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Over the course of a two-day forum this week, the World Health Organization (WHO) brought together leading health experts and major research funders to discuss COVID-19.
They addressed the novel coronavirus from all angles: assessing current knowledge, identifying gaps, and collaborating on the... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) intends to add a new layer to its relationship with Janssen Research & Development as part of efforts to contain COVID-19 -- the 2019 novel coronavirus -- through shared R&D costs on the company's investigational vaccine.
The Biomedical... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services created the first Foundry for American Biotechnology to produce technological solutions to enhance medical care and respond to health security threats.
The Foundry will be located in Manchester, N.H., and managed by the Advanced Regenerative... Read More »
In the wake of the global coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, policymakers and the public are asking what more could have been done to prevent the spread of that disease.
Public health officials participated on Monday at the Hudson Institute in a panel discussion to answer that question. The talk,... Read More »
Researchers at the University of Oklahoma received a $730,000 grant from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) last week, to aid their investigations of emerging diseases -- research made all the more timely by the emergence of the Chinese novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV).
The... Read More »
The second wave of Americans arrived in California on Wednesday, traveling from Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the coronavirus (2019-nCoV) epidemic. They will spend days on military bases in quarantine as public health officials determine if there are any cases of the virus and to treat those... Read More »
An existing relationship between the U.S. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will be extended under a new arrangement to develop a treatment for the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV).
"Emerging infectious diseases can present... Read More »
Pattern Bioscience was awarded $6.8 million in funding to develop a test to diagnose drug-resistant infections quickly.
The rapid identification and antimicrobial susceptibility test (ID/AST) will provide health professionals with information about which pathogen is causing the infection and... Read More »
BAE Systems was awarded a prime position on a $212 million contract by the U.S. Navy’s Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) to integrate its critical communication systems.
BAE Systems will design, acquire, integrate, and test radio systems for new Guided Missile Destroyers... Read More »
Research biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences announced last week that it has joined efforts to contain the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) through requested release of an experimental drug known as remdesivir.
Remdesivir is not yet licensed or approved anywhere in the world. However,... Read More »
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) is calling for actions to counter the rapidly spreading novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) this week, with a new vaccine-focused request for proposals, millions in funding additions, and new partnerships.
CEPI desires rapid development and... Read More »
The Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) has offered recommendations for the United States to prevent and respond to potential biological catastrophes, such as the novel coronavirus.
NTI officials say global biological catastrophes may not only impact millions of lives but could have a huge impact on... Read More »
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and biopharmaceutical company CureVac AG announced that, as of last week, they are linked in the effort to accelerate development of vaccines against the novel coronavirus (nCoV-2019).
While the pair had already been partnering to create... Read More »
The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) adopted a positive opinion for the approval of Emergent Biosolutions’ oral cholera vaccine, Vaxchora.
Authorization from the European Commission is anticipated within three months. The marketing... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) introduced a bill that seeks to ensure that federal prosecutors can effectively enforce the federal hate crimes law.
Since it was passed in 2009, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act in 2009, federal courts... Read More »
A collaboration between Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Beijing Advaccine Biotechnology Co. announced last week intends to take on the rapidly spreading novel coronavirus -- 2019-nCoV -- through advancement of the INO-4800 vaccine.
Inovio recently began developing INO-4800 through Phase 1... Read More »
DNA synthesis technologies— a cornerstone of life sciences research and biotechnology development—are becoming more advanced and commercially available. Although much of this technology is used for clinical diagnosis and treatment, its potential exploitation may lead to ominous biological... Read More »
Scientists from the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research turned to an old plant virus -- the tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) -- as the foundation for a new research effort: a second-generation malaria vaccine candidate.
Demonstrated in the Proceedings of the National Academy Sciences, the... Read More »
With those infected by the novel coronavirus – 2019-nCoV – now topping 7,000, the World Health Organization (WHO) and World Economic Forum have jointly created a public-private collaboration known as the Pandemic Supply Chain Network (PSCN) to drive the emergency supply chain.
The network... Read More »
As the outbreak of novel coronavirus -- 2019-nCoV -- continues unabated, a meeting of top officials from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the People’s Republic of China this week aimed to lockdown next steps for a unified assault on the virus.
The biggest news to come out of the meeting... Read More »
Raytheon Company has secured a five-year, $197 million contract Air Force contract to aid the branch in modernizing its missile warning architecture.
The effort involves developing the Future Operationally Resilient Ground Evolution (FORGE) Mission Data Processing Application Framework (MDPAF),... Read More »
Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) CEO and Co-Chairman Ernest J. Moniz called on public and private sector leaders at last week’s 50th World Economic Forum (WEF) to work to reduce the biological risks associated with advances in technology.
Safety and security measures have not kept pace with... Read More »
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued the Department of Commerce a series of recommendations addressing FirstNet contract oversight with state officials and other stakeholders.
FirstNet has been tasked with establishing a nationwide broadband network for public safety officials,... Read More »
Faced with a novel coronavirus -- 2019-nCoV -- that continues to spread worldwide, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced this week that it will commit $10 million toward containment in China and Africa.
The funds will be split down the middle: $5 million will go to response support in... Read More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has joined the international effort to fight the Wuhan coronavirus -- a novel coronavirus known as 2019-nCoV -- through assistance to developers, a public information campaign and diagnostics development.
“We have a vital mission to protect and... Read More »
Two new reports reveal a weak pipeline for new antibiotics to combat drug-resistant infections.
The World Health Organization (WHO) says this is due to declining private investment and the lack of innovation in the development of new antibiotics.
“Never has the threat of antimicrobial... Read More »
Confirmed infections of the Wuhan coronavirus reached five people in the United States over the weekend, with already known cases in Washington state and Chicago being joined by new patients in California and Arizona.
In all cases, the patients recently returned to the United States from Wuhan,... Read More »
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed a second U.S. case of the Wuhan coronavirus on Friday, pointing to a patient in Chicago while revealing that 63 other possible cases are being tracked across 22 states.
Though Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC’s National Center... Read More »
The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) issued a warning this week on the discovery of the Wuhan coronavirus in the United States, stating strong prevention and control practices, safety equipment, and funding support are critical to moving forward.
The Wuhan coronavirus -- known to... Read More »
The City of Port St. Lucie, Fla., received a $1 million federal grant to install fiber optic cables to improve emergency communication systems.
The grant came through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP). The city will use the money to install more... Read More »
Georgia Tech Applied Research Center (GTARC) received a $704,000 research and development contract from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) to help improve the public safety community’s information sharing and safeguarding (IS&S)... Read More »
A pair of researchers at George Mason University -- associate professor Aarthi Narayanan and assistant professor Remi Veneziano -- have received funding from the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA) for work on a new vaccine design.
That design has the potential to... Read More »
Thanks to data unveiled through Freedom of Information Act requests, the nonprofit EcoHealth Alliance launched the largest scale database of U.S. animal imports in history last week and, in the process, revealed that the nation imported more than 3.2 billion live animals over 15 years.
The data... Read More »
A technology system developed and licensed by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to track and secure radiological material will be produced and deployed into Latin America under a new arrangement between PNNL and Golden Security Services of Miami.
The Mobile Source Transit Security... Read More »
BAE Systems has acquired Collins Aerospace’s Military Global Positioning System (GPS) business, as well as Raytheon’s Airborne Tactical Radio operation.
The asset purchase agreement for the Collins enterprise calls for cash totaling $1.925 billion, with an expected tax benefit of... Read More »
