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Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce (E&C) Committee unveiled a sweeping, $312 billion bill known as the LIFT America Act last week that, among other things, would invest in America’s health infrastructure.
“As our nation combats COVID-19 and a severe economic downturn, the LIFT... Read More »
In a study funded by the Mayo Clinic and published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases last week, researchers determined that after two doses of mRNA vaccines for COVID-19, asymptomatic patients are less likely to be infected and unknowingly spread the virus.
After two doses of mRNA... Read More »
The single-shot Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine will be available in more places worldwide now, thanks to a conditional marketing authorization granted by the European Commission and emergency use authorization from the World Health Organization (WHO).
The decisions followed similar approval... Read More »
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is espousing the benefits of an AEG 12 mosquito protein study authorities said could help develop treatments to combat life-threatening viruses.
Researchers at the NIH's National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) used X-ray crystallography... Read More »
A study focused on determining whether patients would benefit from a booster for the Moderna, Inc. COVID-19 vaccine has enrolled and dosed its first participants this week.
Moderna’s mRNA COVID-19 vaccine is currently in use across the U.S. and has shown high efficacy against the original... Read More »
Building on its efforts during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) has proposed a $3.5 billion plan to reduce or eliminate future pandemic and epidemic risk through preparedness investment over the next five years.
The organization has sought... Read More »
A professor from Johns Hopkins Center for Health and Security testified before the Maryland General Assembly on the certification of gene synthesis providers and manufacturers of gene synthesis equipment.
Dr. Gigi Gronvall -- senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and... Read More »
Research and development company Battelle announced Tuesday that it had developed a microneutralization assay that uses live SARS-CoV-2 virus to analyze the neutralizing response against the virus in human serum samples.
The assay allows the company to test samples from vaccine clinical trials.... Read More »
CARB-X could award up to $3.5 million, plus up to $18.5 million for successful development milestones, to Affinivax for a vaccine for Staphylococcus aureus bacterial infections, for which treatment options are currently limited.
No vaccine presently exists for S. aureus, despite the high threat... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and MediciNova, Inc. seek to use a new partnership to repurpose the anti-inflammatory MN-166, better known as ibudilast, for use against acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and chlorine exposure.
Traditionally, ibudilast... Read More »
Valneva and Pfizer are getting set to launch a new Phase 2 study on VLA-15, their vaccine candidate for Lyme disease.
The study, VLA15-221, builds on previous positive Phase 2 studies. It incorporates new dose regimens and is anticipated to be the final Phase 2 study before deciding to progress... Read More »
Dr. Rick Bright has been appointed the Rockefeller Foundation as senior vice president of Pandemic Prevention and Response, with responsibilities including leading pandemic prevention institute development.
“We are thrilled to have someone of Rick’s caliber join The Rockefeller... Read More »
A new deal reached between Baxter BioPharma Solutions and Moderna, Inc. this week will see Baxter handle fill/finish services for Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine in the United States, ultimately providing between 60-90 million doses this year.
Baxter’s Indiana facility will handle the... Read More »
Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) officials indicated its recent Global Biosecurity Dialogue resulted in participants pledging to take 12 specific actions to advance global biosecurity along with eight jointly developed priority areas.
More than 170 government officials, health and biosecurity... Read More »
A molecular test for COVID-19 can now be used at home without a prescription, following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) granting of emergency use authorization (EUA) to the Cue COVID-19 Test for Home and Over the Counter (OTC) Use.
A molecular nucleic acid amplification test... Read More »
The preliminary results of a Phase 2a randomized, double-blind trial of the Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics-created oral antiviral for the treatment of COVID-19, molnupiravir, have shown the ability to quickly decrease the infectious virus among patients.
While full results are pending, this... Read More »
Through a deal between the World Health Organization and others with GSK, a rotavirus vaccine will be available to more children living in low-income nations facing humanitarian crises.
The agreement makes use of the multi-partner Humanitarian Mechanism, launched in 2017, where manufacturers... Read More »
Lockheed Martin is touting the successful testing of its next-generation Extended-Range Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (ER GMLRS) munition via an 80-kilometer flight demonstration at White Sands Missile Range.
