be a problem in the clinic. Its already a problem.

In 2015, Dantas, also a professor of biomedical engineering, and Timothy Wencewicz, PhD, an associate professor of chemistry in Arts & Sciences at Washington University, discovered 10 different genes that each gave bacteria the ability to dice up the toxic part of the tetracycline molecule, thereby inactivating the drug. These genes code for proteins the researchers dubbed tetracycline destructases.

But they didnt know how widespread such genes were. To find out, Dantas and first author Andrew Gasparrini, PhD then a graduate student in Dantas lab screened 53 soil, 176 human stool, two animal feces, and 13 latrine samples for genes similar to the 10 theyd already found. The survey yielded 69 additional possible tetracycline-destructase genes.

Then they cloned some of the genes into E. coli bacteria that had no resistance to tetracyclines and tested whether the genetically modified bacteria survived exposure to the drugs. E. coli that had received supposed destructase genes from soil bacteria inactivated some of the tetracyclines. E. coli that had received genes from bacteria associated with people destroyed all 11 tetracyclines.

The scary thing is that one of the tetracycline destructases we found in human-associated bacteria Tet(X7) may have evolved from an ancestral destructase in soil bacteria, but it has a broader range and enhanced efficiency, said Wencewicz, who is a co-senior author on the new study. Usually theres a trade-off between how broad an enzyme is and how efficient it is. But Tet(X7) manages to be broad and efficient, and thats a potentially deadly combination.

In the first screen, the researchers had found tetracycline-destructase genes only in bacteria not known to cause disease in people. To find out whether disease-causing species also carried such genes, the scientists scanned the genetic sequences of clinical samples Dantas had collected over the years. They found Tet(X7) in a bacterium that had caused a lung infection and sent a man to intensive care in Pakistan in 2016.

Tetracyclines have been around since the 1940s. They are one of the most widely used classes of antibiotics, used for diseases ranging from pneumonia, to skin or urinary tract infections, to stomach ulcers, as well as in agriculture and aquaculture. In recent decades, mounting antibiotic resistance has driven pharmaceutical companies to spend hundreds of millions of dollars developing a new generation of tetracyclines that is impervious to the two most common resistance strategies: expelling drugs from the bacterial cell before they can do harm, and fortifying vulnerable parts of the bacterial cell.

The emergence of a third method of antibiotic resistance in disease-causing bacteria could be disastrous for public health. To better understand how Tet(X7) works, co-senior author Niraj Tolia, PhD, a senior investigator at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the NIH, and co-author Hirdesh Kumar, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher in Tolias lab, solved the structure of the protein.

I established that Tet(X7) is very similar to known structures but way more active, and we dont really know why because the part that interacts with the tetracycline rings is the same, Kumar said. Im now taking a molecular dynamics approach so we can see the protein in action. If we can understand why it is so efficient, we can design even better inhibitors.

Wencewicz and colleagues previously designed a chemical compound that preserves the potency of tetracyclines by preventing destructases from chewing up the antibiotics. In the most recent study, co-author Jana L. Markley, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher in Wencewiczs lab, evaluated that inhibitor against the bacterium from the patient in Pakistan and its powerful Tet(X7) destructase. Adding the compound made the bacteria two to four times more sensitive to all three of the latest generation of tetracyclines.

Our team has a motto extending the wise words of Benjamin Franklin: In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death, taxes and antibiotic resistance, Wencewicz said. Antibiotic resistance is going to happen. We need to get ahead of it and design inhibitors now to protect our antibiotics, because if we wait until it becomes a crisis, its too late.ReferenceGasparrini et al. (2020). Tetracycline-inactivating enzymes from environmental, human commensal, and pathogenic bacteria cause broad-spectrum tetracycline resistance. Communications Biology. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-020-0966-5

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Resistance Genes to Latest Generation of Antibiotics Are Widespread - Technology Networks

The UK grains sector faces enormous change after almost five decades operating under the European Unions Common Agricultural Policy. It also faces enormous potential disruption following the UK exit from the EU on Jan. 31, unless a new trade deal with the EU can be made by the end of the year. At the same time, the sector is coping with the problems caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, with supply chains disrupted and new challenges from the need to feed a population in lockdown.

The International Grains Council (IGC) projects the UKs 2020-21 grains production at a total of 19.7 million tonnes, down from 25.7 million the year before. The countrys wheat production is put at 10 million tonnes, down from 16.3 million in 2019-20. Barley production is forecast to rise to 8.4 million tonnes, up from 8.2 million.

