Private
With the need for nasal swabs for COVID-19 tests growing, the United States Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Defense (DoD) have awarded $11.6 million to Puritan Medical Products Company, LLC to expand the domestic production capacity of Cue Sample Wands.
This contract will... Read More »
Three global health entities have formed a group they said would be charged with catalyzing global attention and action, preserving antimicrobial medicines, and averting the disastrous consequences of antimicrobial resistance.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), World... Read More »
Results from clinical trials of AZD1222, a COVID-19 vaccine candidate developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University, made it the third major candidate to post late-stage data, with an average efficacy of 70 percent, but with a lower price point and needs than its competitors.
Whereas the two... Read More »
After displaying 95 percent efficacy in their COVID-19 vaccine candidate, Pfizer and BioNTeach have filed a request to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to grant them an emergency use authorization (EUA) that would allow its rollout next month.
High-risk populations will be the first... Read More »
A new line of X-ray scanners being offered by Viken Detection, ranging from handheld devices to vehicle-focused drive over scanners, offers law enforcement and others the possibility of greater flexibility and capability in contraband detection, including the possibility to see through... Read More »
Lucira Health nabbed the first emergency use authorization (EUA) for an at-home COVID-19 testing kit from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week, opening up a new option for patients age 14 or older who health care providers suspect of having COVID-19.
The diagnostic is a... Read More »
As the world moves closer to one or more potential COVID-19 vaccines, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) has formed a collaborative effort to monitor the emergence of new COVID-19 viral strains and evaluate any impacts they may have on those candidates.
Other coalition... Read More »
Republican leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives are seeking information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on BioSafety Level (BSL)-3 and Animal BSL (ABSL)-3 laboratory capacity to conduct animal model research for COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics, and... Read More »
The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) said the recent successful execution of a missile defense exercise serves as a milestone for the Aegis BMD SM-3 Block IIA program.
Navy sailors aboard the USS John Finn (DDG-113), an Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) System-equipped destroyer, intercepted and... Read More »
According to the Center for American Progress, an independent thinktank, violent crime rates dropped in 10 jurisdictions that enacted comprehensive police reform.
The group analyzed violent crime rates in 10 jurisdictions where the police department fulfilled a reform agreement with the U.S.... Read More »
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is advocating federal lawmakers and law enforcement agencies enhance hate crimes data collection and reporting in the wake of incidents rising.
The ADL said the call to action stems from the FBI’s annual Hate Crime Statistics Act (HCSA) report, determining 2019... Read More »
A SARS-CoV-2 antibody test conceived by DiaSorin Inc. will benefit from an expanded partnership between its creator and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), the pair announced this week.
The enhanced immunoassay detects SARS-CoV-2 -- the virus that causes COVID-19... Read More »
With funding from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Inovio Pharmaceuticals signaled intentions to begin phase two of its Phase 2/3 clinical trial for INO-4800, its COVID-19 vaccine candidate.
"Initiation of our Phase 2 trial... Read More »
BAE Systems, one of the largest defense contractors in the Fort Gordon and Augusta, Ga., area, has secured an additional 17,000 square feet of commercial space to advance services.
“We’re committed to supporting our customer’s mission by bringing innovative solutions that further enable... Read More »
In an initial study published in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology, a saliva-based SARS-CoV-2 antibody test from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health was deemed highly accurate in its capabilities and capable of turning out results within mere hours.
"If our saliva-based assay's... Read More »
Data from the phase three trial of mRNA-1273, a COVID-19 vaccine candidate developed by Moderna, Inc., has shown promising results with a 94.5 percent efficacy rate among volunteers.
“This is a pivotal moment in the development of our COVID-19 vaccine candidate,” Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is partnering with large chain pharmacies and networks of independent pharmacies and regional chains to maximize access to COVID-19 vaccines.
This effort will cover approximately 60 percent of pharmacies throughout the 50 states, the... Read More »
Delegates at the World Health Organization’s virtual World Health Assembly approved a new road map for neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) for 2021−2030.
The road map sets out global targets and actions to align the work of countries, partners, and stakeholders during the next decade. ... Read More »
A Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)-supported COVID-19 treatment by AbCellera Biologics has gained emergency use authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week, representing a major success for all involved.
Specifically, the therapeutic... Read More »
A grant of up to $20 million was awarded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) this week to expand its portfolio of potential COVID-19 vaccines and address gaps in current development.
Significant gains have been made in development... Read More »
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded five companies contracts to develop algorithms as a means of bolstering aerial combat maneuvering.
Boeing, EpiSci, Georgia Tech Research Institute, Heron Systems, and physicsAI would develop artificial intelligence agents expanding... Read More »
In studying 98 million Americans, a Stanford and Northwestern University team of researchers has created a computer model to chart how COVID-19 infections spread through urban areas -- and it has already accurately predicted spread in 10 major cities.
"We built a computer model to analyze how... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) is innovating in terms of how it will invest in projects, creating a new public-private partnership known as BARDA Ventures, based on the 21st Century Cures Act and venture capital methods.
As a result, BARDA seeks proposals... Read More »
Argentum Medical has been awarded a contract by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for its Silverlon burn dressings.
The Silverlon burn dressings will be used for patients affected by mass casualty incidents,... Read More »
Air Force officials recently commended the role Sandia National Laboratories played in providing virtual means that aided a critical B61-12 Life Extension Program test flight aboard the F-35A Lightning II jet fighter.
Under the National Nuclear Security Administration's guidance, the test was... Read More »
A neutralizing antibody developed by Eli Lilly and Company -- bamlanivimab --for use on COVID-19 earned emergency use authorization from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week, specifically for treating mild to moderate cases.
Now, the drug can be utilized on those 12... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) has awarded $198,407 to iProov Ltd. to help the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) streamline cross-border travel at ports of entry while still ensuring a high degree of confidence when verifying the... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) will provide technical assistance on a Phase 3 clinical trial underway to evaluate the drug lenzilumab being developed by Humanigen.
The drug is designed to prevent or treat an immune hyper-response called a cytokine storm.... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) announced last week that it will collaborate with Mesa Biotech, Inc. on its rapid combination test meant to diagnose and differentiate between SARS-CoV-2 – the virus behind COVID-19 – and influenza.
Known as Accula, the test... Read More »
Pfizer and BioNTech reported on Monday that their joint COVID-19 vaccine candidate is more than 90 percent effective at preventing infection among those without evidence of prior exposure.
“Today is a great day for science and humanity,” Dr. Albert Bourla, Pfizer chairman and CEO, said.... Read More »
BAE Systems is slated to build a facility in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, utilizing an investment of more than $100 million to support its military GPS products line.
The effort is in conjunction with the company's newly acquired Navigation & Sensor Systems business. The effort would unite local design... Read More »
In the wake of wildfires that have devastated much of Oregon this year, Erickson Aero Tanker of Hillsboro, Ore., won a $70.5 million federal contract for large air tanker services to aid wildland firefighting both in-state and abroad.
U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) both... Read More »
The U.S. Army announced contracts of up to $1.1 million each with nine small businesses and nonprofit research institutions last week to develop technologies capable of meeting certain military challenges.
These contracts will push contractors to spend six to 18 months, creating demonstration... Read More »
In comments made to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) this week, major medical societies blasted efforts to change visa rules, citing concerns over limits the “arbitrary and disruptive” change would impose and pleading for exemptions for physicians.
Together, the societies -- which... Read More »
Through a new contract announced this week, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) will provide up to $30 million to Invirsa, a small Columbus, Ohio, biopharmaceutical company, for a treatment that could hold the cure to DNA-damage from sulfur mustard injuries in... Read More »
