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Powerful Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools Being Developed for the COVID-19 Fight

Posted in Artificial Intelligence in Health Care - Tools & Innovations, Artificial Intelligence in Medicine - Application for Diagnosis, Artificial Intelligence in Medicine - Applications in Therapeutics, Big Data, Biomarkers: Inflammation, Cancer Researchers Fighting COVID-19, coronavirus, Coronavirus Gene Expression, COVID-19, COVID-19 effects on Human Heart, COVID-19: Pandemic Surgery Guidance, Disease Biology, Economic Impact of Coronavirus Pandemic, Health Economics and Outcomes Research, HealthCare IT, Image Processing/Computing, Imaging-based Cancer Patient Management, Immune-Mediation (independent immunopathology: lung and reticuloendothelial system), Infectious Disease & New Antibiotic Targets, Infectious Disease Immunodiagnostics, Intelligent Information Systems, number of asymptomatic infections, SAR-Cov-2 a vasculotropic (blood vessels) RNA Virus, SARS-CoV-2, SARS-COV2 Hijacking the Complement and Coagulation Systems, Seasonality & Environmental Factors in Resurgence, Serology tests for coronavirus antibodies, Treatment Protocols for COVID-19, Vaccinology, Viral diseases, Virology - Vector-borne DIsease, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on May 13, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Powerful AI Tools Being Developed for the COVID-19 Fight

Curator: Stephen J. Williams, Ph.D.

 

Source: https://www.ibm.com/blogs/research/2020/04/ai-powered-technologies-accelerate-discovery-covid-19/

IBM Releases Novel AI-Powered Technologies to Help Health and Research Community Accelerate the Discovery of Medical Insights and Treatments for COVID-19

April 3, 2020 | Written by: 

IBM Research has been actively developing new cloud and AI-powered technologies that can help researchers across a variety of scientific disciplines accelerate the process of discovery. As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds, we continue to ask how these technologies and our scientific knowledge can help in the global battle against coronavirus.

Today, we are making available multiple novel, free resources from across IBM to help healthcare researchers, doctors and scientists around the world accelerate COVID-19 drug discovery: from gathering insights, to applying the latest virus genomic information and identifying potential targets for treatments, to creating new drug molecule candidates.

Though some of the resources are still in exploratory stages, IBM is making them available to qualifying researchers at no charge to aid the international scientific investigation of COVID-19.

Today’s announcement follows our recent leadership in launching the U.S. COVID-19 High Performance Computing Consortium, which is harnessing massive computing power in the effort to help confront the coronavirus.

Streamlining the Search for Information

Healthcare agencies and governments around the world have quickly amassed medical and other relevant data about the pandemic. And, there are already vast troves of medical research that could prove relevant to COVID-19. Yet, as with any large volume of disparate data sources, it is difficult to efficiently aggregate and analyze that data in ways that can yield scientific insights.

To help researchers access structured and unstructured data quickly, we are offering a cloud-based AI research resource that has been trained on a corpus of thousands of scientific papers contained in the COVID-19 Open Research Dataset (CORD-19), prepared by the White House and a coalition of research groups, and licensed databases from the DrugBank, Clinicaltrials.gov and GenBank. This tool uses our advanced AI and allows researchers to pose specific queries to the collections of papers and to extract critical COVID-19 knowledge quickly. Please note, access to this resource will be granted only to qualified researchers. To learn more and request access, please click here.

Aiding the Hunt for Treatments

The traditional drug discovery pipeline relies on a library of compounds that are screened, improved, and tested to determine safety and efficacy. In dealing with new pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2, there is the potential to enhance the compound libraries with additional novel compounds. To help address this need, IBM Research has recently created a new, AI-generative framework which can rapidly identify novel peptides, proteins, drug candidates and materials.

We have applied this AI technology against three COVID-19 targets to identify 3,000 new small molecules as potential COVID-19 therapeutic candidates. IBM is releasing these molecules under an open license, and researchers can study them via a new interactive molecular explorer tool to understand their characteristics and relationship to COVID-19 and identify candidates that might have desirable properties to be further pursued in drug development.

To streamline efforts to identify new treatments for COVID-19, we are also making the IBM Functional Genomics Platform available for free for the duration of the pandemic. Built to discover the molecular features in viral and bacterial genomes, this cloud-based repository and research tool includes genes, proteins and other molecular targets from sequenced viral and bacterial organisms in one place with connections pre-computed to help accelerate discovery of molecular targets required for drug design, test development and treatment.

Select IBM collaborators from government agencies, academic institutions and other organizations already use this platform for bacterial genomic study. And now, those working on COVID-19 can request the IBM Functional Genomics Platform interface to explore the genomic features of the virus. Access to the IBM Functional Genomics Platform will be prioritized for those conducting COVID-19 research. To learn more and request access, please click here.

Drug and Disease Information

Clinicians and healthcare professionals on the frontlines of care will also have free access to hundreds of pieces of evidence-based, curated COVID-19 and infectious disease content from IBM Micromedex and EBSCO DynaMed. Using these two rich decision support solutions, users will have access to drug and disease information in a single and comprehensive search. Clinicians can also provide patients with consumer-friendly patient education handouts with relevant, actionable medical information. IBM Micromedex is one of the largest online reference databases for medication information and is used by more than 4,500 hospitals and health systems worldwide. EBSCO DynaMed provides peer-reviewed clinical content, including systematic literature reviews in 28 specialties for comprehensive disease topics, health conditions and abnormal findings, to highly focused topics on evaluation, differential diagnosis and management.

