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The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) has reached an agreement with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals to procure Ebola virus treatment as part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) effort to prepare for public health emergencies.
The treatment, known as... Read More »
First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) officials said the high-speed broadband communications platform dedicated to and purpose built for America’s first responders is expanding across New York state.
Officials are espousing the benefits of adding 22 new FirstNet cell sites and other... Read More »
Under an agreement reached with global biopharmaceutical companies Sanofi and GSK, the U.S. government will pay as much as $2.1 billion for development and delivery of 100 million doses of a vaccine to combat COVID-19.
It’s the largest agreement yet negotiated by Operation Warp Speed and it... Read More »
In pre-clinical data recently published in Nature, Johnson & Johnson’s lead vaccine candidate for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, provoked strong antibody responses in non-human primates, subsequently blocking infection of their lungs.
“We are excited to see these pre-clinical... Read More »
As COVID-19 caused deaths in the United States have crossed 150,000, the Center for Health Security has released a report noting policy actions and data reporting needed at all levels of government to effectively turn the tide against the pandemic.
“Unlike many countries in the world, the... Read More »
A COVID-19 vaccine candidate -- mRNA-1273 -- produced by Moderna, Inc. and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) brought broad immune responses and protection to the upper and lower airways of nonhuman primates, NIAID scientists reported this week.
After two doses of... Read More »
Following review of pre-clinical and phase 1/2 clinical trial data, Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE have selected a single mRNA vaccine candidate from the BNT162 program for use against SARS-CoV-2 -- the virus that causes COVID-19 -- in a global phase 2/3 safety and efficacy trial.
Investigators... Read More »
At sites across the United States, a phase 3 trial of the investigational vaccine mRNA-1273, jointly developed by Moderna, Inc. and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) is set to enroll 30,000 volunteers for testing.
Anyone 18 years of age and older, who does not... Read More »
Emergent BioSolutions Inc. signed an agreement with AstraZeneca to provide contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) services for large-scale manufacturing of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate.
The $174 million deal runs through 2021. It follows an $87 million contract in June for... Read More »
A LabCorp COVID-19 diagnostic test became the first of its kind to gain a United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) emergency use authorization (EUA) last week, for its potential to diagnose COVID-19 infections in those without symptoms.
An EUA was also granted to allow its use in pooled... Read More »
The investment to prevent the spread of infectious disease are well worth it compared to the costs associated with these outbreaks, a new analysis by published in Science by the nonprofit EcoHealth Alliance proclaims.
While zoonotic disease outbreaks like the one that caused the COVID-19... Read More »
Hologic will expand production of its custom sample collection and processing consumables used for COVID-19 tests as part of a $7.6 million investment from the United States Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Defense (DoD).
The contract is "undefinitized," meaning its terms and... Read More »
Progress on protecting nuclear materials and facilities against theft and sabotage has slowed significantly over the past two years, the Nuclear Threat Initiativeʻs 2020 NTI Nuclear Security Index has found.
The decline in the rate of improvement to national regulatory structures and the global... Read More »
A new agreement reached between Bavarian Nordic A/S and AdaptVac for 4 million euros upfront will allow Bavarian to license AdaptVac’s capsid virus like particle (cVLP) technology for coronaviruses.
Of particular note here is that the agreement gives Bavarian global commercialization rights to... Read More »
Up to 600 million doses of a vaccine candidate produced by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech could be acquired by the United States government under a deal penned this week.
All of this would be conditional on the vaccine’s successful manufacture and either Emergency Use Authorization or licensure... Read More »
First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) officials said the high-speed broadband communications platform dedicated to first responders has expanded across North Carolina as a means of advancing public safety communications.
“FirstNet is a dedicated broadband platform for public safety, by... Read More »
CureVac and GlaxoSmithKline plc (GSK) have signed an agreement to work together on the research, development, manufacturing, and marketing of as many as five mRNA-based vaccines and monoclonal antibodies for use against infectious diseases.