The UKs rapeseed crop is forecast at 1.3 million tonnes in 2020-21, compared with 1.8 million in 2019-20.

The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) on Feb. 27 published a forecast putting 2019-20 wheat imports at 1.050 million tonnes, down 808,000 on the year before because of greater supply.

It is worth noting that the fall in imported demand is expected to be driven by the animal feed and bioethanol sectors, the AHDB commented. Imported wheat usage by flour millers is expected to be marginally higher year on year.

The AHDB forecast barley imports at 52,000 tonnes, down 18,000 on larger domestic supply. Maize imports in 2019-20 are put at 2.3 million tonnes. While the pace of maize imports is expected to slow somewhat over the next few months, imports may begin to increase again at the end of this season and into the 2020-21 season, due to its relative price compared with domestic grains.

Trade sources put likely imports of wheat at 2.6 million tonnes in 2020-21, with barley imports at 60,000 tonnes. Imports of rapeseed are forecast at 600,000 tonnes.

According to the National Association of British and Irish Millers (nabim), there are 32 companies, with a total of 51 milling sites in the countrys flour milling sector. Thirty-one are members of nabim, with 50 sites between them accounting for 99% of UK flour production. The association puts the industrys annual consumption of wheat to produce flour at 5 million tonnes, with some 1.3 million to 1.5 million tonnes used by starch and bioethanol producers.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown that has accompanied it has forced the industry to change. Following representations from nabim, the government decided to relax working time rules to help ensure deliveries. It also recognized food industry workers as key, giving them access to childcare and education support, the association said in an April 3 statement. British schools are closed but remain open to care for children of key workers.

An early warning system also has been set up by nabim to give notice of problems before they become critical.

The grain supply and delivery sector, including nabim members, has agreed small changes in working practice that will help the flow of goods and accompanying documentation while respecting social distancing and the difficulty of distributing documentation while so many administrative staff are working from home, nabim said. The government has allowed extra time for some tests to be undertaken and, wherever possible, auditing is being conducted remotely.

One feature of the lockdown has been increased demand from consumers for bagged flour for home baking. A website has been set up by nabim to let consumers know where they can buy the size of bags normally only sold to catering outlets, which are now closed.

The UK left the EU on Jan.31. The country is currently in a transition phase, in which trade continues under the same terms as before, while a future relationship between the two is negotiated. The advent of the COVID-19 crisis means that the transition period, due to last until the end of 2020, is widely expected to be extended, although the British government, which would have to ask for an extension, is still, at the time of writing, insisting that it will stick to the planned timetable.

One aspect of the future that is causing particular concern for the milling industry is the arrangements for trade between the islands of Britain and Ireland. Although the northern part of Ireland is part of the UK, under the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which brought piece to Northern Ireland after many years of turmoil, there must be no hard border between the UK and the Republic of Ireland on the island of Ireland. That means that a customs barrier is planned, within the UK. The government of Prime Minister Boris Johnson is pretending that the problem does not exist, and no checks will be necessary, ignoring an explicit reference in the UKs Withdrawal Agreement with the EU. The high level of integration between the food sectors in the two countries, particularly in milling, means controls, with a potential need for sanitary and phytosanitary checks, could be highly onerous.

Leaving the EU takes British agriculture out of the EUs Common Agricultural Policy, with its system of direct payments to support farming. Instead, in a bill introduced to parliament on Jan. 16, the government plans to create a system under which farmers are rewarded for providing public goods such as improved air and water quality, higher animal welfare standards, improved access to the countryside or measures to reduce flooding.

In England, direct payments will be phased out over a seven-year period, starting in 2021.

BIOFUELS and GMOs

The UK is currently using E5 gasoline, but the government has announced a move to E10, beginning in 2021. The country has two large ethanol plants, Ensus and Vivergo, both in the northeast. Only Ensus is currently operating, using wheat and maize.

In an April 9 report, the USDA attach in London explained how the British government appears to want to expand the use of GM crops in the country, but the continuing close trading relationship between the UK and the remaining EU countries makes a big change unlikely.

The report cites the July 2019 inaugural speech of Prime Minister Johnson who said: Lets liberate the UKs extraordinary bioscience sector from anti-genetic modification rules.

Under any scenario, the UKs departure from the EU will not change policy or trade in genetically engineered plants or animals in the short to medium term, the attach commented. The EU is the UKs largest trading partner and the UK will retain much EU food law for many years to come.

