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In new data released by Eli Lilly and Company, a cocktail of neutralizing antibodies bamlanivimab and etesevimab reduced COVID-19 related hospitalizations and deaths by 70 percent among more than 1,000 high-risk patients.
According to the report, which was based on the BLAZE-1 phase three... Read More »
Boeing and Sikorsky personnel have detailed its advanced helicopter, DEFIANT X, which will be entered into the Army’s Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) competition.
The companies indicated DEFIANT X would be the fastest, most maneuverable, and most survivable assault helicopter in... Read More »
Although well-tolerated, Merck’s two COVID-19 vaccine candidates -- V590 and V591 -- have been discontinued due to immune responses well below those provided by natural infection or other vaccines.
“We are grateful to our collaborators who worked with us on these vaccine candidates and to... Read More »
The development and deployment of an effective vaccine for COVID-19 could be the turning point in the fight against the deadly pandemic, and companies involved in the process must make specific business and public health considerations simultaneously to help ensure a successful outcome, experts... Read More »
Emergent BioSolutions and Humanigen have signed a contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) services agreement to accelerate the manufacturing of the drug lenzilumab.
Lenzilumab is an anti-human granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) monoclonal antibody designed to prevent... Read More »
In a manuscript posted to a preprint server, Moderna Inc. addressed Monday the results of in vitro neutralization studies of sera from people vaccinated against emerging strains of SARS-CoV-2, which produced lesser, though still protective, results.
Specifically, the variants being fretted over... Read More »
The Nuclear Threat Initiative applauded the Biden Administration for extending the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) with Russia for an additional five years.
The New START agreement was reached in 2011 with Russia to reduce nuclear arms in both countries. The 10-year agreement was... Read More »
COVAX announced last week that a new purchase agreement with Pfizer-BioNTech will secure up to 40 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine for rollout, offering the potential to deliver at least 2 billion doses of vaccines, equitably, by year’s end.
“Today marks another milestone for COVAX:... Read More »
The Oklahoma Pandemic Center for Innovation and Excellence (OPCIE) officially opened in Stillwater, Okla., this week, presenting a new lab, genetic biorepository, and science lab to address public health concerns.
The facility is meant to serve as a frontline of defense against future... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) gave the go-ahead to build two additional National Security Multi-Mission Vessels (NSMV).
These vessels will replace aging training vessels at Maine Maritime Academy in Castine, Me., and Texas A&M Maritime Academy in... Read More »
Chalmers University of Technology researchers have determined that significant genetic transfer between bacteria in our ecosystems and humans may be linked to pathogenic bacteria in humans developing resistance to antibiotics.
"In recent years, we've seen that resistance genes spread to human... Read More »
ConserV Bioscience Limited (CBL) and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) agreed to collaborate this week in creating a universal coronavirus vaccine capable of protecting against coronavirus pathogens of human and animal origin, as well as new mutations, researchers said.
CBL, a... Read More »
The World Health Organization (WHO) hosted a virtual forum last week to identify knowledge gaps and set research priorities for vaccines against COVID-19.
At the forum – attended by more than 2,800 scientists from 130 countries – the participants discussed the safety and efficacy of existing... Read More »
With £2.5 million in funding from UK Research and Innovation, an arm of the government, the G2P-UK National Virology Consortium has been founded to study the threats posed by new SARS-CoV-2 variants increasingly cropping up across the world.
The effects of these mutations have yet to be fully... Read More »
The Departments of Defense (DoD) and Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded $69.3 million to CONTINUUS Pharmaceuticals Inc. last week to support the development of domestic production capability for critical medicines using integrated continuous manufacturing (ICM) technology.
ICM is a... Read More »
Northrop Grumman Corporation's Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System (IBCS), which the company developed with the Army, would proceed with low rate initial production (LRIP).
The action stems from a successful Milestone C decision for the program, which the Department of... Read More »
The Rockefeller Foundation seeks to boost vaccination efforts in the United States with a $30 million new advance market commitment (AMC) with Thermo Fisher Scientific to procure and stock COVID-19 tests.
