China researchers develop COVID-19 virus-fighting material

China researchers develop COVID-19 virus-fighting material

By Deng Xiaoci Source:Globaltimes.cn 

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Photo taken on Jan 28 shows employees working at a medical products firm in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei Province. File Photo: Xinhua

Chinese researchers have developed catalytic material that can absorb and destroy the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). A recent test revealed its virus-destroying efficiency reached 96.5 to 99.9 percent, the Global Times learned from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the project's developer on Monday.

According to the institute, from a chemical perspective, the proteins, ribonucleic acid, fatty membranes, and other biological macromolecules contained in the virus are not as stable as regular small organic molecules and are easily hydrolyzed or inactivated by oxidation, which makes it theoretically feasible to absorb and deactivate.

The newly developed catalytic material was developed on this idea, the institute said.

Tests on the new material were conducted at the Center of Diseases Prevention and Control in Eastern China's Anhui Province, and results found the virus-deactivating efficiency was over 96.5 percent. The COVID-19 density level used in the test was 5 milligrams per milliliter, much higher any real-life situation. 

Hopefully, the new material can be used for future epidemic control products and water cleaners.

The institute also revealed it had proposed a similar idea to use catalytic materials to destroy SARS at the beginning of 2003, and had submitted prototypes to the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) Academy of Military Medical Sciences for further tests, which revealed that the selected materials were effective in the fight against SARS. 

The material was not used because when they reached their designated performance, the SARS outbreak had been contained, the institute said.

Additionally, the similarities between the SARS coronavirus and COVID-19 inspired the team to resume the study on new materials to see if they could destroy it. 

The institute has already manufactured over 100 kilograms, and is capable of producing several tons. 

The material can be customized accordingly for air filters and face masks. The institute is seeking cooperation with a company to develop products based on the materials to provide new solutions to contribute to China's and the world's fight against COVID-19.

Novartis and life sciences companies commit expertise and assets to the fight against COVID-19 pandemic alongside Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Novartis announces further steps to protect and support its associates during the COVID-19 Pandemic

As the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation continues to evolve, our primary concern at Novartis remains the health and safety of our associates and patients globally. With that in mind, this week Novartis announced a range of additional measures to protect and support our associates around the world.

Announced this week, Novartis has extended its guidance for all Novartis associates within Europe, US and Canada to work from home until May 1, 2020, with the exception of those working in laboratories, manufacturing sites and in the field. We continue to assess the situation and adapt accordingly.

Novartis is also taking steps to support the health and wellbeing of our associates globally as they adapt to new working dynamics and family commitments as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Given the nature of some of the work undertaken at Novartis, it is not possible for everyone to work remotely and Novartis has committed to provide childcare assistance for associates working in our laboratories, manufacturing sites and in the field throughout the course of the pandemic. In situations where it is not possible for an associate to work from home or this doesn’t allow them to perform their responsibilities as a caregiver, we’re also offering a global commitment of 12 days paid leave, in addition to vacation and personal time off.

In line with our commitment to learning, Novartis is also expanding the rich range of digital learning resources available to our associates through our collaboration with online learning platform, Coursera. Every Novartis associate now has access to two additional Coursera licenses per household to support family learning and homeschooling needs.

Novartis is also donating USD 1 Million to support the work of Khan Academy, a not-for-profit organization offering free virtual learning resources to students of all ages as well as tools and resources for parents and teachers. Our contribution will help support Khan Academy as they respond to the current heightened demand for virtual learning.

Further, to help our associates maintain their personal health and wellbeing, Novartis is providing access to Tignum X, an app providing digital wellness coaching in the areas of mindset, nutrition, movement and recovery to all our associates globally and as well as free access to their families.

Novartis remains responsive to any developments regarding coronavirus and we will continue to take necessary steps to protect and support our associates and patients as the situation evolves.

Novartis and life sciences companies commit expertise and assets to the fight against COVID-19 pandemic alongside Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

• Collaboration to address product development and scale up challenges posed by current pandemic

Basel, March 26, 2020 - Today, Novartis and a consortium of life sciences companies announced an important collaboration to accelerate the development, manufacture and delivery of vaccines, diagnostics, and treatments for COVID-19 in response to the pandemic. The industry brings a range of assets, resources, and expertise needed to identify effective and scalable solutions to the pandemic that is affecting billions worldwide. Effects on health systems, economies, and livelihoods are significant, and effective response requires an unprecedented collaboration across government, academia, private sector, and philanthropy.

Read the full media released

Novartis commits to donate up to 130 million doses of hydroxychloroquine to support the global COVID-19 pandemic response

• Hydroxychloroquine and a related drug, chloroquine, are currently under evaluation in clinical trials for the treatment of COVID-19.
• Novartis Sandoz division will pursue appropriate regulatory authorizations and, upon approval, will work with stakeholders to determine how best to get this medicine to the patients who need it
• Commitment builds on recently announced USD 20 million Novartis COVID-19 Response Fund, drug discovery and development collaborations and essential medicines price stability
• Novartis encourages industry, governments and international institutions to work together to ensure adequate global access of medications to treat COVID-19 patients

Novartis announced today its commitment to donate up to 130 million doses of generic hydroxychloroquine to support the global COVID-19 pandemic response. Hydroxychloroquine and a related drug, chloroquine, are currently under evaluation in clinical trials for the treatment of COVID-19. Novartis is supporting ongoing clinical trial efforts, and will evaluate needs for additional clinical trials.