For most of the British public, genetic engineering in food is irrelevant. There are very few mainstream grocery products that contain GE as an outright ingredient and, with this invisibility, UK consumers consider the GM problem to have gone away.

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Focus on the United Kingdom | 2020-06-01 - World Grain

GLOBAL ANIMAL GENETICS MARKET: OVERVIEW

The global animal genetics market is likely to rise at a healthy growth rate over the assessment timeframe. Augmented consumption of protein extracted from animals is prophesized to favor the growth of the global animal genetics market in the forthcoming years. In addition, increasing populations generates massive demand for animal-based protein, which further benefits the market.

The global animal genetics market has been segmented on the basis of region and product and services. The sole objective of providing such an all-inclusive report is to offer a deep insight into the market.

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GLOBAL ANIMAL GENETICS MARKET: NOTABLE DEVELOPMENTS

The global animal genetics market has gone through a few developments in the last few years. These market developments make a manifestation of how and what is influencing the growth of the global animal genetics market. One such development is mentioned below:

SOME OF THE KEY MARKET PLAYERS OF THE GLOBAL ANIMAL GENETICS MARKET ARE

GLOBAL ANIMAL GENETICS MARKET: GROWTH DRIVERS

High Demand for Animal Protein Places the Market on a High Growth Trajectory

The global animal genetics market is estimated to experience considerable growth over the review period. Such stellar growth of the market is attributed to the augmented adoption of genetic technologies and strict implementation of animal welfare regulations.

Likewise, livestock population has witnessed a substantial rise together with awareness related to the existence of animal genetic disorders. Besides, the need to cater to the unmet demands of animal protein is likely to add fillip to the global animal genetics market over the forecast timeframe.

With an objective to produce better milk and food products, there has been an escalation in the research and development activities by several scientists. Genetic modifications are likely to emerge as another factor supporting the expansion of the global animal genetics market in forthcoming years.

The market is also prophesized to be fuelled by rapid expansion of urbanization and rise in population, which place massive demand for animal protein. Increased adoption of various advanced genetic practices like embryo transfer, artificial insemination (AI) for production of modified breed on a large scale is estimated to favor the market in the years to come.

On the other hand, the dearth of properly skilled technicians and professional with expertise in genetic services is estimate to impede the growth of the global animal genetics market in years to come. Furthermore, strict regulations related to genetic engineering of animals together with high cost of animal testing is likely to obstruct the growth of the market.

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GLOBAL ANIMAL GENETICS MARKET: REGIONAL OUTLOOK

Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, South America, Europe, and North America comprise the major regions of the global animal genetics market.

Considering geographies, North America is likely to play a dominant role in the global animal genetics market over the assessment timeframe. Such regional supremacy is ascribed to the presence of a large number of well-known companies of the global animal genetics market. In addition, the presence of a well-established livestock industry is likely to propel the North America animal genetics market to prominence in the near future.

The global animal genetics market is segmented as:

Products and Services

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Animal Genetics Market to Witness Growth Acceleration During 2018-2028 - Cole of Duty

As pharmaceutical scientists are experimenting with nearly 70 candidate drugs and compounds to treat COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), a new approach using genetic engineering offers hope for a vaccine.

Researchers from the University of Iowa have successfully tested engineered virus on mice exposed to MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome), a virus related to COVID-19. MERS virus, which has a case fatality rate of more than 30 per cent, has so far killed more than 850 people in the last decade.

In their study published in mBio, a journal of the American Society of Microbiology, scientists share the hope that this strategy they applied against MERS might work against SARS-CoV-2 as well.

Researchers used an RNA virus called parainfluenza virus 5 (PIV5), which causes kennel cough, a type of respiratory infection in dogs. This canine virus is not transmitted to humans. Researchers manipulated this dog virus by adding an extra gene to it so that infected cells would produce a spike, glycoprotein known to be involved in MERS infections.

As part of this experiment, scientists made mice inhale a single dose of this genetically modified version of the virus. After a period of four weeks, when these mice were exposed to a strain of the MERS virus, they survived the deadly infection. The fact that all the mice immunised with the modified PIV5 virus survived MERS virus infection gives hope for a making vaccine against COVID-19.

Now the researchers are going ahead with further studies in animals for testing the effectiveness of PIV5-based vaccines in preventing disease caused by Sars-CoV-2. The team has generated vaccine candidates based on PIV5 carrying the spike protein of Sars-CoV-2.