The scientific community is working hard to make important new discoveries relevant to the treatment of COVID-19, and we’re hopeful that releasing these novel tools will help accelerate this global effort. This work also outlines our long-term vision for the future of accelerated discovery, where multi-disciplinary scientists and clinicians work together to rapidly and effectively create next generation therapeutics, aided by novel AI-powered technologies.

Learn more about IBM’s response to COVID-19: IBM.com/COVID19.

Source: https://www.ibm.com/blogs/research/2020/04/ai-powered-technologies-accelerate-discovery-covid-19/

DiA Imaging Analysis Receives Grant to Accelerate Global Access to its AI Ultrasound Solutions in the Fight Against COVID-19

Source: https://www.grantnews.com/news-articles/?rkey=20200512UN05506&filter=12337

Grant will allow company to accelerate access to its AI solutions and use of ultrasound in COVID-19 emergency settings

TEL AVIV, Israel, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — DiA Imaging Analysis, a leading provider of AI based ultrasound analysis solutions, today announced that it has received a government grant from the Israel Innovation Authority (IIA) to develop solutions for ultrasound imaging analysis of COVID-19 patients using Artificial Intelligence (AI).Using ultrasound in point of care emergency settings has gained momentum since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. In these settings, which include makeshift hospital COVID-19 departments and triage “tents,” portable ultrasound offers clinicians diagnostic decision support, with the added advantage of being easier to disinfect and eliminating the need to transport patients from one room to another.However, analyzing ultrasound images is a process that it is still mostly done visually, leading to a growing market need for automated solutions and decision support.As the leading provider of AI solutions for ultrasound analysis and backed by Connecticut Innovations, DiA makes ultrasound analysis smarter and accessible to both new and expert ultrasound users with various levels of experience. The company’s flagship LVivo Cardio Toolbox for AI-based cardiac ultrasound analysis enables clinicians to automatically generate objective clinical analysis, with increased accuracy and efficiency to support decisions about patient treatment and care.

The IIA grant provides a budget of millions NIS to increase access to DiA’s solutions for users in Israel and globally, and accelerate R&D with a focus on new AI solutions for COVID-19 patient management. DiA solutions are vendor-neutral and platform agnostic, as well as powered to run in low processing, mobile environments like handheld ultrasound.Recent data highlights the importance of looking at the heart during the progression of COVID-19, with one study citing 20% of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 showing signs of heart damage and increased mortality rates in those patients. DiA’s LVivo cardiac analysis solutions automatically generate objective, quantified cardiac ultrasound results to enable point-of-care clinicians to assess cardiac function on the spot, near patients’ bedside.

According to Dr. Ami Applebaum, the Chairman of the Board of the IIA, “The purpose of IIA’s call was to bring solutions to global markets for fighting COVID-19, with an emphasis on relevancy, fast time to market and collaborations promising continuity of the Israeli economy. DiA meets these requirements with AI innovation for ultrasound.”DiA has received several FDA/CE clearances and established distribution partnerships with industry leading companies including GE Healthcare, IBM Watson and Konica Minolta, currently serving thousands of end users worldwide.”We see growing use of ultrasound in point of care settings, and an urgent need for automated, objective solutions that provide decision support in real time,” said Hila Goldman-Aslan, CEO and Co-founder of DiA Imaging Analysis, “Our AI solutions meet this need by immediately helping clinicians on the frontlines to quickly and easily assess COVID-19 patients’ hearts to help guide care delivery.”

About DiA Imaging Analysis:
DiA Imaging Analysis provides advanced AI-based ultrasound analysis technology that makes ultrasound accessible to all. DiA’s automated tools deliver fast and accurate clinical indications to support the decision-making process and offer better patient care. DiA’s AI-based technology uses advanced pattern recognition and machine-learning algorithms to automatically imitate the way the human eye detects image borders and identifies motion. Using DiA’s tools provides automated and objective AI tools, helps reduce variability among users, and increases efficiency. It allows clinicians with various levels of experience to quickly and easily analyze ultrasound images.

For additional information, please visit http://www.dia-analysis.com.

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Promises on Covid-19 Vaccines

Posted in COVID-19, Population Health Management, Genetics & Pharmaceutical, Treatment Protocols for COVID-19, Vaccinology, tagged , , , on May 11, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Promises on Covid-19 Vaccines

Reporter: Irina Robu, PhD

Vaccines play a vital role in keeping us healthy. Currently, scientists are racing through development at speeds never before seen. Even if the stages of vaccine development could be compressed and supplies could be quickly manufactured, it could take months or longer before people can have access to it.

The World Health Organization closely monitors Covid-19 vaccines which are designed in academic laboratories without having the commercial production capacity. Whereas China has widespread vaccine production capacity and other developing countries including India, Indonesia, and Brazil are amongst the world’s largest vaccine producers and exporters, a sizable amount of the manufacturing capacity belonging to pharmaceutical companies that sell vaccine in North America and Europe is based in the United States.

Assuming a vaccine can be developed rapidly, the production of some vaccine candidates could be easily ramped up than others it is conceivable that they could use the existing plants to produce more vaccines. Production of this type of candidate could reach hundreds of millions of doses within about a year, yet any vaccines would require longer time to reach those output levels.

An RNA vaccine project is being developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, began testing four possible vaccines in a compressed Phase ½ trial in the US on May 5, 2020. In addition, Moderna signed a deal with pharmaceutical company Lonzo to produce 1 billion doses of the vaccine in the U.S. and in Switzerland. Nevertheless, of who gets vaccines, it is believed that most new vaccines will require at least two doses to be effective, so any estimates of numbers of doses available in the autumn will need to be divided by two to find out how many people could expect to be vaccinated. The public, both in US and abroad need clear communications about realistic times to COVID-19 vaccine access. Yet when vaccines do start to become available, demand will be enormous and supply will be minimal.

