Babu™ is proud to announce that we have officially started a collaborative project with Boston University which will assist with our project of developing the revolutionary therapeutic and prophylactic drug (BABU-ONE™) for COVID-19. The NEIDL provides ample biosafety level 3 and 4 laboratories required for the work with infectious SARS-CoV-2. Together, we will work towards providing the world with our drug prototype and secure the lives of thousands of people.
Babu™ Has Officially Filed A Patent For Its Novel Therapy Against COVID-19
We have filed a patent to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for our treatment technology. Since we are officially on the path towards the drug (BABU-ONE™ ) prototype development, we are one step closer from our common success!
Discovering New Inhibitors Against M Protease of SARS-CoV2 A New Hope?
Published in Nature on April 1, the article of Chinese scientists propose using a high-throughput virtual screening for lead inhibitors of SARS-CoV2 M protein which is conserved in all coronaviruses and could be a good target for drug inhibition. By incorporating an in-house database docked by Glide, thousands of compounds were screened to show a similar equilibrium-binding and inactivation rate constants as displayed by another potential inhibitor, N3 (Perphenazine, a drug used in treatment of psychosis). The researchers have found that Ebselen (anti-atherosclerotic and anti-inflammatory organo-selenium compound) shows a similar inhibitory activity as N3. More data will be available soon. You can read the article here.
Update on COVID-19 in the US
April 6's article (here [24]) presents the latest information on the current COVID-19 pandemic and blocks the line for other dangerous myths. First, there is no evidence that reinfection for SARS-CoV2 is possible. We predict that COVID-19 may follow the same footsteps of SARS (2002) and leave an effective IgG (antibodies) titer for around 4 months, but more data is required for further predictions. SARS-CoV2 is transmitted through droplets (5 - 10 microns) in human-to-human manner while talking, coughing, and sneezing; the same droplets can remain on stationary and inanimate surfaves at room temperature for up to 9 days (shorter time for temp. higher than 30 Celsius degrees). There are only 3 vaccine candidates in phase 1 human trials: (Moderna, Inc.) at Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute (KPWHRI) in Seattle, supported by NIAID and CEPI, (CanSino Biologics) in China at Tongji Hospital testing for Ad5-nCoV, and (Oxford University) in the UK tetsing for ChAdOx1. Many other vaccine trails are about to come: Johnson & Johnson, Altimmune, Medicago, Takis Biotech, and Vaxart (more about vaccine programs: here).
Recombinant Parainfluenza Virus 5 (PIV-5) Expressing MERS-CoV Spike Proteins a Hope for COVID-19?
A recently published research article on ResearchGate presents promising results for a new potential vaccine generated from parainfluenza virus 5 expressing the MERS-CoV Spike protein, and administered (intranasal administration) to a congenic mouse mode line with good T-cell response and neutralizing antibodies production. This brings hope for a vaccine production against SARS-CoV2. More, here (ResearchGate:10.1128/mBio.00554-20).
The Institute has become extremely engaged in the current situation of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our founder & CEO, Steve Liebich, has developed an in silico method of treatment and prophylaxis against the SARS-CoV2 virus. It is under evaluation of multiple governmental and private agencies which will consider the further steps we must take in order to provide the most optimal treatment for all affected by COVID-19. More updates will be available soon!
IA-supported Prediction of Patients At a Higher Risk of Developing Severe Symptoms of COVID-19
Researchers from Wenzhou Hospital (China), NYU, and Columbia University have developed an AI algorithm based on the clinical data entries of 53 patients from Wenzhou Hospital, capable to predict severity and more consequential progress of COVID-19 in some patients. What comes with a big surprise, key clinical symptoms, i.e. lymphopenia, fever, or chest imaging were not valued by the predictive analytics. With a 70% accuracy, the algorithms were able to predict a severe clinical presentation of the patients based on the serum levels of ALT, hemoglobin, gender, age, and myalgia. These algorithms could be of great use to predict which patients are at a higher risk of developing ARDS (acute respiratory distress syndrome) and potentially save their lives. To read the article, click here.
The COVID-19 High Performance Computing Consortium
The COCID-19 HPC Consortium is a public-private initiative spearheaded by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, IBM, and the U.S. Department of Energy that allows the SARS-CoV2 researchers share their compute time and resources on finding revolutionary solutions through the computing power of the greatest world-class machines. To request access to these computing resources, apply here.
A new travel advisory to New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued (on March 28) a travel advisory to the three states and urged their residents to refrain from non-essential domestic travel for 14 days. As of March 29, as many as 2,448 lives have been taken by SARS-CoV2 (4,435 patients have recovered). 985 deaths in New York, 161 in New Jersey, and 123 in Connecticut - stay home and be #HumanityTogether!
WHO launches Solidarity Response Fund
Every philanthropic organization and every individual can contribute to the fund launched by the WHO, the UN, and partnering organizations and companies. Every penny collected through the SOLIDARITY program will help fight the pandemic caused by the novel virus, SARS-CoV2. The Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan, aided by the money collected by the means of SOLIDARITY, will secure the lives of everyone involved in the horrid situation triggered by COVID-19. More information can be found here. Babu™ calls out: HELP!
47D11, a monoclonal antibody inhibiting SARS-CoV2 infection
Wang et al. (2020) from Utrecht University have developed a monoclonal antibody against SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV2 by using an ELISA-(cross)reactivity approach. The monoclonal antibody, named 47D11, binds the surfaces of the COVID-19 virus and neutralizes it. It is not certain yet how exactly the antibody eliminates the viral particles, but the study principals are sure that 47D11 does not act upon the S protein-ACE2 binding module.
Recovered patients still can be SARS-CoV2 positive
A small study done on 4 patients of COVID-19, who had previously recovered from SARS-CoV2, has indicated positive RT-PCR (diagnostic tool for SARS-CoV2) results 5 to 13 days later. This is only a small clinical study that must be expanded and more information will be available after more data will have been collected.