17 FDA-approved drugs show activity against SARS-CoV-2; two groups seek COVID-19 patient-derived mAbs; plus NYU, Scholar Rock and LIfT-King's College

Maryland team highlights 17 approved drugs that could be repurposed for COVID-19
A University of Maryland team identified 17 FDA-approved drugs that could be repurposed for COVID-19. Reported in a preprint posted Friday to bioRxiv, they identified the candidates via cell-based screens of 20 drugs previously shown to inhibit SARS and Middle-East respiratory syndrome (MERS) coronaviruses. The 17 drugs -- including chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine, cancer therapy tamoxifen and the antifungal terconazole -- inhibited SARS-CoV-2 at IC₅₀ values below their cytotoxic concentrations.

Berkeley Lights, university trio in COVID-19 antibody discovery coalition
Berkeley Lights Inc. launched on Wednesday the Global Emerging Pathogen Antibody Discovery Consortium with Vanderbilt University Medical Center, La Jolla Institute for Immunology and Emory University. The consortium, which will target COVID-19 and other viral infections, first plans to discover neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 using acute and convalescent sera from COVID-19 patients. They will use Berkeley Lights’ Beacon system and viral neutralization assay to screen B cells faster than traditional single cell screening tactics allow. ...