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Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc have begun patient treatment outside the United States as part of an evaluation of Kevzara (sarilumab) in patients hospitalized with severe cases of COVID-19.
The effort is part of Phase 2 and 3 trials in Italy, Spain, Germany, France, Canada, and... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) is speeding up timelines for clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccine candidates produced by Janssen Research & Development and Moderna.
“Vaccines are essential to saving lives,” BARDA Director Rick Bright said. “Delivering a... Read More »
Apple released an app and web site to help guide Americans through a series of questions about their health and exposure to determine if they should seek care for COVID-19 coronavirus symptoms.
The technology company developed the app and web site in partnership with the White House... Read More »
Battelle is manufacturing a system to rapidly decontaminate N95 respirator masks and other medical protective equipment.
The Battelle Critical Care Decontamination System (CCDS) is capable of decontaminating up to 80,000 masks per day and even more pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE)... Read More »
A bipartisan group of lawmakers is seeking to expedite Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidance regarding allowing distilleries to continue manufacturing hand sanitizer in the wake of shortages created by COVID-19.
Reps. Andy Barr (R-KY) and John Yarmuth (D-KY) have led the initiative,... Read More »
Abbott became the latest company to release a COVID-19 diagnostic last week, pledging test turnaround times of as little as five minutes.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted the test emergency use authorization last week. It is meant to run on another Abbott product, the ID NOW... Read More »
The Strategic National Stockpile grew by 31 million doses of various medications this weekend, as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) took on donations that may, eventually, aid clinical trials or be used to treat those hospitalized with COVID-19.
To be clear, none of those... Read More »
Johnson & Johnson wants to begin human testing of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate by September as part of a $1 billion joint investment between the company and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The end goal is to create a billion vaccines for emergency pandemic use to be... Read More »
The Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) hosted a virtual summit last week to foster collaboration among government agencies and biopharmaceutical innovators to eradicate coronavirus (COVID-19).
The two-day virtual event allowed companies working on treatments and vaccines to come... Read More »
Clinical trials for the potential COVID-19 antiviral remdesivir are getting underway at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), which announced this week that it is enrolling patients for two studies.
The test, developed by Gilead Sciences Inc., is a general-purpose antiviral first... Read More »
Entos Pharmaceuticals, a Canadian biotechnology company, is working on a DNA vaccine candidate for SARS-CoV-2 -- the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 -- and intends to test it on animal models.
The vaccine, produced using a proprietary drug delivery platform, offers yet another potential... Read More »
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded a rapid response research (RAPID) grant to a Northwestern University researcher to develop a new self-sanitizing medical face mask.
The funding initiative stems from the NSF calling for immediate proposals addressing the spread of... Read More »
BAE Systems has secured a $339 million contract modification from the Army to address long-term readiness and modernization needs of the M109 self-propelled howitzer program.
The scope of work would include the production of 48 vehicle sets of M109A7 Self-propelled Howitzer (SPH) and its... Read More »
Professional services and technologies firm KBR has secured a $26.8 million task order to provide additional Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) cybersecurity engineering support.
The agreement aids the AFLCMC’s Engineering Directorate Cyber Systems Engineering Division in... Read More »
The U.S. government has reached collaboration agreements with three more companies in the ongoing effort to create rapid COVID-19 diagnostic tests and fill the divide between demand and supply.
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) is involved in all three cases. It... Read More »
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has formed partnerships with the manufacturing and biotech industries to increase the state's supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) and other medical supplies to battle the coronavirus.
The partnerships with the Illinois Manufacturers' Association (IMA) and the... Read More »
Merck & Co. officials said the firm has provided 500,000 personal protective masks to New York City as part of efforts to address the COVID-19 outbreak.
“COVID-19 is a generational challenge to the global community,” Merck Chairman and CEO Kenneth C. Frazier said. “At Merck, we embrace our... Read More »
The global medicines company Novartis has committed to donating up to 130 million doses of generic hydroxychloroquine to support the COVID-19 pandemic response.
