Countermeasures
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration accepted Inovio Pharmaceuticals investigational new drug (IND) application for its vaccine candidate designed to prevent COVID-19 infection.
This action by the FDA paves the way for Phase 1 clinical testing of this vaccine candidate, INO-4800, in healthy... Read More »
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine researchers maintain when tested in mice a potential vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, the new coronavirus causing the COVID-19 pandemic, produces antibodies for potential neutralization.
The study findings detailed via eBioMedicine, which is published by... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is seeking participants for its third 2020 GPS Testing for Critical Infrastructure (GET-CI) event later this year.
“Accurate and precise position, navigation and timing (PNT) information is vital to the... Read More »
Actemra, a drug more commonly used to treat moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis, will undergo a Phase 3 clinical trial for its potential to help patients suffering from COVID-19, under an expanded partnership between Roche’s Genentech and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development... Read More »
Global healthcare company Grifols is collaborating with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and the United States Department of Defense (DoD) to collect plasma and create a COVID-19 treatment based on it.
The effort is based on previous government calls for... Read More »
The federal Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) is working with OraSure Technology to develop a test for the coronavirus (COVID-19) that could bring testing closer to the patient.
OraSure’s point-of-care test will be available at home and in clinical settings. It... Read More »
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Vir Biotechnology will collaborate to research and develop solutions for coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
The partnership will leverage Vir’s proprietary monoclonal antibody platform technology to identify new anti-viral antibodies... Read More »
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) officials said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) would provide $186 million to state and local jurisdictions for COVID-19 support.
“Testing and surveillance is a vital piece of our efforts to beat the coronavirus, and this new... Read More »
A group of legislators recently introduced legislation designed to create a commission to assess the nation's response and make recommendations for future pandemic preparedness.
Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL) joined 12 colleagues in presenting the Pandemic Rapid Response Act, which establishes the... Read More »
Hydroxychloroquine is flooding the Strategic National Stockpile this week as a potential treatment for COVID-19, thanks to a 30 million dose donation from Sandoz and another 1 million gifted by Bayer Pharmaceuticals.
Both hydroxychloroquine sulfate and chloroquine phosphate were given U.S. Food... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) intends to purchase the ID NOW COVID-19 rapid point-of-care test developed by Abbott Diagnostics Scarborough Inc., to expand the supply of diagnostics available to state, territorial and tribal public health labs.
Designed for the ID NOW... Read More »
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker announced the creation of the COVID-19 Community Tracing Collaborative (CTC) to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus in Massachusetts.
This collaboration with Partners In Health focuses on tracing the contacts of confirmed positive COVID-19 patients and... Read More »
A bill recently introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives seeks to establish a National Commission on United States Preparedness for National Emergencies.
The Made in America Emergency Preparedness Act authorizes the creation of a National Commission on United States Preparedness for... Read More »
A Republican group of legislators announced plans to introduce the Li Wenliang Global Public Health Accountability Act designed to address foreign officials who attempted to conceal early onset COVID-19 public health information.
The Act would also sanction any foreign official who may conceal a... Read More »
Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González-Colón recently led a bipartisan group of lawmakers in introducing a measure that bolsters the U.S. supply chain amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
González-Colón and Reps. Donna Shalala (D-FL), Rob Bishop (R-UT), Darren Soto (D-FL), Ruben... Read More »
As part of ongoing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) efforts to promote reliable COVID-19 information, it has modified its existing surveillance systems to form a weekly new report known as COVIDView, which will summarize and interpret data each Friday.
The first COVIDView... Read More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has stepped in to fast-track development of and access to two more investigational therapies for COVID-19 based on convalescent plasma and hyperimmune globulin from human blood.
By using blood donated from those who have recovered from the SARS-CoV-2... Read More »
Mounting a rapid and effective response to emerging public health threats is a continuing challenge, which will only become more important in an increasingly connected world, says Dr. Richard Welch, vice president and head of development services at Emergent BioSolutions Inc., a global life... Read More »
Senate Veterans' Affairs Ranking Member Jon Tester (D-MT) and Chairman Jerry Moran (R-KS) are encouraging Secretary of Defense Mark Esper to ensure National Guard members receive benefits and pay earned from their time in active duty responding to COVID-19.
