Private
In the most recent update to its malaria guidelines, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended that the vaccine RTS,S/AS01 be used to prevent P. falciparum malaria among children living in areas of moderate to high transmission.
This represents the first time a vaccine for malaria was... Read More »
Engineering and defense technologies provider Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) has successfully completed the first contractor-owned, contractor-operated (COCO) air combat training mission with the Air Force in Europe.
“Adversary training enhances the U.S. security defense posture, enables... Read More »
Efforts are underway to study the possibilities of oral smallpox treatment TPOXX as a post-exposure prophylactic (PEP), with the announcement of clinical trials by SIGA Technologies, Inc. last week.
These trials will support a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) label expansion for the drug,... Read More »
The Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (PCAPP) team, led by engineering company Bechtel, began eradicating its final round of mustard agent weapons this week at a facility in Pueblo, Colo.
“Safe elimination of the Pueblo stockpile helps the U.S. government meet its international... Read More »
Social media has always struggled with the question of how to deal with hate speech, but a new Online Hate Index launched by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) this week showcased the full extent of the failure to confront it.
According to the ADL, this machine-learning system combs hate... Read More »
Global aerospace company Boeing is detailing the construction of the latest Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) satellite system version, highlighting advanced techniques effectively integrating commercial technology.
"We're moving at record-breaking speed to deliver the unmatched resilience,... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) will continue long-standing partnerships with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Sanofi, and Seqirus to build up medical countermeasures to influenza pandemics and other public health emergencies.
For years, these partnerships and other... Read More »
With test data showing their COVID-19 vaccine’s capabilities to fight COVI-19 in regular or booster form, Sanofi and GSK announced this week that they intend to submit data as the foundation of regulatory authorization requests.
The Sanofi-GSK offering is a refrigerator temperature-stable,... Read More »
Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) and Munich Security Conference (MSC) personnel are espousing the benefits of a recently convened tabletop exercise to reduce high-consequence biological threats.
The effort involved uniting senior leaders from across government, industry, and civil society to... Read More »
The Marine Corps has selected Northrop Grumman Corporation to provide the Next Generation Handheld Targeting System (NGHTS), noting the targeting device provides unequaled precision and GPS-denied environment operational capabilities.
“NGHTS will significantly enhance the ability of Marines to... Read More »
A virtual event organized by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research last week pulled in government officials and technical experts to address the best means of accelerating... Read More »
Lockheed Martin has secured a Prototype Project Agreement (PPA) to create a 5G communications network infrastructure testbed for expeditionary operations experimentation slated to aid two military entities.
The $19.3 million Lockheed Martin pact with the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense... Read More »
Engineering firm KBR has secured a Department of Defense (DoD) Information Analysis Center contract to support the Phased Array Tracking Radar to Intercept on Target (PATRIOT) missile defense system.
The scope of the $207 million contract involves analyzing PATRIOT's overall performance while... Read More »
A second-generation Advanced Combat Helmet is coming soon to supplies of the United States Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), following its award of a $204 million, five-year contract to designer Avon Protection plc.
"This is another significant, multi-year helmet contract for Avon Protection,... Read More »
While monoclonal antibodies have made headway in some countries more than others, the World Health Organization (WHO), for the first time last week, offered prequalification to Roche’s tocilizumab treatment, smoothing the path to more widespread approval.
Prequalification guarantees that the... Read More »
Military aircraft companies Sikorsky and Boeing have chosen Honeywell to provide the DEFIANT X advanced helicopter engine for the Army’s Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) competition.
“DEFIANT X is a transformational aircraft and Honeywell is giving us a transformational engine to... Read More »
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) last week announced the allocation of $4.5 million across three grant awards to create collaborative research centers in the United States, focusing specifically on investigating treatments and vaccines specifically related to Valley Fever.
