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The new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has been identified as the pathogen behind the COVID-19 pandemic. The virus contains a main protease termed Mpro (or also termed 3CLpro), which is involved in the development of the virus’ replication complex. It consequently forms a part of the virus’ replication process and is an attractive drug target. A research group led by Prof. Rolf Hilgenfeld at Lübeck University and the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) has now determined the protease’s crystal structure.

The human immune system can recognize and eliminate not only germs but also cancer cells. This is why treatments with weakened germs can help the immune system in its fight against cancer. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology in Berlin have genetically modified the tuberculosis vaccine BCG in a way that it stimulates the immune system more specifically. Consequently, the new vaccine VPM1002 offers much greater protection against tuberculosis. A spin-off company of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig has transferred the results from basic research to clinical application. A clinical study with patients suffering from cancer of the bladder has now shown that a therapy with VPM1002 could successfully prevent the recurrence of tumours in almost half of the patients who had not responded previously to the BCG therapy. The results could lead to the early approval of the drug for the treatment of cancer of the bladder so that as many patients as possible can profit from this quickly.

More than three percent of the world's population (about 260 million humans) are chronically infected with the hepatitis B virus (HBV). Worldwide 880,000 humans die each year from the sequelae: liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Currently, there is no cure. The therapeutic vaccine TherVacB aims to cure patients with chronic hepatitis B. A consortium of leading virologists, immunologists and specialized physicians will use a newly designed vaccine as an immunotherapy in a two-year clinical trial starting in 2021. Researchers from the HZI will contribute an adjuvant that increases the vaccine response, and they will bring in their expertise in preparing the clinical trial. The project is supported by the European Union with 10,426,000 Euros over a period of five years and is coordinated by Prof Ulrike Protzer from Helmholtz Zentrum München.

At the end of December 2019, the first cases of pneumonia caused by a novel coronavirus were reported from the Chinese city of Wuhan. Since then, infections with the pathogen appeared on several continents. Strict measures to control the epidemic have been put in place to stop its further spread. The SORMAS (Surveillance, Outbreak Response Management and Analysis System) app developed at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig is now contributing to this effort. The scientists expanded the mobile information system for disease monitoring to include a module for combating the coronavirus epidemic. The new coronavirus module is available in Nigeria and Ghana, where SORMAS is already in use. It can be implemented in any other country that wants to use SORMAS in the future.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), infections with antibiotic-resistant bacteria are one of the greatest threats to global health. In order to alleviate this problem, researchers explore new applications for already existing antibiotics in addition to the search for new active substances. Until now, the antibiotic mupirocin could only be applied locally to treat skin infections. Encapsulating the drug into nanoparticles would enable to broaden its range of applications. Researchers at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig, together with colleagues at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, have shown that nanotechnology enables a systemic application of mupirocin. The study was published in the Journal of Controlled Release.

The bacterium Staphylococcus aureus can be part of the normal bacterial population inhabiting our body, but can also cause serious infections. This bacterium has often developed resistance to standard antibiotics or even multi-resistance to several antibiotics such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Particularly in hospitals, MRSA is often the cause of severe and difficult-to-treat infections. Therefore, there is an urgent need for new drugs that can effectively treat MRSA infections. In order to shorten the lengthy and expensive development process, scientists at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig and the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have used an innovative approach to antibiotic development. The researchers used chemical synthesis to significantly improve the antimicrobial properties of an approved cancer medicament that also has a moderate killing activity on MRSA. The resulting molecule, named PK150, is highly effective against MRSA infections without the development of resistance. The results are published in the journal Nature Chemistry.