"We're quite interested in using viruses as gene delivery vehicles," said pediatric pulmonologist and coronavirus expert Paul McCray, at the University of Iowa, who co-led the new study with virologist Biao He, at the University of Georgia, in Athens.

Finding an effective vaccine against the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 is a race against time, McCray said. "One hundred per cent of the population is not going to be exposed to the virus the first time around, which means there will be more people to infect when it comes again," he said. "We don't know yet if people get lasting immunity from the SARS-CoV-2 infection, so it's important to think about ways to protect the population."

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Engineered virus offers potential for effective vaccine against COVID-19 - THE WEEK

The "CAR T-Cell Therapy for Multiple Myeloma - Market Insights and Market Forecast - 2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

This report delivers an in-depth understanding of the CAR T-Cell Therapy use for Multiple Myeloma as well as the CAR T-Cell Therapy market trends for Multiple Myeloma in the 6MM i.e., United States and EU5 (Germany, Spain, Italy, France and the United Kingdom).

The Multiple Myeloma CAR T-Cell Therapy market report provides current treatment practices, emerging drugs, CAR T-Cell Therapy market share of the various CAR T-Cell Therapies for Multiple Myeloma, the individual therapies, current and forecasted Multiple Myeloma CAR T-Cell Therapy market Size from 2017 to 2030 segmented by seven major markets. The Report also covers current Multiple Myeloma treatment practice/algorithm, market drivers, market barriers and unmet medical needs to curate best of the opportunities and assesses underlying potential of the market.

Reasons to Buy

Report Highlights

Key Topics Covered:

1. Key Insights

2. Executive Summary

3. CAR T-Cell Therapy Market Overview at a Glance

3.1 Market Share (%) Distribution of CAR T-Cell Therapy for MM in 2030

4. CAR T-Cell Therapy Background and Overview

4.1 Introduction

4.1.1 CARs Generations

4.1.2 Genetic Engineering of T-Cells

4.1.3 How CAR T-Cell Therapy Works

4.2 The promise of CAR T-cell targeting B cell maturation antigen (BCMA) in multiple myeloma

4.3 Current challenges in CAR T

4.3.1 Therapeutic side effects

4.3.2 CAR T-cells lack of success

4.4 CAR T-cell therapy: Route to reimbursement

4.5 Unmet needs

5. CAR T-Cell Therapy for Multiple Myeloma (MM): 6 Major Market Analysis

5.1 Key Findings

5.2 Market Size of CAR T-Cell Therapy in 6MM

5.2.1 Market Size of CAR T-Cell Therapy by Therapies

6. Market Outlook

7. Emerging Drug Profiles for Multiple Myeloma

7.1 bb2121: Celgene Corporation

7.1.1 Product Description

7.1.2 Research and Development

7.1.3 Product Development Activities

7.2 JNJ-68284528 (LCAR-B38M): Janssen Research & Development

7.2.1 Product Description

7.2.2 Research and Development

7.2.3 Product Development Activities

7.3 P-BCMA-101: Poseida Therapeutics

7.3.1 Product Description:

7.3.2 Research and Development

7.3.3 Product Development Activities

7.4 CAR-CD44v6: MolMed S.p.A.

7.4.1 Product Description

7.4.2 Research and Development

7.4.3 Product Development Activities

7.5 JCARH125 (Orvacabtagene autoleucel): Celgene Corporation

7.5.1 Product Description

7.5.2 Research and Development

7.5.3 Product Development Activities

7.6 Descartes-08: Cartesian Therapeutics

7.6.1 Product Description

7.6.2 Research and Development

7.7 CT053 : CARsgen Therapeutics)

7.7.1 Product Description

7.7.2 Research and Development

7.7.3 Product Development Activities

Companies Mentioned

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/auj3ij

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200409005373/en/

Contacts

ResearchAndMarkets.comLaura Wood, Senior Press Managerpress@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900

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COVID-19 treatment candidate, a high-potency immunotherapy delivering human polyclonal antibodies targeted to SARS-CoV-2, generated from SAB's novel platform technology, on-track for clinical evaluation as early as summer

KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. and SIOUX FALLS, S.D., April 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --Global biotherapeutics leader, CSL Behringand innovative human antibody development company SAB Biotherapeutics(SAB) announced today their partnership to combat the coronavirus pandemic with the rapid development of SAB-185, a COVID-19 therapeutic candidate on track for clinical evaluation by early summer. The partnership joins the forces of CSL Behring's leading protein science capabilities with SAB's novel immunotherapy platform capable of rapidly developing and producing natural, highly-targeted, high-potency, fully human polyclonal antibodies without the need for blood plasma donations from recovered patients.

