Private
Partners in COVAX, a global collaborative effort to accelerate development, manufacturing and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, launched the COVAX Marketplace last week to match buyers with suppliers through a secure new platform and overcome short-term bottlenecks.
The Marketplace is a... Read More »
A new, joint effort between the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS’s) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) and the nonprofit Beacon NGO will seek to build upon S&T’s Next-Generation Incident Command System (NICS) and pitch it to a larger emergency response community.
To achieve... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) announced this week that it has partnered with several entities to evaluate the use of autonomous surface and underwater ocean surveillance technology.
The agency has teamed up with the University of Southern... Read More »
A total of $153 million was split between two projects under the National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals (NIMBL) this week, as awarded by the United States Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
“I am so pleased that... Read More »
Noting that with advances in biological sciences comes the potential for abuse, the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security applauded the InterAcademy Partnership this week for endorsing new Guidelines for Codes of Conduct for Scientists produced by Tianjin Biosecurity.
These guidelines,... Read More »
Northrop Grumman Corporation announced Tuesday that its Hypersonics Center of Excellence is currently under construction and once completed, would support the nation's military and allies in combating threats.
The 60,000-square-foot site in Elkton, Md., would offer production for hypersonic... Read More »
Approximately $398 million was issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) this week through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) as a means of helping 1,540 small rural hospitals address COVID-19 testing and mitigation.
“Our state-based SHIP grantees... Read More »
Teams from the Bechtel Corporation at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (BGCAPP) near Richmond, Ky., have begun purging another batch of chemical weapons, continuing a campaign that intends to destroy nearly 18,000 rockets bearing the VX nerve agent.
The latest round begins... Read More »
The National Emergency Number Association (NENA) announced this week the organization's approval of a new version of its Next Generation 9-1-1 standard.
The action would aid the process of accelerating the transition to faster emergency response, detailing NG9-1-1 infrastructure updates that... Read More »
With a pair of new advance purchase agreements arranged this week, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, intends to add two inactivated virus vaccines for COVID-19 to its stores for COVAX -- one from Sinopharm and one from Sinovac.
Sinopharm’s offering is BBIBP-CorV, which will become available this... Read More »
The Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense urged Congress to take action to protect the country’s critical infrastructure from biological threats on Wednesday.
In two recent reports, The Apollo Program for Biodefense: Winning the Race Against Biological Threats, and Biodefense in Crisis:... Read More »
BAE Systems has secured an Army contract worth up to $600 million for sustainment and support for the U.S. Army's Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV) over the next five years.
“The AMPV family of vehicles will bring unmatched capability to the battlefield and has demonstrated outstanding... Read More »
The first healthy adult participants of the Phase 1/2 randomized and observer-blinded test of Moderna’s new quadrivalent seasonal flu vaccine were dosed last week, officially beginning a trial much desired by global health experts.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has a list of targets for... Read More »
Questions were spurred last week with news from Pfizer and BioNTech that progress was being made on a COVID-19 vaccine booster the companies indicated would likely be needed in the future -- a stance promptly contradicted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease... Read More »
While the efficacy of many COVID-19 vaccines has largely been established, more specific questions remain, such as their effectiveness on the immunosuppressed and transplant patients -- a fact that has prompted a new study, led by the Oslo University Hospital and funded by a series of national and... Read More »
LightDeck Diagnostics, which produces both SARS-CoV-2 Ultra-Rapid Antigen and COVID-19 Total Antibody Tests, was awarded a $35.1 million contract from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) last week to increase production capacity for these speedy diagnostics.
Both tests are point-of-care tests... Read More »
A recent study by scientists at the National Institutes of Health suggests that one in every four COVID-19 deaths in the United States may be attributed to hospitals strained by surging caseloads.
Published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, the study looked at data from 150,000 COVID-19... Read More »
Huntington Ingalls Industries announced this week that it entered a definitive agreement to purchase Aion Science and Technology from Veritas Capital for $1.65 billion in cash, providing further inroads for Huntington into the global defense marketplace.
