How COVID-19 Shape-shifting Could Aid Vaccine and Drug Development

by Matthew Lowdon | Feb 26, 2021 | Uncategorised

We at Newton Colmore Consulting like to keep up-to-date with important news in our key markets; medical devices and biotechnology.

Here is an interesting article on Fierce Biotech which shows detailed insights into how understanding coronavirus mutations and shape-shifting could aid the development of vaccines and drugs.

A team led by specialist scientists at Yale University have used new imaging techniques to determine how the coronavirus’ spike protein changes its shape in response to COVID-19 antibodies. The Yale scientists have identified two methods antibodies can use to interfere with the virus’s entry into human cells for infection.

Here is a quote from Maolin Lu, an associate research scientist at Yale.

“The spike protein constantly changes shape, [and] this shape-shifting feature not only allows the virus to enter host cells, it also helps the virus escape from being attacked or recognized by antibodies,”

The team at Yale are utilising high performance computing algorithms that run multiple simulations simultaneously, as the research team were able to identify the glycans that are responsible for activating the S protein, according to a release about their presentation at the Biophysical Society annual meeting.

It will be interesting to learn the outcome of this work, in the fight against COVID-19.

You can read more here; https://www.fiercebiotech.com/research/insights-into-how-coronavirus-changes-shape-could-aid-development-covid-19-vaccines-drugs

Newton Colmore Consulting is a specialist recruitment consultancy, offering hiring and talent solutions to the medical devices and biotechnology sectors, globally.

Healthcare App Review Finds Some Concerning Trends

by Matthew Lowdon | Feb 19, 2021 | Uncategorised

A review into healthcare apps by ORCHA, an independent UK-based reviewer, has found some significant shortcomings, including;

A diabetes management app offering complex medical support without any back-up from experts.

A physiotherapy app offering exercise plans without any visible input from professionals.

An app to help smokers quit, which had not had security updates in more than two years.

The review covers 5,000 apps so far out of the roughly 370,000 available online and with many people relying on healthcare apps for data, communication and advice, what can be done to improve these findings?

For further reading, here is a link to the fill article on BBC; https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-56083231

Newton Colmore Consulting is a specialist recruitment consultancy and executive search firm tailored specifically for the medical devices and biotechnology markets. Our diverse network of talent and expertise has been constructed over a ten year period by our two directors, Andrew Welsh and Matthew Lowdon.