VUMC and Roivant Social Ventures announce collaboration to develop therapies for underserved populations

Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Roivant Social Ventures (RSV) this week announced an intention to collaborate in developing therapies for traditionally underserved populations and diseases. RSV is a not-for-profit social impact organization founded by executives from Roivant Sciences that is focused on improving health equity.

COVID-19 research campaign moves from basic science to antiviral drug design

ORNL researchers have developed and tested novel small-molecule antivirals in an effort to design new drugs to treat COVID-19. The so called hybrid inhibitor molecules are made from repurposed drugs used to treat hepatitis C and the original coronavirus outbreak in the early 2000s. The experimental research results show the molecules are similarly as effective as some of the leading drugs on the market today.

X-ray study explores potential of hepatitis C drugs to treat COVID-19

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory investigated the binding properties of several hepatitis C drugs to determine how well they inhibit the SARS-CoV-2 main protease, a crucial protein enzyme that enables the novel coronavirus to reproduce. Inhibiting, or blocking, the protease from functioning is vital to stopping the virus from spreading in patients with COVID-19.

Statins Reduce COVID-19 Severity, Likely by Removing Cholesterol That Virus Uses to Infect

Analyzing anonymized patient medical records, UC San Diego researchers discovered that cholesterol-lowering statins reduced risk of severe COVID-19 infection, while lab experiments uncovered a cellular mechanism that helps explain why.