News
Sens. Hoeven and Cramer tout Grand Forks AFB plans
Two North Dakota Senators are touting infrastructure improvements at Grand Forks Air Force Base (AFB) and the 319th Reconnaissance Wing (RW) that would lead to future Air Force Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance (ISR) missions. Sens. John Hoeven (R-ND) and Kevin Cramer (R-ND) helped secure... Read More »
Zalgen to supply Lassa Fever antibody testing kits for CEPI study in West Africa
The largest ever Lassa Fever study in West Africa secured the means of testing this week, thanks to a contract between the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and Zalgen Labs LLC, which will supply antibody testing kits for up to 7,000 participants. Zalgen, a biotechnology... Read More »
Trial data shows Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 booster shot provides sizeable antibody uptick
New data released by Johnson & Johnson this week showed that using its single-shot COVID-19 vaccine as a booster for the previously vaccinated could provide as much as a nine-fold increase in antibodies for patients at least 18 years old. The news follows interim reports from July, published in... Read More »
Air Force selects Cyber Warfare Wing site
Air Force officials said the military branch has selected Ohio’s Mansfield-Lahm Air National Guard Base as the preferred venue for a new Cyber Warfare Wing mission. Officials said the transformation would support Air Combat Command’s future requirements -- resulting in operational mission... Read More »House Republicans press NIH and NIAID for further details on Wuhan Lab biosafety concerns
Republican leaders on the House Energy and Commerce Committee this week queried the director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Dr. Francis Collins, with more questions in the saga of the Chinese Wuhan Institute of Virology, its research and the origins of COVID-19. Writers included... Read More »
Emergent BioSolutions’ candidate part of federal trial for out-patient COVID-19 treatment
A plasma-derived COVID-19 candidate from Emergent BioSolutions Inc. is part of a late-stage federal study that will test the therapy as a potential outpatient treatment for people who are at high risk of developing severe disease, including adults 55 and older and those who are... Read More »
Phase 2/3 trial launched for Chikungunya vaccine in Costa Rica
Vaccination has begun for a Phase 2/3 trial of Bharat Biotech International Ltd’s (BBIL) Chikungunya vaccine candidate, through a partnership with the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) in Costa Rica. The Costa Rican trial of BBV87, the official name for the candidate, marks the... Read More »
BARDA accepting partners to create diagnostic assays for respiratory RNA viral pathogens
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) placed a call for partners this week to aid the organization in developing new sequencing-based, agnostic diagnostic tests better capable of detecting respiratory RNA viruses. Potential partners will be able to help guide the... Read More »
DHS S&T exploring situational awareness of small unmanned aircraft
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) has earmarked $500,000 to a San Diego, Calif.-based firm to test small unmanned aircraft system (sUAS) settings. Officials said Planck Aerosystems would provide further testing and deployment of sUAS in Customs... Read More »Briefing sought on Taliban access to U.S. military equipment
A pair of lawmakers have forwarded correspondence to the Department of Defense, seeking a briefing and information related to the Taliban’s access to U.S. military equipment in Afghanistan. In a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, House Committee on Oversight and Reform Ranking Member... Read More »
Moderna applies for full U.S. licensure of its COVID-19 vaccine following Phase 3 study success
With data from its Phase 3 COVE study showing a COVID-19 vaccine with 93 percent effectiveness, Moderna, Inc. has officially filed for a biologics license application (BLA) to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that would lead to full licensure. It’s an important step, which... Read More »
DHS funds target sensor system development
Honolulu, Hawaii-based Oceanit Laboratories has secured a $949,999.78 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program award for sensor system development. While sensors that include range finders, thermal imaging devices, and radio frequency detectors are... Read More »
U.S., Singapore expand cybersecurity cooperation initiative
The United States and Singapore reached an agreement that seeks to expand cybersecurity cooperation efforts between the nations. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) -- signed by Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Director Jen Easterly and Chief Executive of the Cyber... Read More »
Soligenix demonstrates filovirus vaccine platform capabilities for multiple heat stable candidates
Through publication of data in Vaccine, this week Soligenix showcased the capabilities of its filovirus vaccine platform to formulate and provide heat stabilization for multiple antigen combinations of vaccine candidates: monovalent, bivalent, and trivalent. The single-vial platform project was... Read More »
Bavarian Nordic begins Phase 2 clinical trial of COVID-19 booster vaccine
A 210-person Phase 2 clinical trial for the COVID-19 vaccine candidate, ABNCoV2, began this week to determine its potential as a booster vaccine for those who have either caught the disease previously or been otherwise vaccinated. Licensed by Bavarian Nordic A/S and developed by AdaptVac, the... Read More »
Northrup opens new Colorado Springs building
Northrup Grumman Corporation announced Monday it had opened a new building in Colorado Springs to support its advanced missile defense and strategic deterrent businesses. The new facility will feature advanced engineering, research labs, software development factories and a high-speed,... Read More »
DHS exploring crowd count, analysis technology
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) officials said the agency is exploring the use of technology to aid with crowd count and analysis. Officials cited the potential to prevent delayed, inadequate, or misplaced responses to crowds in detailing a request... Read More »Astra-Zeneca COVID-19 antibody therapeutic shows promise in Phase 3 trial