CSL Behring logo. (PRNewsFoto/CSL Behring)

The therapeutic candidate, SAB-185, is generated from SAB's proprietary DiversitAb platform producing large volumes of human polyclonal antibodies targeted specifically to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Driven by advanced genetic engineering and antibody science, SAB's novel approach, leveraging genetically engineered cattle to produce fully human antibodies, enables a scalable and reliable production of targeted, higher potency neutralizing antibody product than has been previously possible. SAB's approach has expedited the rapid development of a novel immunotherapy for COVID-19 deploying the same natural immune response to fight the disease as recovered patients, but with a much higher concentration of targeted antibodies.

"COVID-19 is a nearly unprecedented public health crisis," said CSL Behring's Executive Vice President and Head of R&D Bill Mezzanotte, M.D. "That's why we're combining our leading capabilities in plasma product development and immunology with external collaborators to help find multiple, rapid solutions. In the near-term, SAB Biotherapeutics' novel immunotherapy platform provides a new and innovative solution to rapidly respond without the need for human plasma adding a different dimension to the industry-wide plasma-derived hyperimmune alliance effort we recently launched for the COVID-19 crisis. For future pandemics, SAB's platform may allow us to even more rapidly respond to patients' needs."

"Our targeted high-potency immunotherapies leverage the native immune response thereby providing a highly-specific match against the complexity, diversity and mutation of a disease," said Eddie J. Sullivan, PhD, SAB Biotherapeutics president, CEO and co-founder. "Our partnership with CSL Behring shifts our development trajectory to more rapidly scale-up and delivery of our highly targeted and potent COVID-19 therapeutic candidate, and deploy our unique capabilities to help combat this crisis. We have a successful preclinical track record for addressing infectious disease targets including Ebola, MERS, and SARS with our proprietary platform and appreciate that this collaboration with a global biopharmaceutical powerhouse will magnify the potential impact of a COVID-19 immunotherapy and provide an important framework for establishing sustainable solutions for the future."

Story continues

CSL Behring has provided seed funding to offset some initial development costs that were funded by SAB in good faith, responding to the global pandemic as quickly as possible. SAB has already secured approximately $7.2 million in funding through an interagency agreement with the Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Defense (JPEO - CBRND) and Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA)to support SAB to complete manufacturing and preclinical studies. CSL Behring will then commit its clinical, regulatory, manufacturing and supply chain expertise and resources to deliver the therapeutic to the market as soon as possible, on terms to be agreed with SAB.

Earlier this year, the companies announceda collaboration to investigate SAB's platform technology as a new source for human immunoglobulin G (IgG) and the potential for new therapies to treat challenging autoimmune, infectious and idiopathic diseases by leveraging SAB's DiversitAb platform.

About CSL Behring CSL Behring is a global biotherapeutics leader driven by its promise to save lives. Focused on serving patients' needs by using the latest technologies, we develop and deliver innovative therapies that are used to treat coagulation disorders, primary immune deficiencies, hereditary angioedema, inherited respiratory disease, and neurological disorders. The company's products are also used in cardiac surgery, burn treatment and to prevent hemolytic disease of the newborn. CSL Behring operates one of the world's largest plasma collection networks, CSL Plasma. The parent company, CSL Limited (ASX:CSL;USOTC:CSLLY), headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, employs more than 26,000 people, and delivers its life-saving therapies to people in more than 70 countries. For more information, visit http://www.cslbehring.com and for inspiring stories about the promise of biotechnology, visit Vita http://www.cslbehring.com/Vita

About SAB Biotherapeutics, Inc.SAB Biotherapeutics, Inc. (SAB), headquartered in Sioux Falls, S.D. is a clinical-stage, biopharmaceutical development company advancing a new class of immunotherapies leveraging fully human polyclonal antibodies. Utilizing some of the most complex genetic engineering and antibody science in the world, SAB has developed the only platform that can rapidly produce natural, highly targeted, high-potency, immunotherapies at commercial scale. The company is advancing programs in autoimmunity, infectious diseases, inflammation and exploratory oncology. SAB is rapidly progressing on a new therapeutic for COVID-19, SAB-185, a fully human polyclonal antibodies targeted to SARS-CoV-2 without using human donors. SAB-185 is expected to be ready for evaluation as early as summer 2020. The company was also recently awarded a $27 million contract from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to leverage its unique capabilities as part of a Rapid Response Antibody Program, valued at up to $27 million. For more information visit: http://www.sabbiotherapeutics.com.

