Revela completed the final phase of an NIH contract for the non-invasive detection of human CD8+ T cells: A PET-based approach to assess the human immune system. Current methods to predict responses to immunotherapy are inadequate. Revela has shown that tracking the short-term infiltration of CD8+ T cells into a tumor can predict longer-term responses to immunotherapy, and therefore has the potential to help clinicians more accurately tailor treatment plans. The overall goal of this contract was the successful preclinical development of a product for in vivo tracking of intratumoral human CD8+ T cells using PET imaging. A panel of novel VHHs targeting human CD8 protein have been developed and are entering late-stage preclinical development over the coming year..

For more, see the Revela website.

Tiba Biotech was awarded a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a division of the U.S. National Institutes of Health.  In response to an earlier Notice of Special Interest, this six-month grant is to develop an RNA-based multi-antigen vaccine for SARS-CoV-2.

The proposal is to develop an RNA-based multi-antigen SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, supporting NIAID’s call to develop a vaccine using emerging antigen design strategies and novel delivery approaches. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is actively threatening public health, world economies, and ways of life. Vaccine candidates are in human trials now, but long-term solutions will require an adaptable vaccine system that can be universalized broadly to all members of the coronavirus family.

For more, see the Tiba news post.