The senators are advocating the action... Read More »
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has forwarded correspondence to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking clarity regarding reported shortages of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Warren maintains the drugs, which are generally used to treat lupus,... Read More »
Novartis will initiate a Phase III clinical trial in collaboration with Incyte to evaluate the drug Jakavi for the treatment of severe immune overreactions caused by the coronavirus.
The reaction – called cytokine storm -- can lead to life-threatening respiratory complications in patients... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) announced two new corporate partnerships last week, with the Luminex Corporation and GenMark, Dx, respectively, to get more COVID-19 diagnostic tests to market.
Both are rapid diagnostic tests. The Luminex test draws from nasal... Read More »
The federal government has seized hundreds of thousands of personal protective equipment (PPE) from price gougers with the intent of redistributing them to frontline workers working amid the COVID-19 crisis in New York and New Jersey.
The items -- which included around 192,000 N95 respirator... Read More »
Sarah Lofgren’s voice had a tinge of excitement when she explained why the bright green dots on one scientific slide disappeared on the next. The co-investigator at the University of Minnesota Division of Infectious Disease and International Medicine showed how SARS, or severe acute respiratory... Read More »
Emergent BioSolutions is working with the U.S. government to develop a therapy for patients diagnosed with coronavirus, also known as COVID-19.
The partnership is through a $14.5 million grant from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to develop a COVID-Human Immune... Read More »
A research tool known as VirScan will be able to detect evidence of coronavirus from a single drop of blood.
Geneticist Steve Elledge, who helped develop VirScan, has added the virus, formally known as SARS-CoV-2, to VirScan's library of pathogens. This action could potentially help researchers... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) is urging the Trump Administration to address the nationwide shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers and emergency responders.
In his home state, Peters cited the travails of the Detroit Police Department, which has had to quarantine... Read More »
The Ohio Department of Health (ODH) received its share of personal protective equipment from the Strategic National Stockpile in full this week, granting an equipment influx of hundreds of thousands to meet the threat of COVID-19.
Ohio was among early requesters for additional equipment and its... Read More »
SAb Biotherapeutics, Inc. is now among those companies rushing to produce a COVID-19 treatment, and both the Department of Defense (DoD) and Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) have partnered with it to make it happen.
SAb’s product is called SAB-185 and pushes for... Read More »
Science and technology firm Battelle said its CCDS Critical Care Decontamination System (CCDS) would decontaminate N95 respirator masks at the State University of New York at Stony Brook on Long Island.
The effort would protect frontline healthcare workers by decontaminating up to 80,000 masks... Read More »
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) is urging Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Department of the Health and Human Services (HHS) officials to provide plans addressing COVID-19 treatments and vaccines.
McCaul recently sought feedback from FDA Commissioner Stephan Hahn and HHS Secretary Alex Azar on... Read More »
Leadership at the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) commended the $2.2 trillion relief bill signed by President Trump last week, stating more relief is still needed for firefighters and emergency workers.
IAFC President, Fire Chief Gary Ludwig, said the CARES Act is a significant... Read More »
According to a journal report published by members of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation (CEPI) this week, SARS-CoV-2 -- the virus which causes COVID-19 -- uncovers the advances and ongoing stumbling blocks in vaccine development.
Other outbreaks and epidemics have helped lead... Read More »
With help from U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), UC Health of southwest Ohio gained a new cobas 6800 diagnostic machine this week, which it intends to up its COVID-19 testing capabilities to nearly 1,000 tests per day.
“We are grateful to Senator Portman for his assistance in procuring this... Read More »
Doctors and researchers maintain a new free app is helping to track the onset and progression of COVID-19 symptoms nationwide while identifying those at risk sooner and slowing the outbreak.
Officials said the COVID Symptom Tracker requests contributors answer a few simple questions about... Read More »
