Science Spotlight: Host-directed antivirals and a bivalent molecular glue

BioCentury identified a run of China-led papers on host-directed antivirals.

A handful of Chinese universities, together with Ningbo Combireg Pharmaceutical Technology Co. Ltd., characterized MB-32, a benzothiazole small molecule that binds ACE2 at an allosteric pocket, blocking spike-ACE2 engagement across SARS-CoV-2 variants and related sarbecoviruses while preserving enzymatic activity. ...