Countermeasures
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) recently introduced a measure designed to increase the nation’s supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) and other medical supplies.
The COVID-19 Emergency Manufacturing Act authorizes the federal government to manufacture... Read More »
Global security and aerospace company Lockheed Martin has secured a $6.07 billion Army contract to produce Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) interceptors and associated equipment.
"This contract demonstrates our customer's continued confidence in our ability... Read More »
Thanks in part to another $1.3 million of funding granted by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), an agreement between INOVIO and Richter-Helm BioLogics will expand to support large-scale manufacturing of investigational COVID-19 vaccine INO-4800.
INOVIO originally made... Read More »
Among Senate Democrats, concerns are growing that political influence and interference at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) played a role in the removal of Dr. Rick Bright from the helm of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) earlier this month.
In a... Read More »
Senate Democrats introduced legislation that lays out a framework for a coordinated federal response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Medical Supply Transparency and Delivery Act requires the president to utilize all available authorities under the Defense Production Act to mobilize a federal... Read More »
Several Congressional leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives are urging federal government officials to take action on the recommendations made by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on the problem of antibiotic resistance.
Antibiotic resistance occurs when germs develop the ability... Read More »
A group of organizations jointly released guidance concerning mosquito-based diseases.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Special Programme for Training and Research of Tropical Diseases (TDR) and the World Health... Read More »
Puritan Medical Products has been awarded a Department of Defense (DoD) contract to produce COVID-19 testing swabs.
“The Department of Defense will invest $75.5 million in Defense Production Act Title 3 funding to increase swab production by 20 million per month starting in May,” Lt. Col.... Read More »
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently launched the $1.5 billion Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) initiative, to infuse funding into innovative technologies aimed at speeding innovation, development, and commercialization of reliable COVID-19 tests.
Those technologies need... Read More »
Biotechnology companies Entos Pharmaceuticals and EpiVax, Inc. announced a partnership this week dedicated to the development of a pan-coronavirus DNA vaccine.
"We are excited to be working with the exceptional team at EpiVax, whose computational approach to optimizing vaccine design is second... Read More »
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) launched a new web page with information on COVID-19 related fraud schemes.
The web site -- called Operation Stolen Promise -- will also highlight the investigative efforts the agency is taking to counter... Read More »
A group of Democrats in Congress are asking the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) about measures the agency has taken to keep homemade firearms – or ghost guns -- from falling into the wrong hands during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“While the surge in firearm sales from... Read More »
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said nearly $165 million has been earmarked to help rural communities combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
The funding allotment via the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) seeks to assist 1,779 rural hospitals while providing additional... Read More »
The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) has released a primer regarding SARS-CoV-2 serology antibody testing, as well as the research and policy questions the effort raises.
“As serological testing for SARS-CoV-2 advances, there are multiple issues that need to be addressed, from... Read More »
The Phase 3 SIMPLE trial of Gilead Sciences Inc’s antiviral drug remdesivir has reached its primary endpoint, supplying positive data that COVID-19 patients administered the drug early fared better than those treated later.
From 397 patients, the study revealed that 62 percent of patients... Read More »
The Cerus Corporation has created the INTERCEPT Blood System as a means to reduce pathogens in red blood cells, and now, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) is collaborating with it to test the system’s capabilities against SARS-CoV-2.
SARS-CoV-2 is the virus... Read More »
The Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense is poised to assist a national COVID-19 commission that would be created under legislation introduced earlier this month.
Specifically, recommendations and pandemic plans issued by the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense would be reviewed and evaluated by... Read More »
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) will invest $3.5 million in Clover Biopharmaceuticals Australia to develop a COVID-19 vaccine.
It is CEPIʻs ninth investment in a COVID-19 vaccine. The investments total $39.6 million.
This latest investment will support Clover... Read More »
The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) is calling on Congress to clear regulatory logjams to get relief money from the CARES Act to firefighters and first responders.
IAFC leaders say legal and regulatory minutiae is preventing funding from the Assistance for Firefighter Grant... Read More »
Laredo Port of Entry Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers recently executed a narcotics interception effort yielding hard narcotics with an estimated street value of more than $25 million.
Authorities indicated the seizure occurred at the World Trade Bridge when an officer referred a... Read More »
Criticizing President Donald Trump’s unilateral decision to end funding for the World Health Organization (WHO) as reckless, Democratic members of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs called on the president to restore funding and to stop putting COVID-19 blame on the organization.
Chairman... Read More »
Professional services and technology firm KBR has secured a $63.9 million Department of Defense (DoD) task order to develop interoperability solutions resulting in expanded military testing and training capabilities.
KBR’s scope of work on the DoD’s Test Resource Management Center (TRMC)... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) announced two partnerships this week in its ongoing fight against COVID-19: America’s Blood Centers, to help collect and distribute convalescent plasma, and InBios International, Inc. to hasten the development of serological... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK) introduced a bill in the House that authorizes additional scientific research to fight the novel coronavirus and other infectious diseases.
The legislation -- the Computing Opportunities to Vanquish Infectious Diseases Research Act of 2020 (the COVID Research Act)... Read More »
U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) is urging the Trump Administration to shore up the safety of the personal protective equipment (PPE) supply chain and protect hospitals from scammers.
“Hospitals and health care workers are busy saving lives and protecting the... Read More »
Boeing recently completed another COVID-19 transport mission resulting in 1.5 million medical-grade face masks reaching healthcare professionals at Prisma Health in South Carolina.
The Boeing Dreamlifter delivered personal protective equipment (PPE) from Hong Kong in partnership with Prisma... Read More »
The Office of Naval Research (ONR) recently announced that the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Keyport and the Tech Bridge program are providing those on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic with needed equipment.
The entities have manufactured over 500 face shields and... Read More »
Global health, industry, and nonprofit leaders joined this week in pledging support to defeat COVID-19, uniting them in a virtual event that recommitted to the accelerated development and delivery of vaccines, tests, and treatments.
“We will only halt COVID-19 through solidarity,” Dr. Tedros... Read More »
Fallout from Dr. Rick Bright’s sudden removal from his post as director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) is growing, as U.S. Sen. Edward Markey calls for an official investigation into the motivations behind the move.
Bright has served as BARDA director... Read More »
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced last week that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is awarding $631 million to 64 jurisdictions in support of the COVID-19 response.
“This new funding secured from Congress by President Trump will help public health... Read More »
Northern Arizona University (NAU) researchers staffing the Pathogen and Microbiome Institute (PMI) have launched the COVID-19 Testing Service Center (CTSC) to grow the SARS-CoV-2 virus and test drugs against it.
"The COVID-19 pandemic is a crisis that requires the whole scientific community... Read More »
An Oxford University vaccine for COVID-19 funded by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) last month has officially advanced into Phase 1 testing, complete with human trials.
Known as ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, the candidate is the third CEPI-funded vaccine to enter Phase 1 trials.... Read More »
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) released its strategy for accelerating research into the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of COVID-19 this week, establishing four key priorities.
These priorities include improving key knowledge of both COVID-19 and the... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) has struck a partnership with Cytovale to develop a rapid diagnostic system for sepsis as part of the COVID-19 pandemic response.
Cytovale’s rapid diagnostic system analyzes the biomechanical properties of immune cells, which... Read More »
From flooding to wildfires to the novel coronavirus, health emergencies have dominated and redefined public life in the last year. Experts say that keeping Americans safe from these disasters requires a well-funded public health system focused on three key areas: prevention, preparedness, and... Read More »
