Private
A partnership between the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and NOWDiagnostics, Inc. will produce a rapid, point of care, in vitro diagnostic test for COVID-19 known as ADEXUSDx.
Based on the similarly named ADEXUSDx platform, the test proposes rapid detection of... Read More »
The United Kingdom-based biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca launched phase 3 testing of its potential COVID-19 vaccine -- AZD1222 -- in the United States this week, with plans to enroll as many as 30,000 adult volunteers across 80 testing sites.
AZD1222 was originally developed by Oxford... Read More »
The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA) are urging the Food and Drug Administration to make sure that rigorous safety and efficacy data support the approval of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Full licensure of a vaccine is preferable to an Emergency Use... Read More »
Abbott gained emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week for a COVID-19 antigen test known as BinaxNOW, which proposes to test patients for $5, with a 15-minute turnaround on results.
Quick, portable, and affordable, Abbott intends for its tool to be... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) is searching for new ways to deliver vaccines, and to do so, it has found four partners in research: Esperovax, Inc., the University of Connecticut, Vaxess Technologie, and Verndari, Inc.
The two options being investigated... Read More »
AbbVie is teaming up with Harvard University on a $30 million research alliance to study and develop novel therapies against emergent viral infections.
The focus of the research, which will take place at Harvard Medical School (HMS), is on viral infections caused by coronaviruses and other... Read More »
A phase 1 clinical trial for AZD7442, a combination monoclonal antibody treatment for COVID-19 licensed by AstraZeneca, began this week for 48 healthy participants in the United Kingdom.
Throughout the study, researchers will assess the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of the... Read More »
Bavarian Nordic released the results from its Phase 3 study of the freeze-dried formulation of its MVA-BN smallpox vaccine.
The FDA approved the liquid-frozen formulation of the vaccine in September 2019 under the name JYNNEOS. The prior Phase 2 study has shown bioequivalence between the... Read More »
Cleveland, Ohio-based University Hospitals will serve as one of 120 global clinical investigational sites to test Pfizer and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine.
The clinical trial would be initiated at UH Cleveland Medical Center. Dr. Robert Salata, chairman of the Department of Medicine at UH... Read More »
Thanks to the efforts of nearly 40 companies and universities in the state of Maryland, millions of dollars have been dedicated to the research and development of vaccines, therapeutics, and tests for COVID-19, Gov. Larry Hogan announced this week.
Those efforts include millions in funding... Read More »
Northrop Grumman Corporation officials said an Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS) flight test resulted in the Army intercepting a tactical ballistic missile (TBM) and a cruise missile target.
“These two back-to-back successful test events are a testament to the commitment and partnership... Read More »
The Miami International Airport installed seven computed tomography (CT) scanners at six Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoints.
With these changes, passengers traveling through a lane with a CT scanner will be permitted to leave laptops and other electronic devices in their... Read More »
Every county in the United States was scoured for COVID-19 hotspots in a recent study released by University of Utah geographers, providing localized data to track infection clusters and inform local public health policies.
Through space-time statistics, the researchers determined geographic... Read More »
Roche Pharmaceuticals is teaming up with Regeneron to develop and distribute Regeneron’s COVID-19 investigational antiviral antibody combination.
The treatment, known as REGN-COV2, is being developed as a treatment option for people already experiencing symptoms of COVID-19. It also has the... Read More »
Government and technology professional services and solutions provider KBR said the firm has agreed to acquire the technology firm Centauri.
The acquisition via Arlington Capital Partners is for approximately $800 million in cash net of tax benefits.
"KBR has undergone a deliberate, strategic... Read More »
A new, interim report from the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security released this week showcases a path to ethical allocation and distribution of an eventual COVID-19 vaccine, meant to help facilitate those early days after it is first authorized for use.
The Interim Framework for COVID-19... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) issued a call for candidates to submit technologies for a non-invasive febrile temperature screening of COVID-19 to be included in an upcoming market study.