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CSL Behring and SAB Biotherapeutics Join Forces to Deliver New Potential COVID-19 Therapeutic - Yahoo Finance

Even conspiracy theories need to be partly built on facts in order to be plausible enough to market.

It is impossible to convince any sane person with blatant nonsense, or pathological illusions that ignore solid developments, and actions and quotes by authorities with well-known experience in their fields. Indeed, this is exactly what we are witnessing in these exceptional times as Covid-19 sweeps the world, bringing down all barriers.

A few days ago, a friend of mine sent me a recorded interview with a controversial British personality self-regarded as a visionary crusader against forces of global hegemony. This interview almost appeared with two valuable contributions by Jacques Attali, the Algerian-born French economist, thinker and political adviser, and Yuval Noah Harari, the Israeli (of Lebanese origin) historian and professor.

I had followed the career of the British personality since his early days as footballer, and then as a prominent sports journalist. His next step, however, took him to a totally different career; as he became an anti-establishment activist, first becoming an environmentalist with The Greens, and later a campaigner against political and economic elites, which he doubts and ruthlessly demonizes, and feels that it is his mission to uncover and warn against its evil conspiracies!

In his interview, the British conspiracy theorist dismisses the Covid-19 virus, and sees it as a new chapter in the global 1% elites conspiracy designed to strengthen its world domination. This is done as he claims by destroying the current world economys institutions and rebuild them in a way that further serves their interests.

In his argument, in addition to the global companies, and Davos World Economic Forum, he includes the World Health Organization (WHO), among the leading co-conspirators!

Some of the data mentioned by the controversial gentleman is true; more so for any political and economic researcher or expert, who understands the dynamics of the market economy and the role of accumulation, concentration, monopoly and speculation in capitalism.

Furthermore, anybody who has been following the progress of technology through the centuries would know the impact of technologies, from the discovery of the gunpowder and paper, the invention of printing, and recently, the development of the computer, genetic engineering and artificial intelligence (AI).

What I mean to say is that with or without Covid-19 we have been marching towards a new world. The only thing this pandemic has done is merely accelerating this march, and negating all reservations against it.

This is where Harari hits his target. He acknowledges the historical importance of the world crisis we are all facing.

Humankind is now facing a global crisis, he says, adding, perhaps the biggest crisis of our generation. The decisions people and governments take in the next few weeks will probably shape the world for years to come. They will shape not just our healthcare systems but also our economy, politics and culture. We must act quickly and decisively. We should also take into account the long-term consequences of our actions. When choosing between alternatives, we should ask ourselves not only how to overcome the immediate threat, but also what kind of world we will inhabit once the storm passes. Yes, the storm will pass, humankind will survive, most of us will still be alive but we will live in a different world.

Harari goes on many short-term emergency measures will become a fixture of life. That is the nature of emergencies. They fast-forward historical processes. Decisions that in normal times could take years of deliberation are passed in a matter of hours. Immature and even dangerous technologies are pressed into service, because the risks of doing nothing are bigger. Entire countries serve as guinea-pigs in large-scale social experiments. What happens when everybody works from home and communicates only at a distance? What happens when entire schools and universities go online? In normal times, governments, businesses and educational boards would never agree to conduct such experiments. But these arent normal times. In this time of crisis, we face two particularly important choices. The first is between totalitarian surveillance and citizen empowerment. The second is between nationalist isolation and global solidarity.

The first choice therefore is between a Chinese model of totalitarian surveillance and the respect of human rights, including personal privacy; and the second is between isolationism and globalization.

Jacques Attali, who was the first head of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in 1991-1993, and a former adviser to ex-French President Francois Mitterrand, seems somehow to agree with Harari on more than one issue. He also believes that great historical disasters caused by various plagues led to profound changes in the political structures of nations, as well as the cultures embodied in those structures.

Talking of the bubonic plague (The Black Death) of the 14th century, which killed almost one third of Europes population, Attali says that among its most significant repercussions was the change in the position of the clergy. The clergy lost out influence to the benefit of the police, which became the only protector of the people after the churchs failure to protect them.

However, as Attali explains, this situation did not last long either; after the real power shifted from the authority of religion as represented by the Church to the authority of enforcement as represented by the police, it shifted again from the authority of enforcement to the authority of the state and the laws.

