Countermeasures
The National Institutes of Health kicked off a large, phase three clinical trial last week to chart the safety and efficacy of three modulator drugs being considered for use on patients hospitalized with COVID-19.
The three drugs to be used are Janssen Research & Development, LLC’s infliximab... Read More »
The United States and Canada are working together to improve and better coordinate nuclear safety and security.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and the Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) today signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) awarded a $6.98 million contract to Teel Plastics to expand the production of injection-molded and extruded swabsticks used in COVID-19 testing kits.
This award will increase production by an additional 50 million per month for each swabstick type by March... Read More »
A randomized control trial on COVID-19 therapeutics has generated conclusive evidence on the effectiveness of repurposed drugs -- like remdesivir and hydroxychloroquine, among others -- to treat COVID-19.
The results from the Solidarity Therapeutics Trial, coordinated by the World Health... Read More »
A new report by the Rand Corporation finds that Facebook users would be less likely to spread Russian propaganda if they knew it emanated from a Russian source.
Russia uses political memes to polarize Americans, particularly those at the extreme ends of the political spectrum, according to Rand... Read More »
The U.S. Army has awarded a $26 million contract modification to FLIR Systems, Inc. to support the Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Reconnaissance Vehicle Sensor Suite Upgrade (NBCRV SSU).
“Our ability to build and integrate manned and unmanned sensing solutions across a wide threat space is... Read More »
The Justice Department said U.S. District Judge Dale A. Kimball sentenced a Utah man to life in prison for heading an organization that distributed more than 500,000 counterfeit pills nationwide.
Authorities said the sentence was handed down to Aaron Michael Shamo, 30, indicating he was the CEO... Read More »
Another COVID-19 vaccine candidate shows promise for antibodies produced, at least in preclinical results released by Sanofi Pasteur and Translate Bio last week for their mRNA-based offering, MRT5500.
The candidate produced neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 -- the virus that causes... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and Beckman Coulter are joining forces to fund a multi-center clinical trial of Beckman Coulter’s Monocyte Distribution Width (MDW) hematology biomarker, a test meant to rapidly detect MIS-C.
MIS-C, or Multisystem Inflammatory... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC) introduced a bill that looks to identify obstacles in the drug supply chain that hinder domestic manufacturing.
Further, the bill, the American Drug Supply Chain Act, provides incentives to bring more drug manufacturing back to the United States.
"The COVID-19... Read More »
Researchers with the U.S. Army Futures Command are developing alternative ways to measure COVID-19 antibody levels that are faster, easier, and less expensive.
Their work revolves around finding alternatives to measuring virus neutralization, or VN, titers. This process is the gold standard of... Read More »
A new Center for American Progress report details methods the United States can use to address expanding Huawei market and national security challenges and its 5G network building role.
The analysis maintains America has ignored the policies Beijing uses to make the tech company Huawei the... Read More »
Reps. Susan Wild (D-PA) and Fred Keller (R-PA) introduced Wednesday a measure designed to address chronic miscounting of first responders, chiefly firefighters, and emergency medical services (EMS) personnel.
The EMS Counts Act of 2020 would ensure the government’s nationwide collection of... Read More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized a major medical breakthrough this week, approving Regeneron Pharmaceuticals to produce Inmazeb, the first treatment for Ebola virus infections to reach that point.
Inmazeb is a mix of three monoclonal antibodies, which work by targeting the... Read More »
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) launched a study to determine whether certain approved therapies or investigational drugs show promise against COVID-19.
The ACTIV-5 Big Effect Trial is being conducted in partnership with the National Institutes of Health’s... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and David Schweikert (R-CA) commended the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases’ (NIAID) for establishing a research initiative to treat and prevent Valley Fever.
The NIAID recently issued a notice of funding opportunity to establish a... Read More »
Sen. Susan Collins (D-ME) recently addressed the new $25 million LymeX initiative, which was announced this week in partnership between the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Stephen and Alexandra Cohen Foundation.
