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Here's the patent application for the Casanova auto-abs test if anyone is interested
https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=US407341121&_cid=P10-LR42CW-12609-1
Hmmmm.....
https://twitter.com/UHSFT/status/1747935693345591451?t=VVdKFgp8BDzvSp5-u4i2Mw&s=19
Please share!
Our emergency department is exceptionally busy right now.
Please only attend in life-threatening emergencies.
Consider your local urgent treatment centre (UTC) where you will be seen much quicker for less-severe conditions.
🔗 southamptonutc.nhs.uk
Looks to have been published today...
"Human autoantibodies (auto-Abs) neutralizing type I IFNs were first discovered in a woman with disseminated shingles and were described by Ion Gresser from 1981 to 1984. They have since been found in patients with diverse conditions and are even used as a diagnostic criterion in patients with autoimmune polyendocrinopathy syndrome type 1 (APS-1). However, their apparent lack of association with viral diseases, including shingles, led to wide acceptance of the conclusion that they had no pathological consequences. This perception began to change in 2020, when they were found to underlie about 15% of cases of critical COVID-19 pneumonia. They have since been shown to underlie other severe viral diseases, including 5%, 20%, and 40% of cases of critical influenza pneumonia, critical MERS pneumonia, and West Nile virus encephalitis, respectively. They also seem to be associated with shingles in various settings. These auto-Abs are present in all age groups of the general population, but their frequency increases with age to reach at least 5% in the elderly. We estimate that at least 100 million people worldwide carry auto-Abs neutralizing type I IFNs. Here, we briefly review the history of the study of these auto-Abs, focusing particularly on their known causes and consequences."
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38193358/
" 10/ Having now tested more than 40,000 uninfected individuals from the general population, we show that auto-Abs neutralizing IFNα2 carry a higher risk of severe COVID-19, both in children and adults. 👨👩👧👦 "
https://twitter.com/casanova_lab/status/1743046537507176628?t=GjXTBU9PU21K7KcHmH16Gg&s=19
Here's the patent application for the Casanova auto-abs test if anyone is interested
https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=US407341121&_cid=P10-LR42CW-12609-1
Also, I believe thermo Fischer already have an approved test on the market, however unsure on the details.
New from Casanova et Al
"We found that 19 (10.4%) of 183 unvaccinated children hospitalized for COVID-19 pneumonia had autoantibodies (auto-Abs) neutralizing type I IFNs"
"Likewise, early recombinant IFN-β therapy may be considered to prevent the development of hypoxemic pneumonia in patients whose auto-Abs do not neutralize IFN-β (Monk et al., 2021; Vinh et al., 2021)."
https://rupress.org/jem/article/221/2/e20231353/276477/Higher-COVID-19-pneumonia-risk-associated-with?utm_content=277503339&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&hss_channel=tw-75302402
Prof Tom Wilkinson on Twitter:
Just heard the amazing news that the UNIVERSAL respiratory virus study has recruited its 500 subject- amazing progress and halfway to target Many congratulations to all our clinical teams @UoS_Medicine @SouthamptonBRC @SouthamptonCTU
https://twitter.com/ProfWilko/status/1733150775168114688?t=F5gtTqpFIQACMAk7Oo6tRA&s=19
Couple of quick thoughts on what's been published from Universal so far.
They've shown Rhinovirus is associated with mortality, which also dovetails with the COPD P2 data
There is absolutely no mention of auto-abs. Which in much of the what the company has said/published, is what universal is all about
The Rhinovirus aspect seems significant, as it's showing that just the "common cold" can still cause death in susceptible patients
And re auto-abs, it would make sense for this data to be held back on a commercial basis, as apparently the tests they are using have been developed by/with the Casanova Lab (as advised at AGM)
Also to consider is how all of this ties in the recently published findings from Universal
"Conclusion Common RVIs including RhV cause considerable morbidity. Lymphopenia and CRP>55 mg/L were associated with more severe disease in adults admitted with RVI. More precise characterisation of biomarkers associated with severity is an essential prerequisite to novel therapeutics development."
https://thorax.bmj.com/content/78/Suppl_4/A77.2
Had a look back at the initial RNS w SG015 topline results
"Key findings of the additional assessment include:
· Viral clearance from the lower respiratory tract
Sputum samples were collected where possible at study visits conducted during and after the 14-day dosing period. Assessment of viral clearance focused on the most frequently detected virus, human rhinovirus (HRV), which accounted for approximately 50% of infections. The results suggest that HRV was cleared more rapidly in patients treated with SNG001 than placebo with a statistically significant difference in the proportion of patients with detectable HRV in sputum at Day 7 (post hoc analysis).
· Markers associated with secondary bacterial infections
In COPD exacerbations, sputum purulence and elevated levels of serum C-reactive protein (CRP) are associated with the presence of bacteria in the lower respiratory tract. In the second week of treatment, a greater proportion of patients in the placebo group had purulent sputum or elevated serum CRP."
https://www.synairgen.com/media/positive-findings-from-sg015-tri-al-analysis
It's a good question Madmen - this was the trial sng were running until the outbreak of covid. We've heard alot about the planned trials this winter for hospitalised and ventilated patients but not "COPD". Will it be informing those trials or be a different game entirely?
Something that could be relevant is this is the trial where there was a trend in preventing bacterial infection.
It's interesting to think how these results would have been welcomed by the market (top line was over a year ago iirc) had covid not changed the trajectory of the business.
Published today re biomarkers in the SG015 trial (COPD)
Conclusion
Inhaled SNG001 upregulated lung antiviral defenses as assessed using sputum cell biomarker responses and accelerated viral clearance, supporting the proposed mechanism of action as an antiviral treatment for severe viral lung infections.
https://academic.oup.com/ofid/article/10/Supplement_2/ofad500.445/7448330?login=false
Https://x.com/casanova_lab/status/1722327101565477031?s=20
" We found that >80% of patients with inborn errors of the alternative NF-κB pathway have auto-Abs neutralizing type I IFNs, which underlie their severe viral diseases, including COVID-19."
Full Paper in Nature:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06717-x.epdf?sharing_token=5Y2GanoKFI6Tgq-4GlzJAdRgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0NLXy7bMG6wS8cWk6Kprl2Q0pzwCsazJ_ILi7afMelzio_ZuhEi7la_mOBjJTzymautyaAebyH67t2x4Lz2fWTbVkmq6DUohhc15ETYZGraq2F4usbmKSQslDqgmN1sALE%3D