Infectious Disease Library

High-content analysis plays a significant role in infectious disease research as recently reviewed by Ang and Pethe (2016), enabling high-throughput functional and phenotypic assays that can be adapted to a wide range of pathogens.

In a recent panel discussion, Dr. Kevin Coombs, Dr. Randal Ketchem, Dr. Mansoor Amiji, and Dr. Seyoum Ayehunie provided insights into why developing effective COVID-19 treatments will play a significant role in controlling the pandemic. This whitepaper highlights the key discussion points addressed during the session.

As we continue to research the mechanisms behind SARS-CoV-2 and its global impact, understanding the extent of CNS involvement in COVID-19 infections will be critical in supporting both immediate as well as long-term health consequences.

Awareness continues to increase on the short and long-term impacts of COVID-19 on clinical research, drug development and manufacturing, and pharma industry regulation, which we will discuss in this article. As we move towards a new normal, it is important to take away some of the helpful solutions developed and implemented during this time of crisis.

The slow, linear, methodical process of the past is being reconstructed. In the sprint to protect the public's safety, clinical trial phases overlap instead of occurring sequentially. In the new paradigm, preclinical studies may occur in tandem with first-in-human studies. Phase 1 may intersect with Phase 2. And Phase 2 may crossover into Phase 3.

In the midst of the current COVID-19 pandemic, multiple approaches to identify potential therapeutics are being pursued. Most of the treatments in development fall into one of three categories: antivirals, antibodies, or protein-protein interaction inhibitors. This literature review provides an overview of each therapeutic approach and highlights some of the innovative work going on in the field.

Drug Repurposing can be an effective way to identify treatments for diseases, especially when time is of the essence. Research scientists at National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), a part of the NIH, embarked on a drug repurposing strategy as the quickest route to generating data that would help the pharma industry drive towards an effective treatment for the COVID-19 virus.

A team of international researchers have studied the genomes of modern populations and found evidence of a coronavirus epidemic more than 20,000 years ago. These findings could help identify viruses that have caused past epidemics and may do so in the future.

Watch this on demand webinar, presented by Dr. Kevin Francis, VP of Biology Solutions and Dr. Olivia Kelada, Senior Applications Scientist at PerkinElmer where they discuss how optical and microCT imaging provides versatile approaches to visualize and monitor host-pathogen interactions in animal models.

Read how researchers at the NIH, NIAID, Emory University, and University of Wisconsin used the IVIS® optical imaging platform to successfully quantify and track viral load in mice and demonstrated that vaccine of human mAb administration has a protective or therapeutic effect in mice challenged with the influenza virus.

We recently discussed the challenge that HIV drug resistance presents globally and the steps the researchers took to develop their high-throughput HIV-1 drug screening platform, based on lentiviral vectors and compatible with biosafety level-1, to identify novel inhibitors of HIV-1.

The investigational antiviral drug remdesivir is produced by Gilead Sciences under the brand name Veklury^® (remdesivir). Today, remdesivir is being prescribed under FDA emergency use authorization as a treatment for patients with COVID-19. It is also presently in numerous clinical trials worldwide. See the technologies behind the discovery.

The discovery of antivirals and vaccines has revolutionized medicine and saved billions of children from diseases such as polio and smallpox. But the high mutation rates and the existence of animal reservoirs contribute to the emergence of new pathogenic viruses with epidemic or pandemic potential. Simply put, we're far from fully understanding and being able to entirely control viral diseases and their outbreaks.

In this note, we show how the plaque imaging and analysis process can be automated to help virologists rapidly determine the concentrations of virus solutions with higher precision and less effort.

Doris Wilflingseder, from the University of Innsbruck (MUI) and colleagues are combining their expertise in 3D airway cell model development together with high-content analysis on the Operetta CLS system to study the first interaction of SARS-CoV-2 with host respiratory tissues.

This literature review explores the emerging challenge of antimalarial drug resistance and the need to analyze all stages of malaria parasite lifecycle to help develop the next generation of therapeutics.

Learn about the promising results Dr. Helena Fehling from the Department of Molecular Parasitology and Immunology at the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, is finding with an immune-therapeutic approach to leishmaniasis treatment.

This article provides an overview of novel approaches to improve our understanding of biofilms and enhance the diagnosis and treatment of bacterial implant infections.

The SARS-Cov-2 pandemic has motivated exciting research efforts to understand how the immune system responds to emerging viral infections. Listen to this webcast to learn what novel strategies using organoids, 3D airway cell models, and small animal systems can reveal about immunological processes driving disease or protection.

Watch this panel discussion to hear from top researchers about various approaches being pursued to develop effective treatments against SARS-CoV-2, the drug delivery systems being considered for the release of new therapeutics or vaccines, and how to ensure these medicines meet regulatory standards.