By collaborating, CureVac gains access to GSK’s mRNA... Read More »
A coronavirus vaccine developed by Oxford University produced strong immune responses in a phase 1/2 trial of 1,077 people, scientists from the Jenner Institute and Oxford Vaccine Group reported this week, possibly heralding a safe and effective candidate.
The findings of the UK trial, which... Read More »
Several biopharmaceutical companies are working in unprecedented fashion to develop, manufacture and deliver a safe and effective vaccine to combat COVID-19 as soon as is humanly possible.
Executives from five companies developing COVID-19 vaccine candidates — AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Johnson &... Read More »
The United States was just as dangerously unprepared to combat a coronavirus pandemic in 2020 as it was back in 2015, former U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman noted in the opening remarks of the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense’s virtual meeting on Tuesday, setting the tone for a critical examination of... Read More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reissued an emergency use authorization (EUA) to Quest Diagnostics for its COVID-19 test.
The Quest test is the first COVID-19 diagnostic test to be authorized for use with pooled samples containing up to four individual swab specimens collected under... Read More »
Under an agreement with Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE, the United Kingdom will receive 30 million doses of their BNT162 mRNA-based vaccine candidate for SARS-CoV-2, expected to be delivered over the next year.
While the drug -- four vaccine candidates operating under the broader BNT162 category... Read More »
The U.S. Army has awarded FLIR Systems a $21.8 million contract to deliver its Agentase C2 spray to detect G- and V-series nerve agents, which are highly toxic chemical warfare agents.
It is a full-rate production option worth $21.8 million on an indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity (IDIQ)... Read More »
Recently released study findings published in The Lancet Public Health journal has determined contact tracing speed strategies to be essential to slowing COVID-19 transmission.
Contact tracing involves tracking down all of the people who have been in contact with an infected individual so they... Read More »
While treatments for COVID-19 remain under research, Novartis announced a new initiative for low- and middle-income countries this week that will supply 15 generic and over-the-counter medicines at zero-profit as a way of treating symptoms.
The policy is only meant as a hold-over until a vaccine... Read More »
Looking to inform decision making during a pandemic, COVID-Local has created a policy mapping tool and database for communities, giving them a way to measure the effects of their COVID-19-related actions against specific policies.
COVID Analysis and Mapping of Policies is meant to identify... Read More »
The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), along with other infectious disease associations, are opposed to the Trump Administration’s decision to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO).
The decision will weaken the nation’s ability to control the... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) announced a deal to work with Smiths Medical to expand the domestic manufacturing capacity for safety needles and syringes.
BARDA, along with the DoD’s Joint Program Executive Office for... Read More »
The COVAX Facility -- an organization created to guarantee quick and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines throughout the world -- has garnered the interest of 75 countries and plans to support as many as 90 lower-income countries through Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance’s Advance Market Commitment... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) is requesting more funding for potential COVID-19 vaccines in any new coronavirus relief package.
“As you continue your work on critical legislation to respond to the COVID-19 crisis, I write to you today to urge your support for robust funding that will help... Read More »
Sandia National Laboratories is turning to machine learning to assist COVID-19 researchers in combing through existing coronavirus studies and data.
Through a mix of algorithms, analytics, and data mining, Sandia wants to make it easy for scientists to find the data they need right at their... Read More »
Moderna, Inc. expects to begin a 30,000 participant phase 3 study of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate later this month, following the publication of an interim phase 1 analysis that demonstrated a generally safe and well-tolerated reaction among a small group of healthy adults.
The results,... Read More »
The University of Queensland’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate reached a milestone as the first participants were enrolled in its Phase 1 clinical trial.
The university’s vaccine is the seventh that is part of the portfolio of vaccines funded by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness... Read More »
The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) has partnered with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as a means of aiding state and local governments with cyber defense efforts.
The APL and DHS’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) have enlisted the assistance of... Read More »
Boeing recently announced that it has secured an Air Force contract to build the initial eight F-15EX advanced fighter jets and an overall Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity pact.
Officials said the agreement calls for $1.2 billion for the first allotment of aircraft, with the overall... Read More »
