Research
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 »
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 »
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker announced the creation of the COVID-19 Community Tracing Collaborative (CTC) to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus in Massachusetts.
This collaboration with Partners In Health focuses on tracing the contacts of confirmed positive COVID-19 patients and... Read More »
As part of ongoing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) efforts to promote reliable COVID-19 information, it has modified its existing surveillance systems to form a weekly new report known as COVIDView, which will summarize and interpret data each Friday.
The first COVIDView... 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 »
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 »
Emergent BioSolutions is working with the U.S. government to develop a therapy for patients diagnosed with coronavirus, also known as COVID-19.
The partnership is through a $14.5 million grant from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to develop a COVID-Human Immune... Read More »
A research tool known as VirScan will be able to detect evidence of coronavirus from a single drop of blood.
Geneticist Steve Elledge, who helped develop VirScan, has added the virus, formally known as SARS-CoV-2, to VirScan's library of pathogens. This action could potentially help researchers... Read More »
SAb Biotherapeutics, Inc. is now among those companies rushing to produce a COVID-19 treatment, and both the Department of Defense (DoD) and Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) have partnered with it to make it happen.
SAb’s product is called SAB-185 and pushes for... Read More »
Science and technology firm Battelle said its CCDS Critical Care Decontamination System (CCDS) would decontaminate N95 respirator masks at the State University of New York at Stony Brook on Long Island.
The effort would protect frontline healthcare workers by decontaminating up to 80,000 masks... Read More »
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) is urging Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Department of the Health and Human Services (HHS) officials to provide plans addressing COVID-19 treatments and vaccines.
McCaul recently sought feedback from FDA Commissioner Stephan Hahn and HHS Secretary Alex Azar on... Read More »
According to a journal report published by members of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation (CEPI) this week, SARS-CoV-2 -- the virus which causes COVID-19 -- uncovers the advances and ongoing stumbling blocks in vaccine development.
Other outbreaks and epidemics have helped lead... Read More »
Emergent BioSolutions announced Tuesday a partnership agreement with Novavax, under which it will provide molecule-to-market contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) services to produce Novavax’s NanoFlu.
NanoFlu is Novavax’s seasonal influenza vaccine candidate with the proprietary... Read More »
Federal lawmakers in Maryland commended the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for its move to return the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) at Fort Detrick to full operational capacity.
The USAMRIID will now resume conducting its full scope of... Read More »
Battelle and the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center have joined forces to develop a diagnostic test for COVID-19.
The new rapid test will allow for faster turnaround time with results available in as few as five hours. Wexner Medical Center will administer the new test under its... Read More »
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 »
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 »
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 »
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is conducting research to better understand the COVID-19 coronavirus and prevent its spread.
Currently, there is only limited information available about the virus. Researchers at the National Biodefense Analysis... 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 »
Leading global health experts have released a COVID-19 Frontline Guide for local governments designed to provide local health professionals with more information on how to protect their communities.
The online tool features eight indicators of progress for self-assessment and seven key actions... 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 »
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 »
A joint effort between the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Defense (DoD) last week yielded 500,000 swabs and sample kits for COVID-19 testing that otherwise would have been stranded in Italy.
The supplies, produced by the Italian company Copan Diagnostics,... Read More »
A new diagnostic developed by Cepheid gained advanced development support from the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Defense (DoD) this week, pledging potential COVID-19 testing times of just 45 minutes.
Developed for use on another Cepheid product, the GeneXpert diagnostic... 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 »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized the drug chloroquine to be tested as a potential COVID-19 treatment, as part of ongoing efforts to find countermeasures, but the data does not say whether it will work yet, experts warn.
Chloroquine, a malaria, lupus and arthritis... Read More »