Read the full media release

Novartis announces broad range of initiatives to respond to COVID-19 Pandemic and creates USD 20 million global fund to support impacted communities

• Novartis COVID-19 Response Fund will provide grants of up to USD 1 million to support communities around the world most impacted by the coronavirus outbreak
• Novartis to join collaborative R&D efforts with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Wellcome, and Mastercard -supported COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator and a partnership with the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI)
• Commitments build on Sandoz pledge to maintain price stability of essential medicines and strong support of patients and healthcare systems
• Company continues to maintain strong focus on protecting employee health, ensuring supply of medicines for patients and smooth clinical trial operations

“We are dealing with an extraordinary and unprecedented public health crisis that requires an incredible level of involvement and collaboration across government, society and business. As a medicines company present in over 140 countries, we are stepping in to provide additional financial support to critical community or national programs that can help address urgent public health needs resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Recognizing the power of working together as an industry, we are also bringing the talent and capabilities of our industry-leading R&D organization to two leading and important collaborative R&D initiatives.” - Vas Narasimhan, CEO of Novartis

Basel, March 17, 2019 - Novartis today announced a broad set of measures to support the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These measures include the creation of a global fund to support communities around the world impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the company’s decision to join two key cross-industry R&D initiatives.

Read the full media release

We are dealing with an extraordinary public health crisis that’s hitting our communities in unprecedented ways and requires an incredible level of collaboration to tackle. @Novartis is taking more steps to help respond to the enormous challenge. @gatesfoundation 

 

As the coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to spread globally, our primary concern at Novartis remains the health and safety of our associates and patients globally, and it is important that we protect them. 

With that in mind, effective Monday, March 16 2020, all Novartis associates within Europe, US and Canada are requested to work from home, with the exception of those working in laboratories, manufacturing sites and in the field. This measure is valid for three weeks until April 3, 2020. We will continuously assess the situation and adapt accordingly.

Some governments around the world are providing local guidance that is stricter than this Novartis global guidance. In those cases, the local guidance takes precedence.

Given the nature of some of the work undertaken at Novartis, it is not possible for everyone to work remotely. By reducing the numbers of associates visiting our sites, we can protect those employees who cannot work offsite.

In addition to the measures above, Novartis has updated its general international travel restriction. All international business travel requires approval from an executive level manager, in alignment with local authorities.

Novartis remains responsive to any developments regarding coronavirus and will take all necessary steps to protect its associates and patients as the situation evolves.

As Novartis continues to closely monitor the coronavirus situation, our primary concern is the health and safety of our associates and patients globally. We will continue to deliver our medicines to patients around the world and we do not anticipate supply chain disruption at this time.

Novartis has also put the following measures in place:

• We are implementing general international travel restrictions
• We have issued guidance on how our associates can protect themselves against coronavirus infection
• Where required, we have enacted mitigation plans to ensure ongoing drug supply to depots for our clinical studies, and we are working closely with the authorities on dispensing to trial participants

In response to an urgent call for research and development on coronavirus, issued by the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA), Novartis has expressed its willingness to contribute to this important effort by making available a set of compounds from our libraries that we consider suitable for in vitro antiviral testing. In addition, we are evaluating our existing products to see if any could be repurposed beyond their approved indications.
 
Our generics business Sandoz has committed to keeping prices stable for a basket of essential medicines that may help in the treatment of coronavirus cases, specifically antivirals to reduce the impact of coronavirus and antibiotics to combat pneumonia. Read the Sandoz media release.
 
Novartis remains responsive to any developments regarding coronavirus and will take all necessary steps to protect its associates and patients as the situation evolves.

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Focus on the bright side of life.

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#positivity

The COVID-19 coronavirus epidemic has a natural origin, scientists say

The novel SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that emerged in the city of Wuhan, China, last year and has since caused a large-scale COVID-19 epidemic and spread to more than 70 other countries is the product of natural evolution, according to findings published today in the journal Nature Medicine.

The analysis of public genome sequence data from SARS-CoV-2 and related viruses found no evidence that the virus was made in a laboratory or otherwise engineered.

“By comparing the available genome sequence data for known coronavirus strains, we can firmly determine that SARS-CoV-2 originated through natural processes,” said Kristian Andersen, PhD, an associate professor of immunology and microbiology at Scripps Research and lead author on the paper.

In addition to Andersen, authors on the paper, “The proximal origin of SARS-CoV-2,” include Robert F. Garry, of Tulane University; Edward Holmes, of the University of Sydney; Andrew Rambaut, of University of Edinburgh; W. Ian Lipkin, of Columbia University.