SOURCE

Mounting promises on Covid-19 vaccines are fueling false expectations, experts say

https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/covid-19-vaccine-frontrunners-67382

https://www.biospace.com/article/moderna-vaccine-clinical-trial-moves-into-2nd-round-of-dosing/

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Special COVID-19 Christopher Magazine

Posted in Cardiovascular and Vascular Systems, coronavirus, Coronavirus Gene Expression, COVID-19, Evolution of Biology Through Culture, Immune-Mediation (independent immunopathology: lung and reticuloendothelial system), Interviews with Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs), Interviews with Scientific Leaders, Population genetics, Population Health Management, Population Health Management, Genetics & Pharmaceutical, Population Health Management, Nutrition and Phytochemistry, SAR-Cov-2 a vasculotropic (blood vessels) RNA Virus, SARS-CoV-2, SARS-COV2 Hijacking the Complement and Coagulation Systems, Seasonality & Environmental Factors in Resurgence, Serology tests for coronavirus antibodies, Vaccinology, Virus Infective Acute Respiratory Syndrome: SARS-CoV, tagged , , , , , on May 10, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Reporter: Stephen J. Williams, PhD

via Special COVID-19 Christopher Magazine

 

Special COVID-19 Christopher Magazine

 / KARLSMALLEY
Article ID #277: Special COVID-19 Christopher Magazine. Published on 5/10/2020

WordCloud Image Produced by Adam Tubman

Christopher-cover

Antonio Giordano, MD, PhD. explains what COVID is and how to contain the infection, pointing also to what will require attention next.

Please see this special release at http://online.fliphtml5.com/qlnw/zgau/#p=1

 

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Live Notes, Real Time Conference Coverage 2020 AACR Virtual Meeting April 28, 2020 Session on NCI Activities: COVID-19 and Cancer Research 5:20 PM

Posted in Biomarkers: Inflammation, Cancer - General, CANCER BIOLOGY & Innovations in Cancer Therapy, Cancer Genomics, Cancer Researchers Fighting COVID-19, Conference Coverage with Social Media, coronavirus, Coronavirus Gene Expression, COVID-19, COVID-19: Pandemic Surgery Guidance, Economic Impact of Coronavirus Pandemic, Funding Opportunities for Cancer Research, Immune-Mediation (independent immunopathology: lung and reticuloendothelial system), number of asymptomatic infections, Population Health Management, Genetics & Pharmaceutical, REAL TIME Conference Coverage Twitter's Hashtags and Handles per Presentation/session, SAR-Cov-2 a vasculotropic (blood vessels) RNA Virus, SARS-CoV-2, Seasonality & Environmental Factors in Resurgence, Serology tests for coronavirus antibodies, Treatment Protocols for COVID-19, Vaccinology, Virus Infective Acute Respiratory Syndrome: SARS-CoV, tagged , , , , , , on April 28, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Live Notes, Real Time Conference Coverage 2020 AACR Virtual Meeting April 28, 2020 Session on NCI Activities: COVID-19 and Cancer Research 5:20 PM

Reporter: Stephen J. Williams, PhD

NCI Activities: COVID-19 and Cancer Research

Dinah S. Singer. NCI-DCB, Bethesda, MD @theNCI

  • at the NCI they are pivoting some of their clinical trials to address COVID related issues like trials on tocilizumab and producing longitudinal cohorts of cancer patients and COVID for further analysis and studies
  • vaccine and antibody efforts at NCI and they are asking all their cancer centers (Cancer COVID Consortium) collecting data
  • Moonshot is collecting metadata but now COVID data from cellular therapy patients
  • they are about to publish new grants related to COVID and adding option to investigators to use current funds to do COVID related options
  • she says if at home take the time to think, write manuscripts, analyze data BE A REVIEWER FOR JOURNALS,
  • SSMMART project from Moonshot is still active
  • so far NCI and NIH grant process is ongoing although the peer review process is slower
  • they have extended deadlines with NO justification required (extend 90 days)
  • also allowing flexibility on use of grant money and allowing more early investigator rules and lax on those rules
  • non competitive renewals (type 5) will allow restructuring of project; contact program administrator
  • she and NCI heard rumors of institutions shutting down cancer research she is stressing to them not to do that
  • non refundable travel costs may be charged to the grant
  • NCI contemplating on extending the early investigator time
  • for more information go to NIH and NCI COVID-19 pages which have more guidances updated regularly

Follow on Twitter at:

@pharma_BI

@AACR

@CureCancerNow

@pharmanews

@BiotechWorld

@theNCI

#AACR20

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Live Notes, Real Time Conference Coverage 2020 AACR Virtual Meeting April 28, 2020 Session on COVID-19 and Cancer 9:00 AM

Posted in Biomarkers: Inflammation, Cancer - General, Cancer and Current Therapeutics, Cancer Researchers Fighting COVID-19, Coronavirus Gene Expression, COVID-19, COVID-19: Pandemic Surgery Guidance, Economic Impact of Coronavirus Pandemic, REAL TIME Conference Coverage Twitter's Hashtags and Handles per Presentation/session, SAR-Cov-2 a vasculotropic (blood vessels) RNA Virus, SARS-CoV-2, Seasonality & Environmental Factors in Resurgence, Serology tests for coronavirus antibodies, Vaccinology, Viral diseases, Virus Infective Acute Respiratory Syndrome: SARS-CoV, tagged , , , , , , , on April 28, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Live Notes, Real Time Conference Coverage 2020 AACR Virtual Meeting April 28, 2020 Session on COVID-19 and Cancer 9:00 AM

