Private
Moderna is working toward U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) licensure on an mRNA vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 -- the virus that causes COVID-19 -- with a $483 million award from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).
“Vaccines are a critical tool for saving lives... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) is partnering with the American Red Cross (ARC) to recruit blood donors who have recovered from COVID-19.
BARDA and the ARC are working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to collect convalescent plasma for use as a... Read More »
National Institutes of Health (NIH) scientists maintain N95 respirators can maintain functional integrity for up to three uses when decontaminated effectively.
The findings stem from a study conducted in a controlled laboratory setting. The results are not yet peer-reviewed but are being shared... Read More »
Harried by an ongoing shortage of personal protective equipment for some of the emergency responders who need it most amid the COVID-19 pandemic -- firefighters and EMS workers -- the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) is pitching a survey they hope to present directly to President... Read More »
Efforts begun on a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in February are moving closer to fruition for the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and Sanofi Pasteur, with the announcement of pending non-clinical studies and a Phase 1 clinical trial.
These trials will determine the initial... Read More »
Millions of N95 respirators used by U.S. health care workers in hospital settings can now be sterilized for reuse, helping to combat the spread of COVID-19.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) on April 11 for one such technology that has the... Read More »
Researchers and engineers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Carle Health launched an effort to produce face shields for health professionals responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It stems from a personal protective equipment (PPE) design initiative led by The Grainger... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) is working with Vela Diagnostics USA to develop a rapid diagnostic test for the COVID-19 pandemic.
The rapid diagnostic test would be for use on two instrument platforms, which is needed to test as many people as possible and... Read More »
Ohio State University researchers have received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for a process designed to expand and accelerate COVID-19 testing statewide.
In response to shortages of test kit components, including swabs and vials filled with a liquid called viral transport media... Read More »
The push for convalescent plasma and hyperimmune globulin immunotherapies to use against COVID-19 continues at the federal level, with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) touting collaboration with non-governmental entities to see it done.
These immunotherapies could... Read More »
University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) officials said a new $2.5 million State of Maryland funding allotment would aid in initiating a broader COVID-19 testing initiative expanding testing capability.
"The state is in dire need of increased coronavirus testing, and the School of... Read More »
Rutgers University gained emergency use authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week for a new test utilizing saliva to detect SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
The test comes from Rutgers’ RUCDR Infinite Biologics, the world's largest... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) will pump approximately $180,000 into a new partnership with DiaSorin, Inc. to create a clinical lab test capable of identifying people infected with and recovered from the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes... Read More »
The United Nations Foundation is awarding $10 million to CEPI, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness, to develop a COVID-19 vaccine.
This award is through the UN Foundation’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for the World Health Organization (WHO). The fund was set up to raise funds for... Read More »
Esri, a company that makes geographic information system (GIS) software, is working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help fight against the COVID-19 coronavirus.
Specifically, Esri will provide its mapping and analytics technology in support of a multi-agency geospatial... Read More »
Sanofi will donate 100 million doses of hydroxychloroquine to 50 countries around the world.
The French pharmaceutical company has received an increasing number of requests from local governments around the world for this product. Sanofi’s priority is to ensure supply continuity for patients... Read More »
Boeing recently executed the initial delivery of reusable 3D-printed face shields as a means of supporting healthcare professionals working to halt COVID-19.
“Boeing is proud to stand alongside many other great American companies in the fight against COVID-19, and we are dedicated to... Read More »
Analytical AI of Birmingham, Ala., received a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) funding award to aid Transportation Security Administration (TSA) detection and screening capabilities.
The $199,536 allotment through the Silicon Valley Innovation... Read More »
One of the major problems facing governments and healthcare professionals alike in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic has been the undetected, asymptomatic cases throughout the world, but the National Institutes of Health (NIH) now aims to track the previously unnoticed.
A study to be conducted... Read More »
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) officials reached an agreement with DuPont to obtain Tyvek suits for frontline healthcare workers responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
DuPont will deliver 450,000 Tyvek suits, via FedEx, to the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) from its Hanoi,... Read More »
Nanomix is working to create a 15 minute rapid mobile COVID-19 test, capable of diagnosing current or past infection by SARS-CoV-2 through nasal and throat swabs.
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) is teaming up with Nanomix to achieve this, pumping $569,647 into... Read More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration accepted Inovio Pharmaceuticals investigational new drug (IND) application for its vaccine candidate designed to prevent COVID-19 infection.
This action by the FDA paves the way for Phase 1 clinical testing of this vaccine candidate, INO-4800, in healthy... Read More »
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine researchers maintain when tested in mice a potential vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, the new coronavirus causing the COVID-19 pandemic, produces antibodies for potential neutralization.
The study findings detailed via eBioMedicine, which is published by... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is seeking participants for its third 2020 GPS Testing for Critical Infrastructure (GET-CI) event later this year.
“Accurate and precise position, navigation and timing (PNT) information is vital to the... Read More »
Actemra, a drug more commonly used to treat moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis, will undergo a Phase 3 clinical trial for its potential to help patients suffering from COVID-19, under an expanded partnership between Roche’s Genentech and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development... Read More »
Global healthcare company Grifols is collaborating with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and the United States Department of Defense (DoD) to collect plasma and create a COVID-19 treatment based on it.
The effort is based on previous government calls for... Read More »
The federal Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) is working with OraSure Technology to develop a test for the coronavirus (COVID-19) that could bring testing closer to the patient.
OraSure’s point-of-care test will be available at home and in clinical settings. It... Read More »
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Vir Biotechnology will collaborate to research and develop solutions for coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
The partnership will leverage Vir’s proprietary monoclonal antibody platform technology to identify new anti-viral antibodies... Read More »
Hydroxychloroquine is flooding the Strategic National Stockpile this week as a potential treatment for COVID-19, thanks to a 30 million dose donation from Sandoz and another 1 million gifted by Bayer Pharmaceuticals.
Both hydroxychloroquine sulfate and chloroquine phosphate were given U.S. Food... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) intends to purchase the ID NOW COVID-19 rapid point-of-care test developed by Abbott Diagnostics Scarborough Inc., to expand the supply of diagnostics available to state, territorial and tribal public health labs.
Designed for the ID NOW... Read More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has stepped in to fast-track development of and access to two more investigational therapies for COVID-19 based on convalescent plasma and hyperimmune globulin from human blood.
By using blood donated from those who have recovered from the SARS-CoV-2... Read More »
Mounting a rapid and effective response to emerging public health threats is a continuing challenge, which will only become more important in an increasingly connected world, says Dr. Richard Welch, vice president and head of development services at Emergent BioSolutions Inc., a global life... Read More »
Novartis will initiate a Phase III clinical trial in collaboration with Incyte to evaluate the drug Jakavi for the treatment of severe immune overreactions caused by the coronavirus.
The reaction – called cytokine storm -- can lead to life-threatening respiratory complications in patients... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) announced two new corporate partnerships last week, with the Luminex Corporation and GenMark, Dx, respectively, to get more COVID-19 diagnostic tests to market.
Both are rapid diagnostic tests. The Luminex test draws from nasal... Read More »
Sarah Lofgren’s voice had a tinge of excitement when she explained why the bright green dots on one scientific slide disappeared on the next. The co-investigator at the University of Minnesota Division of Infectious Disease and International Medicine showed how SARS, or severe acute respiratory... Read More »