All interested vendors, manufacturers, and... Read More »
Plasma Technologies of Charleston, S.C., signed an agreement with the Department of Defense’s (DOD) Joint Acquisition Task Force (JATF) to develop a process to produce higher-yielding anti-COVID-19 immune serum for scale-up and manufacturing.
A higher yield hyperimmune serum would be an... Read More »
Robert Tipton (Tip) Osterthaler has been appointed by Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross to serve as Chair of the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority) Board.
“Tip Osterthaler has been an instrumental FirstNet Board member who will bring exceptional leadership to the... Read More »
Scientists from the University of Illinois and the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) have designed and tested a decoy protein capable of tricking SARS-CoV-2 -- the virus that causes COVID-19 -- and could potentially lead to a treatment.
Their results,... Read More »
As part of its communal effort to see a potential COVID-19 vaccine fairly manufactured and distributed throughout the world by the end of 2021, the COVAX facility has put out a call for civil society and community organizations (CSOs) to contribute.
COVAX is the brainchild of three... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has taken some steps to implement new authority to speed up innovation of medical countermeasures like vaccines for COVID-19, but has not yet chosen a private, nonprofit partner to work with on this problem, according to a recently released... Read More »
GeoVax Labs is working on a collaboration to develop vaccine candidates for both the Sudan ebolavirus and Marburg virus.
The collaboration is between GeoVax, the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), and Battelle Memorial Institute. The partners will utilize the suite of preclinical... Read More »
University of Washington (UW) researchers have received a $33,000 grant to develop a model using local data to potentially aid in lowering COVID-19 infections in King County.
The UW delegation is one of nine global groups receiving Society for Medical Decision Making's COVID-19 Decision Modeling... Read More »
As part of the federal Operation Warp Speed, the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Defense (DoD) recently announced a partnership with the McKesson Corporation, which will help distribute future COVID-19 vaccines and supplies.
The decision taps an existing Centers for... Read More »
The Marine Corps has awarded a $19 million contract to BAE Systems to develop the prototype design for a Wargaming Center at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia.
“We will build on our experience supporting the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory Wargaming Division and partner with a diverse... Read More »
In an effort to expand SARS-CoV-2 -- the virus that causes COVID-19 -- tests by millions per month, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has invested $6.5 million into two commercial diagnostic laboratories: Aegis Sciences Corporation and Sonic Healthcare USA.
These... Read More »
National Security Forum (NSF) and Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) personnel are espousing the benefits of a recent dialogue session focusing on efforts to track drug cartels.
“An exciting development for our upcoming programs is a new collaboration NSF is building with... Read More »
A new strategy created by Novateur Ventures for treating deadly COVID-19 induced hyperinflammatory response in multiple organs was released to the public this week through the journal Frontiers in Pharmacology.
Co-authored by Ali Ardakani, founder and managing director of Novateur Ventures, and... Read More »
The global non-profit CARB-X awarded $2.91 million to German drug company Evotec SE this week, funding its efforts to develop an entirely new class of broad-spectrum antibiotics meant to treat multidrug-resistant bacterial infections.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 700,000... Read More »
Reps. Andy Barr (R-KY) and Frank Lucas (R-OK) introduced a measure they said is designed to aid universities and research institutions in protecting COVID-19 research from China and Russia cyberattacks.
The legislation would grant universities and research institutions access to cybersecurity... Read More »
Under a new agreement reached with Moderna, Inc., the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Defense (DoD) have ordered 100 million doses of the mRNA-1273 vaccine, a candidate for use against COVID-19.
That vaccine was co-developed by Moderna and the National Institute of... Read More »
With funding from the United States National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the COVID-19 Prevention Network (CoVPN) announced this week that it will undertake two phase 3 trials to determine the efficacy of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against SARS-CoV-2.
SARS-CoV-2 is the... Read More »
As Congress continues to grapple over the next COVID-19 relief package, more than two dozen senators wrote a letter to Senate leadership this week to request inclusion of $15.5 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Whatever form the final legislation takes, they reasoned, funds... Read More »
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is taking a new look at a severe complication of COVID-19 that affects a small percentage of children -- Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) -- through the possibility of a $20 million award for research proposals.
“We urgently need... Read More »