The investment will provide guaranteed demand to test manufacturers. In return, the stock... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) will be able to purchase more than 2 million additional COVID-19 antibody treatments due to modifications to an existing agreement with Eli Lilly and Company.
The therapeutic in question,... Read More »
As DiaSorin Molecular LLC works to create a combination diagnostic for differentiating between influenza A/B and COVID-19, it will receive funding, technical assistance, and the expertise of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).
The announcement, made this week,... Read More »
Officials at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant in Richmond, Ky., began destroying its next batch of chemical weapons, bringing the nation closer to its goal of eradicating the national stockpile by 2023.
Specifically, a 155-millimeter artillery projectile filled with VX nerve... Read More »
A Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS) and Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) report has determined a blueprint for identifying high-risk or illicit nuclear trade activities at scale.
Signals in the Noise: Preventing Nuclear Proliferation with Machine Learning & Publicly Available... Read More »
Valneva SE and the European Commission (EC) are discussing the possibility of the specialty vaccine company supplying up to 60 million doses of its inactivated, adjuvanted COVID-19 vaccine, VLA2001, for use throughout Europe.
“Today’s announcement helps to ensure that millions of Europeans... Read More »
Specialty vaccine company Valneva appointed Perry Celentano as its interim chief operating officer (COO).
Celentano will serve in the interim role to support the company’s expansion of the manufacturing sites in Livingston, U.K., and Solna, Sweden.
Perry will be based at Valneva’s... Read More »
Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) officials said the company has completed the initial phase of its Unmanned Systems Center of Excellence, which will be used to assemble hull structures.
Construction of the 22,000-square-foot facility serves as the first of two planned buildings on the... Read More »
The International Coordinating Group (ICG) on Vaccine Provision is creating a global stockpile of the single-dose Merck and Sharp & Dohme Corp. Ebola vaccine to guarantee response capabilities for any outbreak, with financial support from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
The stockpile was deemed... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) has partnered with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (NASA JPL) to develop firefighter tracking technology.
The effort would allow first responders to locate team members in burning buildings more accurately.... Read More »
Moderna, Inc. will expand its vaccine efforts with three new development programs targeting mRNA vaccines for HIV, Nipah, and four seasonal flu viruses.
The company also intends to expand its respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine program to older adults.
This is thanks to the... Read More »
The violent suicide bombing that rocked downtown Nashville, Tenn., on Christmas morning and devastated dozens of businesses in the area also exposed the difficulties with an American reliance on reactive, rather than proactive, emergency planning efforts.
While much focus has been placed on... Read More »
Both Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) DRIVe and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) put out a call this week for comments on potential evaluation criteria and testing protocols for an improved mask design challenge.
Input will help... Read More »
A collaboration and services agreement united Bayer and CureVac N.V. this week in support of CureVac’s new class mRNA-based medicines, particularly its COVID-19 vaccine candidate CVnCoV.
Under the agreement, Bayer will support development, supply, and key territory operations through its... Read More »
At least 80 percent to 85 percent of Americans should receive the COVID-19 vaccine for the country to reach herd immunity, said National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins in a Jan. 6 interview with the Washington Post.
“Herd immunity requires the majority of a population to be... Read More »
A new report from the LaJolla Institute for Immunology has revealed that almost all survivors of COVID-19 have the immune cells necessary to fight re-infection.
Based on analyses of blood samples from 188 COVID-19 patients, the findings suggest that the immune system learns to fight specific... Read More »
Lockheed Martin was awarded a $1.28 billion sustainable contract from the Pentagon’s F-35 Joint Program Office.
This Undefinitized Contract Action (UCA) supports operations and sustainment of the global F-35 fleet through June 30, 2021.
"This contract ensures F-35s remain ready to fly and... Read More »
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and NASCAR officials recently joined Daytona International Speedway personnel, first responders, and law enforcement officials in conducting a Daytona 500 fan safety tabletop exercise.
The exercise serves as an example of the planning and... Read More »
Under a $13.5 million contract, Bavarian Nordic A/S announced this week that it would provide supplies of its IMVANEX smallpox vaccine to three European governments in the first half of 2021.
“We are pleased to expand our sales of smallpox vaccines to other countries,” Paul Chaplin,... Read More »