This point, in particular, will bring us back to ongoing argument about who would be the main beneficiary from the repercussions of Covid-19 in the Arab World. Is it the political and security, which has decisively taken the initiative in confronting the pandemic? Or is it some religious groups which are waiting until the worst passes, and then emerge to say Well, where were your science and scientists when God attempted to test our beliefs?

Indeed, contradicting theories and arguments about our lives and futures mushroom here and there, as the world, as a whole finds itself fighting against time.

From one side there are voices insisting that the top priority now must be saving lives, as saving the economies can wait, especially, that they are built on lending and debts, and can be rebuilt after recessions. From the opposite direction, many voices argue that life and death are existential facts, and the world must never sacrifice its economic well-being for the many to save the lives of the few.

Personally, I am - without hesitation - with the first opinion.

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Covid-19 and the Conspiracy Theorists | Asharq AL-awsat - Asharq Al-awsat English

One in four Britons think the coronavirus was probably created in a lab, research suggests.

Scientists from Kings College London asked more than 2,000 people what they believed to be true about the somewhat mysterious strain.

A quarter (25%) of those surveyed thought the coronavirus is probably man-made, a conspiracy theory circulating the internet.

Early research suggests the infection is mild in four out of five cases, however, it can trigger a respiratory disease called COVID-19.

A member of staff gives directions at a coronavirus testing centre for NHS staff at an IKEA in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear. (Getty Images)

The Kings scientists surveyed 2,250 people aged between 18 and 75.

Of the participants who thought the coronavirus was probably created in a lab, 12% admitted to meeting up with friends during the UKs lockdown.

This is more than double the 5% of participants who socialised with loved ones, but were convinced of the strains natural origin.

Latest coronavirus news, updates and advice

Live: Follow all the latest updates from the UK and around the world

Fact-checker: The number of COVID-19 cases in your local area

Explained: Symptoms, latest advice and how it compares to the flu

Boris Johnson has enforced draconian measures that only allow Britons to leave their home for very limited purposes, like exercising or shopping for essentials.

The prime minister, who is in intensive care with coronavirus complications, has repeatedly stressed people are not to socialise with those outside of their home.

Nearly a quarter (24%) of the Kings participants who believed the coronavirus was probably manufactured thought too much of a fuss is being made about the pandemic.

This is compared to one in 10 (10%) of those who believed the strain is natural.

Emerging at the end of last year, only the relatively small number of people worldwide who have encountered the virus are thought to have immunity against it.

The race is on to develop a vaccine that will enable herd immunity, allowing the public to safely go back to their normal routine.

The survey participants who thought a jab will be available within three months were nearly four times as likely to have met up with friends during the lockdown than those of the opinion a vaccine will take longer.

Numerous pharmaceutical companies around the world are working to develop a jab, however, scientists have been upfront one will not be ready for this outbreak.

A vaccine may become available, however, if the infection turns out to be seasonal.

People have generally got the message about how serious the threat from the virus is and the importance of the measures being required of them, said study author Professor Bobby Duffy.

But at a time when the government is warning it may bring in more severe restrictions if enough people dont follow the rules, this research shows there is a significant minority who are unclear on what some of them are, as well as many who still misjudge the scale of the threat from coronavirus or believe false claims about it.

And this matters how we see current realities and the future is often related to how we strictly we follow the guidelines and our attitudes to the lockdown measures.

A man wears a mask outside a closed electrical-goods shop in the centre of Munich. (Getty Images)

Story continues

The coronavirus is thought to have emerged at a seafood and live animal market in the Chinese city Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, at the end of 2019.

The market is said to have sold a range of dead and alive animals, including bats, donkeys, poultry and hedgehogs.

Most of those who initially became unwell at the start of the outbreak worked at, or visited, the Wuhan market.

This has led scientists to believe the new coronavirus jumped from an animal into a human while the two were in close contact.

The coronavirus is one of seven strains of a class of viruses that are known to infect humans.

Another strain is severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars), which killed 774 people during its 2002/3 outbreak.

Sars is thought to have started in bats and jumped into humans via masked palm civets.

Research suggests the new coronavirus shares more than 96% of its DNA with a strain detected in horseshoe bats and may have reached humans via pangolins.

Despite the evidence, conspiracy theories have arisen suggesting the strain could have been engineered.

To debunk this, scientists from Scripps Research in San Diego analysed the DNA of the virus and others like it.