Reporter: Stephen J. Williams, PhD

 

COVID-19 and Cancer

Introduction

Antoni Ribas
UCLA Medical Center

  • Almost 60,000 viewed the AACR 2020 Virtual meeting for the April 27 session
  • The following speakers were the first cancer researchers treating patients at the epicenters of the pandemic even though nothing was known about the virus

 

The experience of treating patients with cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic in China
Li Zhang, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology

  • reporting a retrospective study from three hospitals from Wuhan
  • 2.2% of Wuhan cancer patients were COVID positive; most were lung cancers and most male; 35% were stage four
  • most have hospital transmission of secondary infection; had severe events when admitted
  • 74% were prescribed antivirals like ganciclovir and others; iv IgG was given to some
  • mortailtiy rate of 26%; by April 4 54% were cured and discharged; median time of infection to severe event was 7 days; clinical presentation SARS sepsis, and shock
  • by day 10 in lung cancer patients, see lung path but after supportive therapy improved
  • cancer patients at stage four who did not receive therapy were at higher risk
  • cancer patients who had received chemo in last 14 days had higher risk of infection
  • they followed up with cancer patients on I/O inhibitors;  it seemed there was only one patient that contracted COVID19 so there may not be as much risk with immune checkpoint inhibitors

 

TERAVOLT (Thoracic cancERs international coVid 19 cOLlaboraTion): First results of a global collaboration to address the impact of COVID-19 in patients with thoracic malignancies

Marina Chiara Garassino

@marinagarassino
Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori

Dr Marina Chiara Garassino is the Chief of the Thoracic Oncology Unit at Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milan, Italy. She leads the strategy for clinical and translational research in advanced and locally advanced NSCLC, SCLC, mesothelioma and thymic malignancies. Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori in Milan is the most important comprehensive cancer in Italy and one of the most important in Europe. As a medical oncologist, she has done research in precision medicine and in immuno-oncology. Her main research interests have been mainly development of new drugs and therapeutical strategies and biomarkers. She has contributed to over 150 peer-reviewed publications, including publications as first or last author in the New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet Oncology, Journal of Clinical Oncology, Annals of Oncology. She has delivered many presentations at international congresses,  including  AACR, ASCO, ECCO, ESMO, WCLC. Her education includes a degree and further specialization in Medical Oncology at Università degli Studi in Milan. She achieved a Master Degree in Oncology management at University of Economics “Luigi Bocconi”. She completed her training with an ESMO Clinical fellowship in 2009 at Christie’s Hospital in Manchester (UK). She was a member of the EMA SAG (Scientific Advisory Group). She is serving as ESMO Council member as the Chair of the National Societies Committee. She was the ESMO National Representative for Italy for 5 years (2011-2017). She is serving on several ESMO Committees (Public Policy extended Committee, Press Committee, Women for Oncology Committee, Lung Cancer faculty, Membership Committee).She used to be an active member of the Young Oncologist Committee. She’s serving on both ESMO, WCLC and ASCO annual congress Lung Cancer Track (2019, and 2020), Chair of ESMO National Societies, from 2019. She is the founder and president of Women for Oncology Italy.

  • 2 million confirmed cases but half of patients are asymptomatic and not tested; pooled prevalance of COVID in cancer patients in Italy was 2%; must take them as high risk patients
  • they were not prepared for pandemic lasting for months instead of days; March 15 in middle of outbreak they started TERAVOLT registry; by March 26 had IRB approval; they are accruing 17 new patients per week; Ontario also joined in and has become worldwide (21 countries involved);  in registry they also included radiologic exams and COVID testing result
  • most patients were males and many smokers; 75% had SCLC; 83% of cases had one comorbility like hypertension and one third had at least one comorbility; 73.9% of patients were on treatment (they see this in their clinic: 30% on chemo or TKI alone; other patients were just on folowup
  • most of symptoms overlap with symptoms of lung cancer like pneumonia and pneumonitits and multi organ failure; most were hospitalized
  • unexpected high mortality among lung cancer patients with COVID19; this mortality seems due to COVID and not to cancer;
  • study had some limitations like short followup and some surgical cases so some bias may be present
  • she stresses don’t go it alone and make your own registry JOIN A REGISTRY

 

Outcome of cancer patients infected with COVID-19, including toxicity of cancer treatments
Fabrice Barlesi @barlesi
Gustave Roussy Cancer Campus