Results of a Phase 3 clinical trial have shown that AstraZeneca’s antibody combination for COVID-19, AZD7442, cuts the risk of symptomatic COVID-19 cases by 77 percent for at least three months. That is dependent on the treatment being taken prior to infection. However, the antibodies used in... Read More »
Lawmakers express Taliban prisoner release concerns
A trio of lawmakers have forwarded correspondence to White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan regarding detainees reportedly released from detention facilities in Afghanistan after Taliban seizure of the country. Reps. John Katko (R-NY), Michael McCaul (R-TX), and Mike Rogers (R-AL)... Read More »
WHO forms new advisory group on origins of novel pathogens
With the formation of a new Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO), the World Health Organization (WHO) is calling for experts to lend their knowledge on the origins of pathogens with wide-reaching potential. This multidisciplinary group will consist of up to 25... Read More »
DoD Activates Civil Reserve Air Fleet to Assist with Afghanistan Efforts
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin ordered the Commander of the U.S. Transportation Command to activate Stage I of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) on Sunday. The activation will provide the U.S. Department of Defense with access to commercial air mobility resources to help in the... Read More »
FDA grants first full COVID-19 vaccine approval to Pfizer-BioNTech
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday granted full approval to Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine for use among patients 16 years and older, making it the first of the disease’s vaccines to cross beyond conditional use. Since Dec. 11, 2020, the mRNA-based vaccine had... Read More »
Congressional watchdog: HHS, DHS, DOD, USDA must mutually prepare for biological threats
While key federal agencies prepared interagency response plans and conducted 74 interagency exercises from 2009 through 2019 to prepare for and respond to a wide variety of biological incidents, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently determined that the agencies weren’t on the same... Read More »
Rep. Pocan introduces bill to bolster efforts to vaccinate 30 percent of the world’s poorest populations
U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) introduced legislation Wednesday that seeks to divert a small percentage of military spending towards global vaccination efforts, vaccinating potentially an additional 30 percent of the world’s low-income population within a year. The COVID Defense Act would... Read More »
Abandoned Afghanistan military equipment accountability sought
A group of lawmakers recently forwarded correspondence to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin seeking a complete account of military equipment left behind in Afghanistan. U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) joined 23 Senate colleagues in penning the letter to Austin. The equipment has already or risks... Read More »
FirstNet board approves authority’s operations, investment budget
The governing body of FirstNet Authority, the only nationwide, high-speed broadband communications entity dedicated to and purpose-built for first responders, has approved the platform's Fiscal Year 2022 budget. The First Responder Network Authority Board passed a $253 million budget focusing on... Read More »
Soligenix filovirus vaccine candidates prove effective, heat stable in preclinical data
According to preclinical data produced by Soligenix, Inc. this week, positive, effective results have been demonstrated by multiple filovirus vaccine candidates. In collaboration with the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Soligenix’s vaccines proved capable against three potentially deadly... Read More »
CDC to launch new center for disease outbreak forecasting, public health data access
Utilizing initial funding from the American Rescue Plan, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) unveiled plans this week for a new Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics, focused on forecasts of disease outbreaks and analytics for public health. The new center will be... Read More »
Secretaries, Haaland, Vilsack announce new pay initiative for wildland firefighters
U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Tuesday that they would be implementing President Joe Biden’s pay increases for federal wildland firefighters. The announcement ensures that the approximately 3,500... Read More »
DHS releases parameters of proposed NYC airflow study
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) recently composed an Environmental Assessment draft regarding a New York City aerosol particle behavior study. “This study is part of the Department’s ongoing commitment to public safety against the... Read More »
FEMA resource examines natural hazard risks
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced this week that it has launched the National Risk Index, designed to provide guidance regarding nationwide natural hazard risks. Authorities indicated the resource also seeks to inform and educate communities as a means of helping to reduce the... Read More »
DHS awards more than $980K to North Carolina firm developing digital paging system
Device Solutions, Inc., based in Hillsborough, N.C., has been awarded $981,657.52 via the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program for digital paging development. The scope of work calls for Device Solutions to provide a standards-based, public... Read More »
NIH to invest $53M in five-year funding for HIV cure research
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced this week that it will award approximately $53 million in annual funding across the next five years to 10 research organizations currently pursuing HIV cure research. “June marked the 40th anniversary of the first reported U.S. cases of what... Read More »
CEPI to provide up to $20.6M to Gritstone bio for mRNA COVID-19 variant vaccine
As part of a new agreement with Gritstone bio, Inc., the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) will provide up to $20.6 million to support the development of a new, self-amplifying mRNA vaccine candidate for the growing number of COVID-19 variants. These funds will cover a... Read More »