Hydroxychloroquine, in addition to chloroquine, is currently under evaluation in clinical trials for COVID-19 treatment. Novartis is... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) will provide additional support for the development of Kevzara as a potential treatment for COVID-19.
Kevzara -- developed under a collaboration between Regeneron and Sanofi... Read More »
Everlywell announced that an at-home test kit for COVID-19 would be available, starting Monday, March 23.
The initial supply of 30,000 tests is a significant increase in total COVID-19 tests that have been processed in the United States to date. The company plans to have testing and diagnosis... Read More »
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) will invest $4.9 million in a consortium working to develop a COVID-19 vaccine candidate.
The investment and partnership include the Institut Pasteur in Paris, Themis Bioscience, an Austrian biotechnology company, and the University of... Read More »
A new novel coronavirus test developed by the Georgia Esoteric and Molecular (GEM) Laboratory at the Georgia Department of Pathology promises diagnosis turnaround capabilities of just two hours.
At this time, the test is meant for patients of the Augusta University Health System. That said, Dr.... Read More »
While the preparations for COVID-19’s rapid spread through the United States have been widely noted as lacking, public health experts now are calling for public health officials -- not healthcare providers or politicians -- to take charge of the crisis and guide both the response to it and... Read More »
In the expanding efforts to find a solution to testing efforts against COVID-19, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) has provided $561,330 to Mesa Biotech, Inc. for development of a new diagnostic test.
This funding -- along with technical expertise -- will help... Read More »
Expanding its efforts to bring COVID-19 vaccines to fruition, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) invested $620,000 into the development of a new vaccine candidate designed by the University of Hong Kong.
“I'm thankful for the support from CEPI,” HKU President Xiang... Read More »
Emergent BioSolutions has struck an agreement with Vaxart, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, to develop and manufacture Vaxart’s experimental oral vaccine candidate for the COVID-19 coronavirus.
As part of the deal, Emergent will utilize its molecule-to-market contract development and... Read More »
Emergent BioSolutions Inc., world-renowned as a bioterrorism expert, is also utilizing its contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) status to help quash the coronavirus disease COVID-19.
“For 22 years, Emergent has focused on products and services that address serious public... Read More »
The World Bank and the International Finance Committee (IFC) approved a $14 billion financing package to assist companies and countries in their efforts to respond to the spread of COVID-19.
About $8 billion of that is from IFC, which is a member of the World Bank Group. It will increase its... Read More »
The measures announced by the Trump administration to control the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus have been endorsed by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and its HIV Medicine Association.
IDSA officials said an “all-sector, all-society response” is essential to reducing... Read More »
The research organization RAND Corporation recently offered an assessment of the Space Force’s role, determining most space activities in the Department of Defense should be moved into the new service.
“Launching a Space Force offers the opportunity to increase U.S. military capability,... Read More »
The first participant in the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases-funded (NIAID), Phase 1 clinical trial of a COVID-19 vaccine received their first dose this week, officially beginning an approximately six-week program.
The investigational vaccine, mRNA-1273, will be tested on... Read More »
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) is looking to invest up to $2 billion to develop a COVID-19 vaccine.
The $2 billion funding call will enable CEPI to expand the number of vaccine candidates to increase the chances of success and fund clinical trials for these... Read More »
World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Foundation officials said the newly launched (COVID-19) Solidarity Response Fund would raise funds from donors to aid countries responding to the pandemic.
The endeavor, created by the WHO, the United Nations Foundation, and the Swiss... Read More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued its fourth COVID-19 related diagnostic Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) this week, tapping Thermo Fisher for its TaqPath diagnostic test.
The TaqPath Combo Kit contains both assays and controls necessary to detect RNA from the SARS-CoV-2 virus... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) announced last week the grand prize winner of its Escape Respirator Prize Challenge.
The contest was launched in December 2018, seeking proposals from innovators for a compact, discreetly-carried escape... Read More »
