Algernon Pharmaceuticals Inc (AGNPF)

[medchem]

BioWorld Feature

Our boys at Algernon getting mentioned alongside some of the biggest names like Abbvie!

Note the connection with Bill Gates here.

We have a strong chance of securing funding.

Also look at the note about Bill Gates funding repurposed drugs!

Hooray!

Highlighted below for ease on your eyes. Link above.

Much love and have a green beer please.

---

The financial markets were delivered a one-two punch last week – a plunge in oil prices along with fears that the coronavirus continues to spread unabated. As a result, the Dow Jones Industrial Average cratered during the week but did recover some of its losses on Friday to close down almost 3%. Biopharma equities did not escape the carnage, with the BioWorld Biopharmaceutical index trading down. The market meltdown put a damper on what appeared to be the start of a market recovery for biopharma equities, reflecting the fact that investors believed that biopharma blue chip companies offered some safety during these uncertain and turbulent times.

[...]

The World Health Organization (WHO) has released its COVID-19 R&D roadmap, highlighting the gaps in knowledge about the virus and setting out priorities for research. The organization is now calling on groups around the world to use the document – drawn up by 400 experts – to coordinate their efforts. The research roadmap is backed by a core set of protocols WHO has developed outlining how clinical studies should be designed and how data are collected, to ensure it is possible to compare and pool data from multiple clinical studies.

The Gates Foundation and Wellcome Trust have joined forces with financial services specialist Mastercard in establishing a $125 million seed fund to accelerate development of drugs to treat COVID -19. The COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator aims to play a catalytic role by speeding up evaluation of new and repurposed drugs and biologics to treat the novel coronavirus in the near term, and other viral pathogens in the longer term.

In other developments: U.S., China and Harbour Biomed Therapeutics Ltd. teamed up with Mount Sinai Health System, New York's largest academic medical system, to develop novel biotherapies in oncology and immunology. They will also be using Harbour’s H2L2 Harbour Mice platform to develop a monoclonal antibody (MAb) against the coronavirus that has turned into a global epidemic. According to the company, its fully human MAbs have the potential to prevent the spread of the virus by blocking infection of cells. Abbvie Inc. said it is helping with the experimental use of the HIV medicine Kaletra/Aluvia (lopinavir/ritonavir) to determine its efficacy in the treatment of COVID-19. The company is collaborating with select health authorities and institutions globally to determine antiviral activity as well as efficacy and safety of lopinavir/ritonavir against the virus. Algernon Pharmaceuticals Inc. said it will set aside some of its NP-120 (ifenprodil) drug supply from its planned phase II study for idiopathic fibrosis and chronic cough, to make it available on a compassionate use basis, to physicians and their patients with the most serious cases of COVID-19. Beroni Group Ltd., which is developing a medical solution using nanobody technology for COVID-19 with Tianjin University in China, advanced into cytological experiments and expects to complete them by the end of March. Cel-Sci Corp. said it is developing an immunotherapy with the potential to treat the COVID-19 coronavirus using its peptide technology using conserved regions of coronavirus proteins to stimulate protective cell-mediated T-cell responses and reduce viral load. Cocrystal Pharma Inc. said it is developing antiviral compounds to treat COVID-19 infections. The company and the Kansas State University Research Foundation have a new license agreement to develop broad-spectrum antiviral compounds for treating norovirus and coronavirus infections. Cyclica Inc. and Beijing’s Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, are collaborating to discover antiviral drug candidates for COVID-19. GT Biopharma Inc. and Cytovance Biologics LLC are collaborating to develop a treatment for COVID-19 using GT's Trike NK cell engager platform. Emergent Biosolutions Inc. said it initiated development of candidates to treat and prevent COVID-19, using its hyperimmune platforms. Humanigen Inc. is exploring clinical-stage strategies and partnerships to evaluate whether lenzilumab, its anti-human-GM-CSF monoclonal antibody, can reduce or prevent the cytokine storm resulting from COVID-19 infection. Medicago Inc. said it has produced a virus-like particle (VLP) of the coronavirus just 20 days after obtaining the SARS-CoV-2 gene. Production of the VLP is the first step in developing a vaccine for COVID-19, which will now undergo preclinical testing for safety and efficacy. Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. signed a collaborative agreement with the BIH Center for Regenerative Therapy and the Berlin Center for Advanced Therapies at Charite’ University of Medicine Berlin to expand its existing framework and research agreement and conduct a joint project evaluating the therapeutic effects of Pluristem’s patented PLX cell product candidates for potential treatment of the respiratory and inflammatory complications associated with the COVID-19 coronavirus. Vir Biotechnology Inc. is collaborating with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Vaccine Research Center to develop monoclonal antibodies against coronaviruses, including SARS, MERS and SARS-CoV-2. It also plans to collaborate with Biogen Inc. to develop and manufacture human monoclonal antibodies to treat COVID-19 infected patients.