LymeX is the largest public-private partnership to combat Lyme... Read More »
Rep. David N. Cicilline (D-RI) has requested Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to acknowledge combatting online anti-Semitism addresses movements domestically and across the globe during next week's State Department conference.
“Anti-Semitic cyberhate is a serious global challenge, and we must... Read More »
A $481 million award from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and Department of Defense (DoD) this week will help Cue Health, Inc. expand the production capacity of a cartridge-based point-of-care molecular test for COVID-19.
With the fund injection, Cue aims to... Read More »
Massachusetts-based Cytiva will partner with the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Defense (DoD) to expand its manufacturing capacity for COVID-19 vaccine components and aid the federal Operation Warp Speed.
Operation Warp Speed is focused on bending U.S.-based... Read More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last week issued guidance to provide sponsors, or vaccine makers, with information on requesting an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for COVID-19 vaccines.
The October guidance, which complements June guidance issued by the agency, specifically... Read More »
Reps. Katie Porter (D-CA) and Garret Graves (R-LA) introduced last week a measure designed to standardize natural disaster research as a means of enhancing protection efforts.
The Disaster Learning and Life Saving Act would create an independent board to review the underlying causes of natural... Read More »
The U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Defense (DoD) announced greater collaboration with AstraZeneca last week, specifically aimed at the late-stage development and manufacturing of its COVID-19 treatment, AZD7442.
AZD7442 is a drug cocktail made up of two monoclonal... Read More »
At the virtual LymeMIND conference last week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation announced they would partner on a $25 million endeavor known as the LymeX Innovation Accelerator.
LymeX will be the largest Lyme disease-focused... Read More »
Congressional leaders on the House Energy and Commerce Committee are seeking a review by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) of cybersecurity incident response capabilities of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The E&C leaders said the HHS needs to be able to manage... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), along with other congressional representatives from New Jersey, are urging the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to increase the federal response related to white nationalist groups in their state.
The lawmakers said they have seen... Read More »
The Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP) has revised its policy governing the award of grants to purchase foreign-made Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS).
The revised policy requires grant recipients to use OJP funds to procure and operate UAS only in a manner that promotes... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Defense awarded $600 million for 5G experimentation and testing at five U.S. military test sites.
The test sites include Hill Air Force Base in Utah; Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington; Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany in Georgia; Naval Base San Diego in California;... Read More »
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) personnel are espousing the benefits of the department’s DARPA’s Robotic Autonomy in Complex Environments with Resiliency (RACER) program.
Authorities said RACER seeks to ensure algorithms are not the limiting part of the system and... Read More »
Election interference has sounded many alarms this year, all the way to the White House and the halls of Congress. Now, the Rand Corporation is warning that a coordinated effort on Twitter to influence and provoke chaos during the upcoming presidential election is underway.
“Social media has... Read More »
Under a new partnership, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) will collaborate with Current Health to develop an algorithm based on a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved wearable monitor to predict the need for COVID-19 hospitalization.
By forecasting the... Read More »
Coast Guard officials said the Coast Guard Cutter Steadfast crew recently returned to its homeport in Astoria, Ore., after a 57-day eastern Pacific Ocean counter-narcotics patrol.
Authorities said the mission included the deployment of an aviation detachment from Helicopter Interdiction Tactical... Read More »
Emergent BioSolutions Inc. is one of four companies collaborating to provide hyperimmune globulin products for a new federal clinical trial that will test the safety, tolerability and efficacy of a combination treatment regimen for COVID-19.
The regimen consists of the antiviral remdesivir plus... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) introduced a bill that would give the president the authority to sanction foreign nations that try to steal American research on COVID-19.
The Defend COVID Research from Hackers Act authorizes sanctions that would specifically target a... Read More »
Lawmakers and public health officials, along with officials from the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, have launched the Capitol Hill Steering Committee on Pandemic Preparedness & Health Security.
This nonpartisan group will convene educational... Read More »