They specifically looked at proteins on the surface of the viruses that allow them to enter human cells.

Results suggested the coronavirus evolved to target a receptor on human cells called ACE2.

This targeting is so effective, the scientists concluded it was the result of natural selection and not genetic engineering.

The coronavirus genetic backbone is also distinct from other pathogens. The scientists argued if one were to manufacture a disease, they would work off a backbone that is known to cause ill health.

By comparing the available genome sequence data for known coronavirus strains, we can firmly determine that [the new strain] originated through natural processes, said study author Dr Kristian Andersen.

A woman wears a mask while walking dogs in Palma, Spain. (Getty Images)

Since the coronavirus outbreak was identified, more than 1.5 million cases have been confirmed worldwide,according to Johns Hopkins University.

Of these cases, over 339,700 are known to have recovered.

Globally, the death toll has exceeded 89,900.

The coronavirus mainly spreads face-to-face via infected droplets expelled in a cough and sneeze.

There is also evidenceit may be transmitted in faecesandcan survive on surfaces.

Although most cases are mild, pneumonia can come about if the coronavirus spreads to the air sacs in the lungs.

This causes them to become inflamed and filled with fluid or pus.

The lungs then struggle to draw in air, resulting in reduced oxygen in the bloodstream and a build-up of carbon dioxide.

The coronavirus has no set treatment, with most patients naturally fighting off the infection.

Those requiring hospitalisation are given supportive care, like ventilation, while their immune system gets to work.

Officials urge people ward off the coronavirus bywashing their hands regularlyand maintainingsocial distancing.

Excerpt from:
One in four Britons 'think the coronavirus was probably created in a lab' - Yahoo Sports

Genetic engineering is the process of using technology to change the genetic makeup of an organism - be it an animal, plant or a bacterium.

This can be achieved by using recombinant DNA (rDNA), or DNA that has been isolated from two or more different organisms and then incorporated into a single molecule, according to the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI).

Recombinant DNA technology was first developed in the early 1970s, and the first genetic engineering company, Genentech, was founded in 1976. The company isolated the genes for human insulin into E. coli bacteria, which allowed the bacteria to produce human insulin.

After approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Genentech produced the first recombinant DNA drug, human insulin, in 1982. The first genetically engineered vaccine for humans was approved by the FDA in 1987 and was for hepatitis B.

Since the 1980s, genetic engineering has been used to produce everything from a more environmentally friendly lithium-ion battery to infection-resistant crops such as the HoneySweet Plum. These organisms made by genetic engineering, called genetically modified organisms (GMOs), can be bred to be less susceptible to diseases or to withstand specific environmental conditions.

But critics say that genetic engineering is dangerous. In 1997, a photo of a mouse with what looked like a human ear growing out of its back sparked a backlash against using genetic engineering. But the mouse was not the result of genetic engineering, and the ear did not contain any human cells. It was created by implanting a mold made of biodegradable mesh in the shape of a 3-year-old's ear under the mouse's skin, according to the National Science Foundation, in order to demonstrate one way to produce cartilage tissue in a lab.

While genetic engineering involves the direct manipulation of one or more genes, DNA can also be controlled through selective breeding. Precision breeding, for example, is an organic farming technique that includes monitoring the reproduction of species members so that the resulting offspring have desirable traits.

A recent example of the use of precision breeding is the creation of a new type of rice. To address the issue of flooding wiping out rice crops in China, Pamela Ronald, a professor of plant pathology at the University of California-Davis, developed a more flood-tolerant strain of rice seed.

Using a wild species of rice that is native to Mali, Ronald identified a gene, called Sub1, and introduced it into normal rice varieties using precision breeding creating rice that can withstand being submerged in water for 17 days, rather than the usual three.

Calling the new, hardier rice the Xa21 strain, researchers hope to have it join the ranks of other GMOs currently being commercially grown worldwide, including herbicide-tolerant or insect-resistant soy, cotton and corn, within the next year, Ronald said. For farmers in China, the world's top producer and consumer of rice, being able to harvest enough of the crop to support their families is literally a matter of life and death.

Because Ronald used precision breeding rather than genetic engineering, the rice will hopefully meet with acceptance among critics of genetic engineering, Ronald said.

"The farmers experienced three to five fold increases in yield due to flood tolerance," Ronald said at a World Science Festival presentation in New York. "This rice demonstrates how genetics can be used to improve the lives of impoverished people."

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What's Genetic Engineering? | Live Science