Professor Fabrice Barlesi
 As a specialist in lung cancer, precision medicine and cancer immunology, Prof. Fabrice Barlesi is a major contributor to research in the field of novel oncological therapies. He was apppointed General Director of Gustave Roussy in January 2020.
Fabrice Barlesi is Professor of Medicine at the University of Aix-Marseille. He has been head of the Multidisciplinary Oncology and Innovative Therapies Department of the Nord Hospital in Marseille (Marseille Public Hospitals) and the Marseille Centre for Early Trials in Oncology (CLIP2) which were established by him. He holds a doctorate in Sciences and Management with methods of analysis of health care systems, together with an ESSEC (international business school) master’s degree in general hospital management.
Professor Barlesi was also a co-founder of the Marseille Immunopôle French Immunology network, which aims to coordinate immunological expertise in the Aix-Marseille metropolitan area. In this context, he has organised PIONeeR (Investment in the future RHU 2017), the major international Hospital-University research project whose objective is to improve understanding of resistance to immunotherapy – anti-PD1(L1) – in lung cancer and help to prevent and overcome it. He was also vice-chair of the PACA (Provence, Alps and Côte d’Azur) Region Cancer Research Directorate.
Professor Barlesi is the author and co-author of some 300 articles in international journals and specialist publications. In 2018, the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) and the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) awarded him the prestigious Heine H. Hansen prize. He appears in the 2019 world list of most influential researchers (Highly cited researchers, Web of Science Group).
  • March 14 started protective measures and at peak had increased commited beds at highest rate
  • 12% of cancer patients tested positive for COVID; (by RTPCR); they curated data across different chemo regimens used
  • they retrospectively collected data; primary endpoint was clinical worsening; median of disease 13 days;
  • they actually had more breast cancer patients and other solid malignancies; 23% of covid cases no symptoms; 83% finally did have the symptoms after followup; diarhea actually in 10% of cases so clinics are seeing this as a symptom
  • CT scan showed 66% cases had pneumonitits like display; 25% patients were managed as outpatient
  • 24% patients worsened during treatment but 75% were able to go home (treated at home or well)
  • I/O did not have negative outcome and you can use these drugs without increasing risk to COVID
  • although many clinical trials have been hindered they are actively recruiting for COVID-cancer studies
  • outcomes with respect to death and symptoms are comparable to worldwide stats

Adapting oncologic practice to COVID19 outbreak: From outpatient triage to risk assessment for specific treatment in Madrid, Spain
Carlos Gomez-Martin
Octubre University Hospital

  • MOST slides were DO NOT POST so as requested data will not be shown; this study will be published soon
  • Summary is that Spain is seeing statistics like other European countries and similar results
  • Tocilizumab, the IL6 antagonists had been suggested as a treatment for cytokine storm and they are involved in a trial with this agent; results will be published

Experience in using oncology drugs in patients with COVID-19

Paolo A. Ascierto
Istituto Nazionale Tumori IRCCS Fondazione Pascale

  • giving surgery only for patients at highest risk of cancer mortality so using neoadjuvant therapy more often
  • telemedicine is a viable strategy for patient consult
  • for metastatic melanoma they are given highest priority for treatment
  • they are conducting a tocilizumab clinical trial and have accrued over 300 patients
  • results are in press so please look for publication soon
  • also can use TNF inhibitor, JAK inhibitor, IL1 inhibitor to treat cytokine storm

COVID-19 and cancer: Flattening the curve but widening disparities
Louis P. Voigt
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

  • Sloan has performed about 5000 COVID tests;  78 patients needed hospitilization; 15 died; 40% still in ICU
  • they do see many African American patients
  • mortality rates in US (published) have been around 50-60 % for cancer patients with COVID; Sloan prelim results are lower but still accruing data

Patients with cancer appear more vulnerable to SARS-COV-2: A multi-center study during the COVID-19 outbreak
Hongbing Cai
Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University

  • metastatic cancer showed much higher risk than non cancer but non metastatic showed increased risk too
  • main criteria of outcome was ICU admission
  • patients need to be isolated and personalized treatment plans need to be made
  • many comparisons were between non cancer and cancer which was clearest significance; had not looked at cancer types or stage grade or treatment
  • it appears that there are more questions right now than answers so data collection is a priority

Follow on Twitter at:

@pharma_BI

@AACR

@CureCancerNow

@pharmanews

@BiotechWorld

@HopkinsMedicine

#AACR20

For other Articles on the Online Open Access Journal on COVID19 and Cancer please see

https://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/coronavirus-portal/

Opinion Articles from the Lancet: COVID-19 and Cancer Care in China and Africa

Actemra, immunosuppressive which was designed to treat rheumatoid arthritis but also approved in 2017 to treat cytokine storms in cancer patients SAVED the sickest of all COVID-19 patients

The Second in a Series of Virtual Town Halls with Leading Oncologist on Cancer Patient Care during COVID-19 Pandemic: What you need to know

Responses to the COVID-19 outbreak from Oncologists, Cancer Societies and the NCI: Important information for cancer patients

 

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Pharmaceutical Companies Racing Together to Find a Cure for COVID-19

Posted in Biomarkers & Medical Diagnostics, Diagnostics and Lab Tests, Innovation in Immunology Diagnostics, SARS-CoV-2, Treatment Protocols for COVID-19, Vaccinology, tagged , , , , , , , on April 21, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Pharmaceutical Companies Racing Together to Find a Cure for COVID-19

Reporter: Irina Robu, PhD

The global outbreak has put pressure on companies and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to act quickly to make medications available to patients. Several companies are working together to find solutions to treat those infected by the virus and prevent it from spreading.

AstraZeneca is responding to the COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) outbreak to accelerate the development of its di diagnostic testing capabilities to scale-up screening and is also working in partnership with governments on existing screening programs to supplement testing. In addition, AstraZeneca is working to identify monoclonal antibodies to progress towards clinical trial evaluation as a treatment to prevent COVID-19.

Bayer, German multinational pharmaceutical and life sciences company is donating malaria drug, Resochin to the US government for possible use to treat COVID-19. Resochin, made of chloroquine phosphate is a current approve treatment for malaria. China is evaluating it for potential use of COVID-19 and presented decent effects against the first SARS virus in 2003. Doctors consider it a promising treatment for seriously ill coronavirus patients.

AbbVie is research-driven biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing innovative advanced therapies for four primary therapeutic areas: immunology, oncology, virology and neuroscience. The company declared plans to evaluate HIV medicine as COVID-19 treatment and go into partnerships with health authorities in various countries to explore the efficacy and antiviral activity of the medication.

