Viridian Therapeutics Inc. has disclosed a preclinical portfolio of neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) inhibitors designed for next-generation treatment of antibody-mediated autoimmune diseases.

VBI Vaccines Inc. has announced the development of its next-generation mRNA-launched enveloped virus-like particle (eVLP) technology, which expands on the company's current proprietary eVLP technology by coding the particles in messenger RNA (mRNA).

Triveni Bio Inc. has announced a $92 million series A financing that will support the advancement of its lead antibody program, TRIV-509, from preclinical development to a phase IIa clinical trial in atopic dermatitis and fuel a pipeline of novel antibodies with two additional development candidate nominations expected in 2024.

Vaxcyte Inc. has received FDA clearance of its IND application for VAX-31, a 31-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) candidate designed to prevent invasive pneumococcal disease.

Activated phosphoinositide 3-kinase δ syndrome type 1 (APDS1) is a rare disease caused by gain-of-function (GOF) mutations in the PIK3CD gene that presents with combined immunodeficiency due to decreases in IgA, IgG, naive CD4 and naive CD8 cells. Nearly all APDS1 patients suffer from recurrent respiratory tract infections with most presenting with bronchiectasis and chronic viral infections.

Scientists at Egenesis Inc. have transplanted kidneys from genome-edited pigs into cynomolgus monkeys that remained functional for long periods after transplantation. The monkeys, whose own kidneys were removed during the surgery, survived for a median of 176 days after receiving one pig kidney. Maximal survival was just over 2 years. The data were published today in Nature. Egenesis CEO Mike Curtis told reporters that the study has achieved the longest survival to date “using clinically translatable immunosuppression … longer survival has been achieved using really aggressive immunosuppression that really isn’t clinically translatable.”

For individuals who develop an unexpected psychosis, there is something to be said for testing them for autoimmune antibodies. And something against. At the 36th Congress of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) this week, the topic was worth a controversy session, where speakers presented the pros and cons of the approach. Currently used tests have a specificity of 99%. But as Ester Coutinho, consultant neurologist at the University of Coimbra, pointed out, the validity of diagnostic tests depends on the prevalence of the disorder one is looking for as well. Coutinho estimated that autoimmune psychoses account for 1% of psychoses overall.

Synthetic, multi-epitope peptide vaccines are becoming an attractive universal influenza vaccine strategy. Longhorn Vaccines & Diagnostics LLC has created LHNVD-105, an influenza vaccine candidate consisting of unconjugated multi-epitope influenza peptides.