Cocrystal’s COVID-19 antivirals; plus a portable breast cancer diagnostic, Tarveda mini-drug conjugate for solid tumors, and more

Broad-spectrum coronavirus protease inhibitors
A Wichita State University, University of Iowa and Kansas State University team reported in a Science Translational Medicine article the generation of a series of inhibitors of the protease 3CLpro from MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2. One of the compounds reduced viral replication by about 10-fold to 100-fold in COVID-19 patient-derived human airway epithelial cells. In a mouse model of MERS-CoV infection, administration of the same compound one day after infection prevented mortality and reduced viral titers and edema in the lungs. Cocrystal Pharma Inc. (NASDAQ:COCP) exclusively licensed the coronavirus protease inhibitors from the Kansas State University Research Foundation in April for $110,000 plus undisclosed milestones and royalties.

Portable image-based cancer diagnostic
A team led by Massachusetts General Hospital scientists has created a portable point-of-care system that can diagnose breast cancer and conduct receptor subtyping in one hour. The automated image cytometry system, named CytoPAN and described in Science Translational Medicine, obtains lesion samples via fine needle aspiration, which is less invasive than obtaining core biopsies. In a prospective study in 68 patients, CytoPAN detected breast cancer with 100% accuracy, and had receptor subtyping accuracies of 96% for HER2 and 93% for ER or PR. ...