News
CEPI awarding $140M for COVID-19 vaccine research
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation, or CEPI, is awarding up to $140 million in funding to research institutions for clinical data on COVID-19 vaccines. This initiative aims to fill in existing clinical research and development gaps to expand access to COVID-19 vaccines. The... Read More »
Measure targets counterterrorism enhancement, extremism
House Foreign Affairs Committee Lead Republican Michael McCaul (R-TX) reintroduced the Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership (TSCTP) Act (H.R. 567), which authorizes an interagency program to strengthen counterterrorism operations and while improving the coordination of assistance to address... Read More »
CISA, Cactus League execute response plan exercise
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) recently joined Cactus League officials and affiliates in an exercise designed to review pre-incident preparedness measures and response plans. For the second consecutive year, the tabletop exercise... Read More »
Novavax COVID-19 vaccine more than 89 percent effective in UK trial
Novavax, Inc. demonstrated a strong showing of its COVID-19 vaccine last week, posting an 89.3 percent efficacy in a United Kingdom-based phase three trial, conducted in partnership with the UK government’s Vaccines Taskforce. Notably, this vaccine was also pitted against variants of the... Read More »
New proposed ‘Apollo’ program for biodefense calls for pandemic elimination in a decade
Even with the rollout of mass vaccination worldwide, COVID-19’s spread is nowhere near an immediate end. So, it might seem perplexing when biosecurity researchers appear optimistic about a future without pandemics. That reality is exactly what a new report has outlined. Released this week... Read More »
Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine 66 percent effective overall against moderate to severe cases
The results of the phase three ENSEMBLE clinical trial have shown that Johnson & Johnson’s single-shot Janssen COVID-19 vaccine candidate is 66 percent effective overall at preventing moderate to severe COVID-19 cases 28 days after vaccination. The study also showed that the vaccine... Read More »
DHS puts out National Terrorism Advisory bulletin, warns of heightened threat environment
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a National Terrorism Advisory System (NTAS) Bulletin this week, citing a heightened threat environment across the United States that is likely to persist over the coming weeks. The acting DHS secretary issued the bulletin after consultation with... Read More »
CARB-X awards $5.3M to Lumen for diarrheal disease research, development
Combatting Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria (CARB-X) awarded $5.3 million to Lumen Bioscience to develop a new immunotherapy to prevent diarrheal diseases caused by two specific pathogens -- Campylobacter jejuni and enterotoxigenic E. coli. Diarrheal diseases are intestinal infections caused by... Read More »
Space Command relocation decision suspension sought
Colorado's congressional delegation is encouraging President Joe Biden to suspend the Trump administration's decision to move Space Command from Colorado Springs, Colo., to Huntsville, Ala., until a thorough review. On Jan. 13, the Air Force announced Huntsville would serve as the Space Command... Read More »
UAE, Marines complete defense-focused training
Marine Corps officials said the branch's completion of defense-focused training engagement in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with UAE forces enhances collective crisis response capability in the region. During the week-long initiative, two crisis response forces participated in live-fire... Read More »
GSK, PATH and Bharat Biotech agree to divvy up manufacturing, supply of malaria vaccine
The RTS,S/AS01E malaria vaccine is the focus of a new product transfer agreement between GSK, PATH, and Bharat Biotech (BBIL), which will see manufacturing, supply, and rights split between the three entities. Under the arrangement, manufacturing of the RTS,S antigen and licensing rights to the... Read More »
Sanofi supporting BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing efforts
A new agreement between Sanofi and BioNTech grants the latter access to Sanofi’s infrastructure to aid manufacturing of the COVID-19 vaccine BioNTech has co-developed with Pfizer, granting them the ability to make more than 125 million doses for Europe from summer on. “Although vaccination... Read More »
Fentanyl and COVID-19 induced complications lead to surge in Ohio’s opioid overdoses
More Ohio residents died of opioid overdoses during a three month period of 2020 than at any other point in the last decade, according to a new analysis released by the Scientific Committee on Opioid Prevention and Education (SCOPE) initiated by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost. Throughout the... Read More »
Physicians address COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy
The Biden administration’s plan to tackle COVID-19 includes delivering at least 100 million vaccines in 100 days to the American people. As of this week it was also announced that the federal government purchased 200 million additional doses from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, enough to vaccinate... Read More »
Valneva signs development agreement for chikungunya vaccine
Specialty vaccine company Valneva and Instituto Butantan signed an agreement to develop Valneva’s single-shot chikungunya vaccine, VLA1553, in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). As part of the collaboration, Valneva will transfer its chikungunya vaccine technology to Instituto Butantan,... Read More »
Bill seeking to shut down international commercial wildlife markets introduced in Senate
A bipartisan group of U.S. Senators introduced a bill that seeks to shut down international commercial wildlife markets. The Preventing Future Pandemics Act would direct the State Department to work with international partners to shut down commercial wildlife markets and stop the associated... Read More »
DEA warns of post-COVID meth, fentanyl market in New York
Officials with the New York Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said the amount of methamphetamine and fentanyl seized during 2020 indicates an alarming trend in street drugs and overdose deaths. According to the DEA, agents seized 214 percent more methamphetamine and 59... Read More »
TSA details firearm catch rate at airport security checkpoints