These centers... Read More »
Years into a global pandemic, the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator and affiliated world leaders have called for fair, shared-based financing of approximately $23 billion in 2022 to overcome inequalities in medical access, scale-up countermeasure efforts, and end the COVID-19... Read More »
Distribution of Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics’ oral antiviral COVID-19 medicine molnupiravir reached a new milestone this week, with approximately 3.1 million courses provided to the United States government.
The companies are increasing access to the drug internationally, and according... Read More »
The U.S. Air Force has awarded a five-year, $17 million contract to Battelle to conduct research that advances health protection for the warfighter in present and near-future operational environments, the company announced Wednesday.
Awarded under the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Airman... Read More »
Phase 2 testing of a Lyme disease vaccine candidate, VLA15, produced strong immune responses, according to the newest data from Valneva SE and Pfizer inc, prompting preparations for a Phase 3 study in the third quarter of 2022.
The VLA15-221 trial produced stronger responses in adult... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) awarded a contract to Detect, Inc. last week for the development of an over-the-counter test capable of detecting SARS-CoV-2, as well as influenza A and B, within 30 minutes.
This rapid diagnostic – the Detect COVID/Flu Test... Read More »
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) awarded more than $4.5 million in total awards this week to support research into valley fever being conducted by the Universities of California-San Francisco, California-Los Angeles, and Texas-San Antonio.
That money will be... Read More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) awarded full approval to Moderna, Inc’s Spikevax vaccine for COVID-19 last week, greenlighting the mRNA vaccine for use without restriction on adults and making it the second COVID-19 vaccine to earn the measure.
Approval was based on endorsement of... Read More »
The University of Maryland (UMD) has secured a Department of Defense (DOD) award totaling nearly $4 million to support data collection efforts on terrorism-related projects and other asymmetric threats.
The DOD would fund data collection on several projects that include the Study of Terrorism... Read More »
Citing data from six preclinical studies, Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics last week announced that their oral antiviral COVID-19 medicine, molnupiravir, maintained efficacy against the widespread Omicron variant.
These in vitro lab studies were independently organized and conducted by... Read More »
Brittany Global Technologies, based in New Bedford, Mass., has secured a $1.3 million Department of Defense (DoD) contract for industrial base production of Berry Amendment compliant fabrics for military uniforms.
“This increased capacity will ensure the U.S. government continues to have... Read More »
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a lawsuit to block Lockheed Martin Corporation from the vertical acquisition of Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc to prevent critical market consolidation.
Regulators argued the $4.4 billion acquisition effort would remove the last independent U.S.... Read More »
Moderna, Inc. dosed the first participant this week for its Phase 2 study of a COVID-19 booster vaccine tailored to the omicron variant, mRNA-1273.529, kicking off a two cohort trial that will span the United States.
In all, approximately 300 participants will be enrolled in each cohort. One... Read More »
BAE Systems officials said the company has secured a Marine Corps contract award totaling $169 million for 33 Amphibious Combat Vehicles (ACVs).
“BAE Systems is dedicated to helping the Marines meet their expeditionary and Force Design 2030 needs,” John Swift, director of amphibious programs... Read More »
Drawing from a $200 million program meant to stimulate the development of vaccines with broad betacoronavirus protection, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) announced a $16.9 million award this week for development efforts by BioNet.
BioNet, a French-Thai vaccine... Read More »
In support of the federal Project BioShield incentivization effort, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) recently launched a Request for Proposals for late-stage development, approval, and procurement of an antibiotic capable of overcoming... Read More »
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations’ (CEPI) 100 Days Mission to reduce the vaccine development timeline received a $300 million investment from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Wellcome.
While a fraction of the organization’s overall fundraising goal of $3.5 billion,... Read More »
Under a long-term agreement with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) announced this week, Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics have agreed to provide 3 million courses of COVID-19 oral antiviral molnupiravir for use in low and middle-income countries.
Distribution will occur throughout... Read More »
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and Institut Pasteur de Dakar (IPD) recently collaborated to advance COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing in Africa.
CEPI seeks to develop vaccines against future epidemics, while IPD is a non-profit public interest foundation located in... Read More »