Boehringer Ingelheim, research driven company  is collaborating with the German Center for Infectious Research to develop therapies and diagnostic tools for COVID-19. Their research teams are screening their entire molecule library with more than one million compounds to identify novel small molecules with activity against the virus.

EMD Serono is the biopharmaceutical business of Merck KGaA, Germany donated interferon beta-1a to French Institute of National Health and Medical Research to use for a clinical trial. Interferon beta-1a is presently in use to treat multiple sclerosis and is under investigation as potential treatment for people with COVID-19 coronavirus disease caused by the SARS-nCoV-2 virus. When confronted with the virus, each cell shoots an emergency flare of interferon to tell the immune system to strengthen its defenses. The interferon beta1a cytokine activates macrophages that engulf antigens and natural killer cells, which are integral to innate immune system. The trial is subsidized by INSERM and its start has been announced by the French Health authorities on March 11. To date, Merck interferon beta-1a is not approved by any regulatory authority for the treatment of COVID-19 or for use as an antiviral agent.

GLAXOSMITHKLINE (GSK) has been working to make vaccine using its established pandemic vaccine adjuvant platform technology available. Sanofi and GSK announced on April 14, 2020 they will collaborate to develop an adjuvanted vaccine for COVID-19, using innovative technology from both companies. Sanofi will donate its S-protein COVID-19 antigen, which is based on recombinant DNA technology. This technology gives an exact genetic match to proteins found on the surface of the virus and the DNA sequence encoding this antigen has been combined into the DNA of the baculovirus expression platform, the basis of Sanofi’s licensed recombinant influenza product in the US.GSK will contribute its proven pandemic adjuvant technology to the collaboration, since it may reduce the amount of vaccine protein required per dose, letting more vaccine doses to be produced and consequently contributing to protect more people.

JOHNSON & JOHNSON has started research into a vaccine, leveraging the same innovative technology used for  Ebola vaccine. Janssen, the pharmaceutical arm of J&J has donated medicines for use in laboratory-based investigations to support efforts in finding a resolution against COVID-19.

Eli Lilly entered into an agreement with AbCellera to co-develop antibody products for the treatment and prevention of COVID-19. The collaboration will leverage AbCellera’s rapid pandemic response platform, established under the DARPA Pandemic Prevention Platform Program, along with Lilly’s global capabilities for rapid development, manufacturing and distribution of therapeutic antibodies. Eli Lilly has also entered an agreement with NIH, NIAID to study baricitinib as an arm in NIAID’s Adaptive COVID-19 treatment trial. Baricitinib, an oral JAK1/JAK2 inhibitor is accepted in more than 65 countries as a treatment for adults with moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis. Because of the inflammatory cascade in COVID-19, baricitinib’s anti-inflammatory activity has been hypothesized to have a potential beneficial effect in COVID-19 and needs further study in patients with this infection. Eli Lilly is also using an investigational selective monoclonal antibody against Angiopoientin-2 to Phase 2 testing in pneumonia patients hospitalized with COVID-19 who are at higher risk of delveoping acute respiratory distress syndrome. The company will look whether inhibiting the effects of Angiopoientin-2 with monoclonal antibody which can reduce the progression of acute respiratory distress syndrome. The trial will start in April 2020.

Pfizer and BioNTech work together to develop a potential COVID-19 vaccine which aims to accelerate development of BioNTech’s potential first-in-class COVID-19 mRNA vaccine program, BNT162 . A clinical study is expected to start by the end of April 2020. The collaboration is a continuation of the original agreement in 2019 between the two companies to develop mRNA-based vaccines for prevention of influenza.

Roche, Canada has been designated as a participant in a Phase III clinical trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of one of Roche’s portfolio medicines in hospitalized adult patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia. The company announced the future launch of its Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 serology test to detect antibodies in people who have been exposed to SARS-CoV-2 that causes the COVID-19 disease. Antibody testing is vital to help detect people who have been infected by the virus, particularly those who may have been infected but did not display symptoms. Furthermore, the test can support priority screening of high-risk groups who might by now have advanced a certain level of immunity and can continue serving and/or return to work.

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company is initiating the development of an anti-SARS-CoV-2 polyclonal hyperimmune globulin (H-IG) to treat high-risk individuals with COVID-19, although also investigating whether Takeda’s currently marketed products may be effective treatments for infected patients. Hyperimmune globulins are plasma derived-therapies that have been effective in the treatment of severe acute viral respiratory infections and could be a treatment option for COVID-19. Takeda has the research expertise to develop and manufacture a potential anti-SARS-CoV-2 polyclonal H-IG.

Takeda is presently in discussions  with multiple national health and regulatory agencies and health care partners in the US, Asia, and Europe to expeditiously move the research into anti-SARS-CoV-2 polyclonal H-IG forward. The research requires access to source plasma from people who have efficaciously recovered from COVID-19. The donors have developed antibodies to the virus that could possibly alleviate severity of illness in COVID-19 patients and perhaps prevent it. By transferring the antibodies to a new patient, it may help that person’s immune system respond to the infection and increase their chance of recovery. These efforts to find a vaccine are at an early stage nevertheless being given a high priority within the company.

SOURCE

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/these-nine-companies-are-working-on-coronavirus-treatments-or-vaccines-heres-where-things-stand-2020-03-06

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AAAS Science Podcast: Why some diseases are seasonal and some are not: Coronaviruses and more

Posted in Biomarkers: Inflammation, Coronavirus Gene Expression, COVID-19, Economic Impact of Coronavirus Pandemic, number of asymptomatic infections, Population genetics, Population Health Management, SARS-CoV-2, Seasonality & Environmental Factors in Resurgence, Treatment Protocols for COVID-19, Vaccinology, Virus Infective Acute Respiratory Syndrome: SARS-CoV, tagged , , , on April 17, 2020| Leave a Comment »

AAAS Science Podcast: Why some diseases are seasonal and some are not: Coronaviruses and more

Reporter: Stephen J. Williams, PhD

 

The following podcast from the American Association for Advancement of Science (AAAS) discusses the seasonality of some viruses while other viruses are able to manifest themselves in different seasons over the globe.