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that can cause illnesses ranging widely in severity. The first known severe illness caused by a coronavirus emerged with the 2003 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic in China. A second outbreak of severe illness began in 2012 in Saudi Arabia with the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).

On December 31 of last year, Chinese authorities alerted the World Health Organization of an outbreak of a novel strain of coronavirus causing severe illness, which was subsequently named SARS-CoV-2. As of February 20, nearly 167,500 COVID-19 cases have been documented, although many more mild cases have likely gone undiagnosed. The virus has killed over 6,600 people.

Shortly after the epidemic began, Chinese scientists sequenced the genome of SARS-CoV-2 and made the data available to researchers worldwide. The resulting genomic sequence data has shown that Chinese authorities rapidly detected the epidemic and that the number of COVID-19 cases have been increasing because of human to human transmission after a single introduction into the human population. Andersen and collaborators at several other research institutions used this sequencing data to explore the origins and evolution of SARS-CoV-2 by focusing in on several tell-tale features of the virus.

The scientists analyzed the genetic template for spike proteins, armatures on the outside of the virus that it uses to grab and penetrate the outer walls of human and animal cells. More specifically, they focused on two important features of the spike protein: the receptor-binding domain (RBD), a kind of grappling hook that grips onto host cells, and the cleavage site, a molecular can opener that allows the virus to crack open and enter host cells.

Evidence for natural evolution

The scientists found that the RBD portion of the SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins had evolved to effectively target a molecular feature on the outside of human cells called ACE2, a receptor involved in regulating blood pressure. The SARS-CoV-2 spike protein was so effective at binding the human cells, in fact, that the scientists concluded it was the result of natural selection and not the product of genetic engineering.

This evidence for natural evolution was supported by data on SARS-CoV-2’s backbone – its overall molecular structure. If someone were seeking to engineer a new coronavirus as a pathogen, they would have constructed it from the backbone of a virus known to cause illness. But the scientists found that the SARS-CoV-2 backbone differed substantially from those of already known coronaviruses and mostly resembled related viruses found in bats and pangolins.

“These two features of the virus, the mutations in the RBD portion of the spike protein and its distinct backbone, rules out laboratory manipulation as a potential origin for SARS-CoV-2” said Andersen.

Got Smallpox?

Josie Golding, PhD, epidemics lead at UK-based Wellcome Trust, said the findings by Andersen and his colleagues are “crucially important to bring an evidence-based view to the rumors that have been circulating about the origins of the virus (SARS-CoV-2) causing COVID-19.”

“They conclude that the virus is the product of natural evolution,” Goulding adds, “ending any speculation about deliberate genetic engineering.”

Possible origins of the virus

Based on their genomic sequencing analysis, Andersen and his collaborators concluded that the most likely origins for SARS-CoV-2 followed one of two possible scenarios.

In one scenario, the virus evolved to its current pathogenic state through natural selection in a non-human host and then jumped to humans. This is how previous coronavirus outbreaks have emerged, with humans contracting the virus after direct exposure to civets (SARS) and camels (MERS). The researchers proposed bats as the most likely reservoir for SARS-CoV-2, as it is very similar to a bat coronavirus. There are no documented cases of direct bat-human transmission, however, suggesting that an intermediate host was likely involved between bats and humans.

In this scenario, both of the distinctive features of SARS-CoV-2’s spike protein—the RBD portion that binds to cells and the cleavage site that opens the virus up—would have evolved to their current state prior to entering humans. In this case, the current epidemic would probably have emerged rapidly as soon as humans were infected, as the virus would have already evolved the features that make it pathogenic and able to spread between people.

In the other proposed scenario, a non-pathogenic version of the virus jumped from an animal host into humans and then evolved to its current pathogenic state within the human population. For instance, some coronaviruses from pangolins, armadillo-like mammals found in Asia and Africa, have an RBD structure very similar to that of SARS-CoV-2. A coronavirus from a pangolin could possibly have been transmitted to a human, either directly or through an intermediary host such as civets or ferrets.

Then the other distinct spike protein characteristic of SARS-CoV-2, the cleavage site, could have evolved within a human host, possibly via limited undetected circulation in the human population prior to the beginning of the epidemic. The researchers found that the SARS-CoV-2 cleavage site, appears similar to the cleavage sites of strains of bird flu that has been shown to transmit easily between people. SARS-CoV-2 could have evolved such a virulent cleavage site in human cells and soon kicked off the current epidemic, as the coronavirus would possibly have become far more capable of spreading between people.

Study co-author Andrew Rambaut cautioned that it is difficult, if not impossible, to know at this point which of the scenarios is most likely. If the SARS-CoV-2 entered humans in its current pathogenic form from an animal source, it raises the probability of future outbreaks, as the illness-causing strain of the virus could still be circulating in the animal population and might once again jump into humans. The chances are lower of a non-pathogenic coronavirus entering the human population and then evolving properties similar to SARS-CoV-2.