Research
Researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health expect to shortly begin two trials of convalescent plasma – plasma taken from recovered COVID-19 patients – next week, with an eye on reducing hospital strain and helping both high-risk populations and those getting sick at... Read More »
Clinical trials on four potential vaccine candidates to prevent infection with the virus that causes COVID-19 disease.
The first U.S. patients have been dosed in a clinical trial conducted by Pfizer and BioNTech. They are being held at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine and the University of... Read More »
The search for potential COVID-19 vaccines continues, and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) has issued a call for proposals that could put funds in the hands of organizations with plans to boost development, manufacturing and geographic reach of vaccine candidates.
The... Read More »
Northern Arizona University researchers have developed computer modeling systems designed to predict outcomes of the regional spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19.
The approach is being implemented across Coconino, Navajo, Apache, and Mohave counties in response to the Flagstaff... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) is collaborating with the Mayo Clinic on an expanded access program that will get patients hospitalized with COVID-19 access to convalescent plasma.
Convalescent plasma’s use is built on the idea that those who recover from... Read More »
The first American participants in the Phase 1/2 clinical trial of the BNT162 vaccine program, created by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE, have been dosed as the companies ramp up manufacturing capabilities to meet 2020/2021 capacity needs.
That vaccine is meant to treat COVID-19, the disease that... Read More »
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently launched a national viral genomics consortium to better map the genome of SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind the COVID-19 pandemic.
The SARS-CoV-2 Sequencing for Public Health Emergency Response, Epidemiology and Surveillance (SPHERES)... Read More »
Following the results of two clinical trials for the experimental antiviral drug remdesivir, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) last week, opening it to use as a treatment for those with severe cases of COVID-19.
“Based on evaluation of the... Read More »
A group of 14 Democratic U.S. senators is calling on Congress to include $8 billion in new funding for contact tracing to fight the COVID-19 virus.
Contact tracing is the process of tracking infected people to find out who they have been in contact with to stop the spread of the virus.... Read More »
Thanks in part to another $1.3 million of funding granted by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), an agreement between INOVIO and Richter-Helm BioLogics will expand to support large-scale manufacturing of investigational COVID-19 vaccine INO-4800.
INOVIO originally made... Read More »
Several Congressional leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives are urging federal government officials to take action on the recommendations made by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on the problem of antibiotic resistance.
Antibiotic resistance occurs when germs develop the ability... Read More »
A group of organizations jointly released guidance concerning mosquito-based diseases.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Special Programme for Training and Research of Tropical Diseases (TDR) and the World Health... Read More »
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently launched the $1.5 billion Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) initiative, to infuse funding into innovative technologies aimed at speeding innovation, development, and commercialization of reliable COVID-19 tests.
Those technologies need... Read More »
Biotechnology companies Entos Pharmaceuticals and EpiVax, Inc. announced a partnership this week dedicated to the development of a pan-coronavirus DNA vaccine.
"We are excited to be working with the exceptional team at EpiVax, whose computational approach to optimizing vaccine design is second... Read More »
The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) has released a primer regarding SARS-CoV-2 serology antibody testing, as well as the research and policy questions the effort raises.
“As serological testing for SARS-CoV-2 advances, there are multiple issues that need to be addressed, from... Read More »
The Phase 3 SIMPLE trial of Gilead Sciences Inc’s antiviral drug remdesivir has reached its primary endpoint, supplying positive data that COVID-19 patients administered the drug early fared better than those treated later.
From 397 patients, the study revealed that 62 percent of patients... Read More »
The Cerus Corporation has created the INTERCEPT Blood System as a means to reduce pathogens in red blood cells, and now, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) is collaborating with it to test the system’s capabilities against SARS-CoV-2.
SARS-CoV-2 is the virus... Read More »
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) will invest $3.5 million in Clover Biopharmaceuticals Australia to develop a COVID-19 vaccine.
It is CEPIʻs ninth investment in a COVID-19 vaccine. The investments total $39.6 million.
This latest investment will support Clover... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) announced two partnerships this week in its ongoing fight against COVID-19: America’s Blood Centers, to help collect and distribute convalescent plasma, and InBios International, Inc. to hasten the development of serological... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK) introduced a bill in the House that authorizes additional scientific research to fight the novel coronavirus and other infectious diseases.
The legislation -- the Computing Opportunities to Vanquish Infectious Diseases Research Act of 2020 (the COVID Research Act)... Read More »
Northern Arizona University (NAU) researchers staffing the Pathogen and Microbiome Institute (PMI) have launched the COVID-19 Testing Service Center (CTSC) to grow the SARS-CoV-2 virus and test drugs against it.
"The COVID-19 pandemic is a crisis that requires the whole scientific community... Read More »
An Oxford University vaccine for COVID-19 funded by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) last month has officially advanced into Phase 1 testing, complete with human trials.
Known as ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, the candidate is the third CEPI-funded vaccine to enter Phase 1 trials.... Read More »
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) released its strategy for accelerating research into the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of COVID-19 this week, establishing four key priorities.
These priorities include improving key knowledge of both COVID-19 and the... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) has struck a partnership with Cytovale to develop a rapid diagnostic system for sepsis as part of the COVID-19 pandemic response.
Cytovale’s rapid diagnostic system analyzes the biomechanical properties of immune cells, which... Read More »
From flooding to wildfires to the novel coronavirus, health emergencies have dominated and redefined public life in the last year. Experts say that keeping Americans safe from these disasters requires a well-funded public health system focused on three key areas: prevention, preparedness, and... Read More »
New York State and Bloomberg Philanthropies are working together on a contact tracing initiative to control the infection rate of COVID-19.
Bloomberg Philanthropies, founded by Mike Bloomberg, has committed $10.5 million, along with organizational support and technical assistance, to build out... Read More »
In a new report titled Developing a National Strategy for Serology in the United States, the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security argued for the creation of a national antibody testing strategy in the United States to counteract the spread of COVID-19.
One of the major problems for the U.S.... Read More »
Despite high scores on the Global Health Security (GHS) index, the United States has fundamentally weak health security, the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) warns, and its struggle with COVID-19 has emphasized its inadequate ability to deal with a pandemic.
COVID-19 has spawned more than... Read More »
Though 72 potential vaccines and treatments for COVID-19 are currently under development, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and its federal health partners note that urgency for additional products remains, and to jumpstart possibilities, they have launched a new Coronavirus Treatment... Read More »
Pharmaceutical firm Roche said it has developed and would soon launch its test detecting antibodies in people exposed to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that causes COVID-19.
The Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 serology test can support priority screening of high-risk... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and Tangen Biosciences, Inc. are teaming up to develop a rapid diagnostic test for SARS-CoV-2, capable of producing results within an hour.
The test will be paired with the Tangen GeneSpark, a molecular diagnostic system, and... Read More »
Novartis is proceeding with a Phase III clinical trial to evaluate the use of hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of patients with COVID-19 disease.
The company got the go-ahead from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The trial will involve approximately 440 patients and be conducted at... Read More »
Animal testing of the Gilead Sciences Inc.-created antiviral Remdesivir showed promise against rhesus macaques infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, National Institutes of Health (NIH) scientists said.
This study was led by the NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and... Read More »
A universal Ebola vaccine may fight all four virus species that infect humans, according to preclinical tests of a new treatment at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.
Data published in the Journal of Virology shows the virus could work as a stand-alone protection, but may also... Read More »
In a teleconference between experts from the Immunization Action Coalition, FasterCures and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday, one thing was made abundantly clear: the world needs the best possible vaccines to combat COVID-19 as quickly as possible.
In the opinion of Dr.... Read More »