Please Play

https://play.google.com/music/m/Da3pxbfyuykjy3r7xe5rprupmdq?t=Why_some_diseases_come_and_go_with_the_seasons_and_how_to_develop_smarter_safer_chemicals-Science_Ma

For more articles on COVID19 and SARS-CoV-2 on this Open Access Online Journal please see

Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 Portal

 

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Recombinant Coronavirus Vaccines Delivered via Microneedle Array

Posted in Genome Biology, Population Health Management, Genetics & Pharmaceutical, RNA Biology, Cancer and Therapeutics, SARS-CoV-2, Treatment Protocols for COVID-19, Vaccinology, virology, tagged , , , , on April 5, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Recombinant Coronavirus Vaccines Delivered via Microneedle Array

Curator: Irina Robu, PhD

Coronavirus is an evolving pathogen with exponentially increasing significance due to the high case fatality rate, the large distribution of reservoir, and the lack of medical countermeasures. The public health emergencies triggered by coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2, obviously validate the urgency to assess candidate vaccines to fight these outbreaks. Continuous research contributes to the efforts of scientists to quickly progress safe vaccines against these developing infections. The recent COVID-19 pandemic indicates a vital need for the rapid design, production, testing, and clinical translation of candidate vaccines.

Coronavirus virus particles contain four main structural proteins. These are the spike, membrane, envelope, and nucleocapsid proteins, all of which are encoded within the 3′ end of the viral genome. Coronaviruses contain a non-segmented, positive-sense RNA genome, which contains a 5′ cap structure along with a 3′ poly (A) tail, allowing it to act as a mRNA for translation of the replicase polyproteins. The replicase gene encoding the nonstructural proteins inhabits two-thirds of the genome, which make up only about 10 kb of the viral genome. The 5′ end of the genome contains a leader sequence and untranslated region that encompasses multiple stem loop structures required for RNA replication and transcription. Furthermore, at the start of each structural gene are the transcriptional regulatory sequences that are essential for expression of each of these genes.

Researchers at U of Pittsburg generated codon optimized MERS-S1 subunit vaccines fused with a foldon trimerization domain to mimic the native viral structure. They engineered immune stimulants (RS09 or flagellin, as TLR4 or TLR5 agonists) into this trimeric design and tested the pre-clinical immunogenicity of MERS-CoV vaccines in mice, distributed subcutaneously by needle injection or intracutaneously by dissolving microneedle arrays by assessing virus specific IgG antibodies in the serum of vaccinated mice by ELISA and using virus neutralization assays.

Microneedle array mediated immunization has several mechanistic differences from traditional intramuscular needle injections, which could clarify the variations in the magnitude and kinetics of the ensuing responses. Due to the urgent need for COVID-19 vaccines, they used this approach to quickly advance MNA SARS-CoV-2 subunit vaccines and tested their pre-clinical immunogenicity in-vivo by manipulating the previous research on MNA MERS-CoV vaccines.

Even though it is still premature to predict whether humans immunized with these vaccine candidates will have similar responses and be protected from SARS-CoV-2 infections, their previous research show that development, production, and initial animal testing of clinically translatable MNA vaccine candidates against SARS-CoV-2. Incidentally it will be vital to determine whether antibodies from MNA-SARS-CoV-2 immunized animals will neutralize virus infectivity.

Finally, we note that the immunogenicity differences between MNA coronavirus vaccines and coronavirus vaccines delivered by traditional needle injection that we observe will need to be evaluated in clinical trials to establish the clinical advantages of MNA delivery.

SOURCE

E. Kim et al., Microneedle array delivered recombinant coronavirus vaccines: Immunogenicity and rapid translational development, EBioMedicine (2020).

Fehr, Anthony R, and Stanley Perlman. Coronaviruses: an overview of their replication and pathogenesis. Methods in molecular biology, vol. 1282 (2015): 1-23.

Susan R. Weiss, Sonia Navas-Martin. Coronavirus Pathogenesis and the Emerging Pathogen Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus. Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews Dec 2005, 69 (4) 635-664.

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The Second in a Series of Virtual Town Halls with Leading Oncologist on Cancer Patient Care during COVID-19 Pandemic: What you need to know

Posted in Biomarkers: Inflammation, Cancer - General, Cancer and Current Therapeutics, Cancer Researchers Fighting COVID-19, Coronavirus Gene Expression, COVID-19, Immune-Mediation (independent immunopathology: lung and reticuloendothelial system), interventional oncology, Patient Experience: Personal Memories of Invasive Medical Intervantion, Patient-centered Medicine, Patient’s Voice: Personal Experience with Invasive Medical Procedures, REAL TIME Conference Coverage Twitter's Hashtags and Handles per Presentation/session, SARS-CoV-2, Vaccinology, Women Health, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on April 3, 2020| Leave a Comment »

The Second in a Series of Virtual Town Halls with Leading Oncologist on Cancer Patient Care during COVID-19 Pandemic: What you need to know

Reporter: Stephen J. Williams, PhD 

@StephenJWillia2

The second virtual Town Hall with Leading International Oncologist, discussing the impact that the worldwide COVID-19 outbreak has on cancer care and patient care issues will be held this Saturday April 4, 2020.  This Town Hall Series is led by Dr. Roy Herbst and Dr. Hossein Borghaei who will present a panel of experts to discuss issues pertaining to oncology practice as well as addressing physicians and patients concerns surrounding the risk COVID-19 presents to cancer care.  Some speakers on the panel represent oncologist from France and Italy, and will give their views of the situation in these countries.

