Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Nearly Every Protein's Shape Predicted By AI System
The New York Times: A.I. Predicts The Shape Of Nearly Every Protein Known To Science
This knowledge is often a vital part of the fight against illness and disease. For instance, bacteria resist antibiotics by expressing certain proteins. If scientists can understand how these proteins operate, they can begin to counter antibiotic resistance. Previously, pinpointing the shape of a protein required extensive experimentation involving X-rays, microscopes and other tools on a lab bench. Now, given the string of chemical compounds that make up a protein, AlphaFold can predict its shape. (Metz, 7/28)
In other news —
CIDRAP: New Candidemia Treatment Could Be On The Horizon
San Diego-based biotechnology company Cidara Therapeutics announced yesterday that it has submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its novel antifungal candidate rezafungin. The company submitted the NDA for rezafungin—an echinocandin antifungal—for the treatment of candidemia and invasive candidiasis based on positive results from the phase 3 ReSTORE and phase 2 STRIVE trial. In both trials, a once-weekly dose of rezafungin demonstrated statistical non-inferiority to once-daily caspafungin, meeting the primary endpoints for the FDA and the European Medicines Agency. (7/28)
And researchers continue to examine the virus behind covid —
Reuters: Virus Spike Protein Toxic To Heart Cells
The SARS-CoV-2 spike protein interacts with other proteins in cardiac myocytes to cause inflammation, researchers said on Wednesday in a presentation at the American Heart Association's Basic Cardiovascular Sciences Scientific Sessions 2022. In experiments with mice hearts, comparing the effects of SARS-CoV2 spike proteins and spike proteins from a different, relatively harmless coronavirus, the researchers found that only the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein caused heart dysfunction, enlargement, and inflammation. (Lapid, 7/28)
Reuters: Reinfection, Severe Outcome More Common With BA.5 Variant
Compared with the earlier Omicron BA.2 subvariant, currently dominant Omicron BA.5 is linked with higher odds of causing a second SARS-COV-2 infection regardless of vaccination status, a study from Portugal suggests. (Lapid, 7/28)
CIDRAP: Studies Reveal Racial Disparities In Early US COVID Vaccine Rollout
COVID-19 vaccines were less likely to be distributed to US healthcare facilities if they were in counties with a high proportion of Black residents, and racial differences in vaccine uptake may be mainly due to anti-vaccine beliefs among Black adults, according to two new studies highlighting racial disparities in vaccine availability and coverage early in the country's rollout. (Van Beusekom, 7/28)
