Research
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 »
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 »
The virus responsible for COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, can remain stable for hours or even days in aerosols and on surfaces, according to a new study published by the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UCLA and Princeton University.
Coronaviruses are known for... 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 »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) announced that two tests to detect the COVID-19 coronavirus are in development.
The tests would be able to produce results in approximately one hour.
The Biomedical... 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 »
A revealing study from The Lancet, published last week, revealed previously unknown details of the first case of person-to-person transmission of SARS-CoV-2 -- the cause of COVID-19 -- in the United States.
In this case, a woman who had recently traveled to China transmitted the infection to her... Read More »
As testing backlogs grow across the U.S., Hackensack Meridian Health of New Jersey announced last week that its Center for Discovery and Innovation (CDI) has created a rapid diagnostic for COVID-19 capable of reducing test times to mere hours.
The test allows the health network to quarantine... Read More »
Virginia, Connecticut, and Colorado are the three states that are most prepared for public health and natural disasters, according to a new study by QuoteWizard, an online insurance marketplace.
The report evaluated six factors from Trust for America's Health report, "Ready or Not: Protecting... Read More »
Emergent BioSolutions Inc. announced Wednesday that it is adding to the list of potential novel coronavirus treatments by beginning work on two plasma-derived candidates meant to treat and prevent COVID-19 and its cause, SARS-CoV-2.
Both products, COVID-HIG and COVID-EIG, will be developed on... Read More »
A group of U.S. Senators recently asked the U.S. Bureau of Prisons (BOP) and the three largest private prison operators about the procedures they have in place to manage a potential spread of the coronavirus in federal prisons.
Over 175,000 individuals are incarcerated in federal prisons and... Read More »
A report by the National Law Enforcement Officer Memorial Fund finds that law enforcement officers face a higher risk of death and injury traveling to the scene of an incident than at the actual scene itself.
The report revealed that vehicle-related collisions are one of the leading causes of... Read More »
Those infected by SARS-CoV-2 -- the newly identified virus which causes COVID-19 -- could walk around without symptoms for an average of five days, but as many as 12, according to new U.S.-based research.
Through analysis of cases from China and abroad, the team determined that anyone still... Read More »
A new molecular diagnostic test created by Hologic, Inc. to quickly identify the virus that causes COVID-19 will receive advanced development support from the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).
The test could theoretically be attached to a system capable of... Read More »
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness (CEPI) welcomed this week a £20 million ($26.2 million) investment from the U.K. government while highlighting the need for upwards of $2 billion to develop a vaccine against the virus that causes COVID-19.
CEPI, a global partnership dedicated to the... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) recently updated a broad agency announcement to solicit new medical products capable of diagnosing, preventing, or treating coronavirus infections, with an eye on COVID-19.
BARDA, as part of the Department of Health and Human... Read More »
Virologists still don’t know a lot about the coronavirus (COVID-19), but expect important facts surrounding length of incubation and repeat infections to be answered in the coming weeks as public and private institutions introduce widely available testing for the dangerous disease, a panel of... Read More »
As both the public’s and lawmakers’ concerns over the spread of COVID-19 continue to mount, Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced it will accelerate its set timeline for the development of a DNA vaccine targeting the virus.
The vaccine has been underway since January when Chinese... Read More »
The bipartisan Cure the Coronavirus Act ( H.R. 6019) was introduced this week in the House in response to a growing presence of COVID-19 in the United States.
Through the legislation, U.S. Reps. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Rep. Tony Cárdenas (D-CA-), Rep. Peter King (R-NY), and Rep. Jaime Herrera... Read More »
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) a portfolio management recommendation regarding the agency’s nuclear weapon stockpile modernization efforts.
The GAO said the recommendation stemmed from the NNSA modernizing the nation's... Read More »
U.S. House and Senate leaders reached an agreement on an $8.3 billion emergency supplemental appropriations package on Wednesday to fund the nation’s response to the coronavirus outbreak, including critical funding for vaccine research and development.
“Today Democrats and Republicans in... Read More »
Right-wing extremists were responsible for a majority of extremist-related murders in the United States last year, according to a report by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).
Of the 42 extremist-related murders in the nation last year, 38 were committed by individuals subscribing to various... Read More »