Please register at the link below.

Link to register: https://us04web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_YzsFbGacTg2DV73j6pYqxQ

This series is being hosted in partnership with Axiom Healthcare Strategies, Inc..

The Town Hall proceedings and live notes will be made available on this site and Live Notes will be Tweeted in Real Time using the #CancerCareandCOVID19 and @pharma_BI

 

Webinar banner

   Microsoft (Outlook)

Topic

COVID-19 Oncology Town Hall

Description

The goal of these town halls is to improve outcomes of cancer patients across the globe, by sharing insights and lessons learned from oncologists fighting COVID-19. Dr. Roy Herbst and Dr. Hossein Borghaei will be joined by a panel of thought leaders with expertise in a variety of solid tumors to discuss how COVID-19 has impacted patient care in oncology.

Following the session, a video, transcript, and key takeaways will be released on Monday 4/6.

Time

For Live Notes From the Last Town Hall Meeting Specifically on Lung Cancer and COVID19 please go to

https://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/2020/03/28/live-notes-from-town-hall-for-patients-with-leading-oncologists-on-lung-cancer-and-covid19-3_28_20/

For more information on Cancer Care and Issues of Cancer and COVID19 please see our Coronavirus Portal at

https://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/coronavirus-portal/

 

 

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Curation of Resources for High Risk People  to COVID-19 Infection: Guidances for Transplant Patients

Posted in COVID-19, COVID-19: Pandemic Surgery Guidance, Economic Impact of Coronavirus Pandemic, Immune-Mediation (independent immunopathology: lung and reticuloendothelial system), number of asymptomatic infections, Patient Experience: Personal Memories of Invasive Medical Intervantion, Patient Outlook, SAR-Cov-2 a vasculotropic (blood vessels) RNA Virus, SARS-CoV-2, SARS-COV2 Hijacking the Complement and Coagulation Systems, Serology tests for coronavirus antibodies, Supportive therapies, Surgical Procedure, Treatment Protocols for COVID-19, Vaccinology, Virus Infective Acute Respiratory Syndrome: SARS-CoV, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on April 2, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Curation of Resources for High Risk People  to COVID-19 Infection :Guidances for Transplant Patients

Curator: Stephen J. Williams, PhD

 

From the American Society of Transplantation

Source: https://www.myast.org/information-transplant-professionals-and-community-members-regarding-2019-novel-coronavirus

INFORMATION FOR TRANSPLANT PROFESSIONALS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS REGARDING 2019 NOVEL CORONAVIRUS

The recent outbreak of a novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China and the finding of infection in many other countries including the United States has led to questions among transplant programs, Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs) and patients. The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) strives to provide up-to-date information to answer these questions and to provide guidance as needed. Accordingly, the OPTN Ad Hoc Donor Transmission Advisory Committee (DTAC), American Society of Transplantation (AST) and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons (ASTS), after careful review of information available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), offers information to transplant programs and OPOs in light of these concerns. Please visit the OPTN  website for more information.

The American Society of Transplantation recently conducted a Town Hall on guidances for transplant patients with regard to the COVID-19 pandemic.  A video recording of the Town Hall is given below

 

 

Description of the Town Hall by the AST: A number of transplant organizations from around the world have partnered to develop this educational webinar for the organ donation and transplantation communities. Our goal is to share experiences to date and respond to your questions about the impact of COVID-19 on organ donation and transplantation.

 

This webinar was recorded on March 23, 2020.

 

Resource Handout: https://www.myast.org/sites/default/f…

AST COVID-19 Page: https://www.myast.org/covid-19-inform…

 

The American Society of Transplantation has other up to date resources on their webpage at https://www.myast.org/covid-19-information#

AST Resources For Transplant Professionals 

Information for Transplant Professionals (Updated 3/31/20)

Medication Access and Drug Shortage Concerns During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Frequently Asked Questions (posted 3/31/20)

AST Resources For Transplant Recipients and Candidates 

Information for Transplant Recipients and Candidates (Updated 3/30/20)

Other Resources like videos and further articles

Frequently Asked Questions can be found here https://www.myast.org/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19-frequently-asked-questions-transplant-candidates-and-recipients

Mark Spigler from the American Kidney Fund listed some tips specifically for kidney transplant recipients. In his blog

Coronavirus, COVID-19 and kidney patients: what you need to know he wrote:

Because transplant recipients take immunosuppressive drugs, they are at higher risk of infection from viruses such as cold or flu. To limit the possibility of being exposed to the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, transplant patients should follow the CDC’s tips to avoid catching or spreading germs, and contact their health care provider if they develop cold or flu-like symptoms. By being informed and taking your own personal precautions, you can help reduce your risk of coming in contact with the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. You can find more information and resources for kidney patients by visiting our special coronavirus webpage at KidneyFund.org/coronavirus. We’ll update the page with important information for kidney patients and their caregivers as the coronavirus crisis continues to unfold.

Resources from the National Kidney Foundation

Source: https://www.kidney.org/coronavirus/transplant-coronavirus

Coronavirus and Kidney Transplants (please click on the links below)

For more information concerning various issues on COVID-19 please see our Coronavirus Portal at:

https://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/coronavirus-portal/

 

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