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recently indicated officers detected twice as many firearms per million passengers screened at airport security checkpoints nationwide in 2020 compared to 2019. “I commend our officers for their commitment to TSA’s security mission by... Read More »
Kinzinger, Kelly reintroduce legislation seeking to amend trafficking victim protections
Reps. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) and Robin Kelly (D-IL) recently reintroduced a bill designed to amend the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, encouraging a victim-centered approach to combat human trafficking. The Reducing the Demand for Human Trafficking Act targets those who purchase or... Read More »
New CDC data reveals 476,000 Americans diagnosed with Lyme Disease annually
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Lyme disease cases are growing in the United States, which released a new report showing annual cases are 10 times higher than what they were reported in 2018. Some 476,000 people are now being diagnosed and treated for Lyme... Read More »
Antibody combos of bamlanivimab, etesevimab reduce risk of severe COVID-19 effects by 70 percent
In new data released by Eli Lilly and Company, a cocktail of neutralizing antibodies bamlanivimab and etesevimab reduced COVID-19 related hospitalizations and deaths by 70 percent among more than 1,000 high-risk patients. According to the report, which was based on the BLAZE-1 phase three... Read More »
DHS S&T initiates funding opportunity for new center of excellence
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) has announced a $36.5 million funding opportunity for a new DHS Center of Excellence (COE). The COE's focus would be Engineering Secure Environments from Targeted Attacks (ESE). DHS is soliciting center lead... Read More »
Boeing, Sikorsky detail advanced helicopter collaboration
Boeing and Sikorsky personnel have detailed its advanced helicopter, DEFIANT X, which will be entered into the Army’s Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) competition. The companies indicated DEFIANT X would be the fastest, most maneuverable, and most survivable assault helicopter in... Read More »
Global economy could lose $9.2T without equitable COVID vaccine distribution
According to a new study by the International Chamber of Commerce Research Foundation, the global economy stands to lose as much as $9.2 trillion if governments fail to ensure developing economy access to COVID-19 vaccines. The study demonstrates the economic case to invest in the Access to... Read More »
Merck halts development of COVID-19 vaccine candidates due to poor immunity showings
Although well-tolerated, Merck’s two COVID-19 vaccine candidates -- V590 and V591 -- have been discontinued due to immune responses well below those provided by natural infection or other vaccines. “We are grateful to our collaborators who worked with us on these vaccine candidates and to... Read More »
Study: prescription opioid use down 60 percent from 2011 peak
A recent report from the IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science finds that prescription use of opioids has fallen 60 percent since its peak in 2011. Changes in clinical use, regulatory and reimbursement policies, and progressively more restrictive legislation have led to the reduced use, the... Read More »
Experts offer business, public health considerations for fighting a pandemic
The development and deployment of an effective vaccine for COVID-19 could be the turning point in the fight against the deadly pandemic, and companies involved in the process must make specific business and public health considerations simultaneously to help ensure a successful outcome, experts... Read More »
Emergent, Humanigen sign deal to accelerate the manufacturing of lenzilumab
Emergent BioSolutions and Humanigen have signed a contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) services agreement to accelerate the manufacturing of the drug lenzilumab. Lenzilumab is an anti-human granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) monoclonal antibody designed to prevent... Read More »
In vitro neutralization studies confirm lessened Moderna vaccine effectiveness against COVID-19 mutations
In a manuscript posted to a preprint server, Moderna Inc. addressed Monday the results of in vitro neutralization studies of sera from people vaccinated against emerging strains of SARS-CoV-2, which produced lesser, though still protective, results. Specifically, the variants being fretted over... Read More »
Nuclear Threat Initiative praises Biden plan to extend New START agreement with Russia
The Nuclear Threat Initiative applauded the Biden Administration for extending the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) with Russia for an additional five years. The New START agreement was reached in 2011 with Russia to reduce nuclear arms in both countries. The 10-year agreement was... Read More »
Reps. Spanberger, Katko introduce bill to combat online disinformation
U.S. Reps. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) and John Katko (R-NY) introduced a bill to protect against the influence of foreign actors that seek to sow political division through online disinformation campaigns. Foreign adversaries — such as Russia, China, and Iran -- continue to exploit existing... Read More »
Rep. Gottheimer advocates federal action against extremism, domestic terrorism
Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) is advocating new federal action countering what he described as violent extremism and domestic terrorism after the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol attack. Gottheimer is encouraging the Biden Administration to restore the Office of Community Partnerships (OCP) within the... Read More »
Combating Global Corruption Act reintroduced in Senate
Sens. Todd Young (R-IN) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) have reintroduced a measure they said would make efforts to address global corruption a national security priority. The Combating Global Corruption Act would raise the profile of fighting international corruption noting the violation erodes trust and... Read More »
Democratic senators seek to tackle COVID-19 pandemic with new Health Force
U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet (D-CO), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), and Brian Schatz (D-HI), together with eight Democratic colleagues, introduced legislation last week that would create a Health Force to recruit, train and employ thousands to aid vaccine distribution. The Health Force would be tasked... Read More »