As a result of the agreement, Alion will... Read More »
A nationwide study from the University of Utah found that those who receive mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are 91 percent less likely to develop the disease than those who are unvaccinated.
This news came from the RECOVER (Research on the Epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in Essential Response Personnel)... Read More »
In an effort to keep transportation safe without slowing the flow of traffic, the New York City subway system, together with a series of collaborators in the federal, academic, and private sectors, is rolling out a testbed and series of biosensors to scan for chemical and biological threats.... Read More »
Looking to address a medical need and reduce development and preparedness costs for taxpayers, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) has purchased and begun accepting the Paratek Pharmaceuticals antibiotic NUZYRA for use on anthrax infections.
The contract could... Read More »
By the end of 2021, the terms of a new supply agreement will see Dynavax Technologies Corporation deliver its CpG 1018 adjuvant to Clover Biopharmaceuticals for use in its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, SCB-2019.
SCB-2019 is a protein-based vaccine that, pending regulatory approvals, is expected to... Read More »
The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) reported this week that a COVAXIN adjuvant they funded, Alhydroxiquim-II, is actively aiding the COVID-19 response efforts in India, boosting the COVAXIN vaccine’s efficacy among the millions who have taken it.
Alhydroxiquim-II was originally... Read More »
Moderna, Inc. released a clinical update of a small Phase 1 trial this week evaluating the performance of its mRNA COVID-19 vaccine against three of the ever-multiplying strains of the disease, including the worrisome Delta variant.
Based on serum samples from eight vaccinated participants,... Read More »
On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) awarded $2.99 million in grant funding for new interoperable public safety communication systems.
Initially funded by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology... Read More »
Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI), based in Andover, Mass., and Alakai Defense Systems, Inc. (Alakai), based in Largo, Fla., recently announced that they have secured funding from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program.
The businesses, which... Read More »
A small, veteran-owned business in Florida, Bloodstone Division, LLC, earned a $105,877 award from the United States Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) to fund the development of an antiviral disinfectant for COVID-19 and beyond.
Traditional disinfecting... Read More »
The FirstNet network expanded the number of unthrottled, deployable network assets for fire, EMS, law enforcement, and other public safety personnel to more than 100 land-based and airborne portable cell sites as of last week.
“When disaster strikes, FirstNet is there to support first... Read More »
University of North Carolina (UNC) Gillings School of Global Public Health researchers are exploring the potential of a universal vaccine protecting mice against other coronaviruses and variants.
Scientists noted coronaviruses continue to be a threat after causing the SARS outbreak 18 years ago,... Read More »
A new report from the Global Coalition on Aging (GCOA) and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), a first of its kind known as the AMR Preparedness Index, provides an evaluation and roadmap for the 11 largest global economies and their efforts to tackle rising cases of antimicrobial... Read More »
Under an expanded agreement with Moderna, Inc., the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) announced this week that it will provide program management support and up to $144 million for the Phase 2/3 clinical trial of its COVID-19 vaccine on children.
Also known as... Read More »
A new phase one clinical trial kicked off this week for an mRNA-based vaccine against seasonal influenza -- specifically the A/H3N2 strain -- cooperatively developed by Sanofi Pasteur and Translate Bio.
With interim data expected by the end of the year, the trial will chart both safety and... Read More »
The World Health Organization (WHO) and its COVAX partners announced they are working with a South African consortium to establish a COVID mRNA vaccine technology transfer hub.
The consortium, comprising Biovac, Afrigen Biologics and Vaccines, a network of African universities, and the Africa... Read More »
As a result of phase three COMET-ICE trial data, GlaxoSmithKline plc and Vir Biotechnology, Inc. announced this week that they will push forward with sotrovimab, an investigational monoclonal antibody treatment for SARS-CoV-2.
Primary efficacy analysis of 1,057 patients who participated in the... Read More »
A combined supplement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) last week spread $200 million among 59 jurisdiction public health programs to expand the disease intervention specialists (DIS) workforce.
This funding is... Read More »