“Our new Extended-Range GMLRS significantly increases the range of the... Read More »
New research from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis seemingly confirms scientists' and health experts' worst fear that all three of the prominent, fast-spreading variants of COVID-19 can resist vaccines and antibodies currently effective against their forebear.
Published... Read More »
Under a new agreement, Novartis will manufacture the mRNA and bulk drug product for CureVac’s CVnCoV vaccine candidate for COVID-19, with a goal of up to 50 million doses by the end of 2021.
“I am very pleased that with Novartis, we have found another highly experienced partner to support... Read More »
Research from Battelle shows that wastewater analysis can pinpoint neighborhoods that are hotspots for viral outbreaks of COVID-19.
A preliminary report was preprinted on Feb. 20 in the MedRxIv found that by testing wastewater for the presence of SARS-COV-2 and other pathogens, they were able... Read More »
In a new study published on bioRxiv, Soligenix, Inc. reported that its CiVax COVID-19 vaccine demonstrated rapid, broad-spectrum, neutralizing antibody and immunity onset in preclinical studies.
The head stable vaccine used full-length Spike protein antigens to do its work, and at least in... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and Hologic, Inc. are working together to develop the Panther Fusion SARS-CoV-2/Flu/RSV assay, intended to be able to simultaneously detect and differentiate a variety of viruses from a single sample.
While SARS-CoV-2 is a major... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) Silicon Valley Innovation Program (SVIP) announced Tuesday that it would be awarding $196,880 to fund a video analytics program for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
The funding was... Read More »
The biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca said it has initiated steps to provide broad and equitable access to the COVID-19 vaccine, noting doses have begun arriving globally in low and middle-income countries.
“These first steps towards fulfilling our broad, equitable, and no-profit emergency... Read More »
A Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) report examining extremism has determined QAnon escalated from an obscure fringe group to a mainstream movement, but few have committed crimes.
START researchers at the University of Maryland compiled QAnon supporter data regarding those... Read More »
A team, including GE Research, the Broad Institute, DNA Script, MEDInstill, Molecular Assemblies, and the University of Washington, has been awarded a five-year, up to $41 million contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to create a new, quicker vaccine production... Read More »
In what Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky called a great example for the larger pharmaceutical industry, the company has reached a deal with fellow pharmaceutical giant and oft-rival Merck that will unite the pair’s resources to produce Johnson & Johnson’s new COVID-19 vaccine.
Faced... Read More »
Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARB-X) awarded up to $18 million to GSK Biologicals and its affiliate GSK Vaccines Institute for Global Health (GVGH) to develop new vaccines for two different illnesses.
One is a vaccine for Group A streptococcus... Read More »
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has earmarked funding totaling nearly $33 million over four years for five University of California San Diego Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) projects.
The RADx initiative seeks to expedite the development, commercialization, and implementation of... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) recently partnered with LightDeck Diagnostics to create a six-minute SARS-CoV-2 antigen test usable without the need for a full diagnostic laboratory.
This point of care test could be used for on-site screening of suspected... Read More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted emergency use authorization Monday for the Quidel QuickVue At-Home COVID-19 Test.
An antigen test, QuickVue will allow users suspected of having COVID-19 by their healthcare provider within the first six days of symptom onset to quickly collect... Read More »
Lawmakers representing the Committee on Oversight and Reform and Committee on Homeland Security recently conducted joint hearings to examine potential actions after cybersecurity incidents impacting government and private sector networks.
The panels detailed the supply chain attacks targeting... Read More »
The United States will now benefit from the rollout of a third COVID-19 vaccine, following last week’s emergency use authorization (EUA) of the Janssen vaccine by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
That decision came in the wake of recommendations from an advisory panel known as the... Read More »
A new report from Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security found that emergency departments in New York City hospitals were overwhelmed and struggled to maintain conventional standards of care during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The report, “Crisis Standards of Care: Lessons from New York City... Read More »
