Emerging Infectious Diseases
Lawrence Livermore National Lab, ConserV to jointly develop universal coronavirus vaccine
ConserV Bioscience Limited (CBL) and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) agreed to collaborate this week in creating a universal coronavirus vaccine capable of protecting against coronavirus pathogens of human and animal origin, as well as new mutations, researchers said. CBL, a... Read More »
WHO hosts virtual forum to set research priorities for COVID-19 vaccines
The World Health Organization (WHO) hosted a virtual forum last week to identify knowledge gaps and set research priorities for vaccines against COVID-19. At the forum – attended by more than 2,800 scientists from 130 countries – the participants discussed the safety and efficacy of existing... Read More »
Bill introduced to reimburse states for COVID-related National Guard deployments
U.S. Reps. Cheri Bustos (D-IL) and Tim Ryan (D-OH) introduced a bill that would require the federal government to cover the full cost of National Guard deployments for COVID-19 response efforts. A companion bill will be introduced in the Senate on Jan. 21 by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT). These are... Read More »
G2P-UK consortium to study emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants with £2.5M in government funds
With £2.5 million in funding from UK Research and Innovation, an arm of the government, the G2P-UK National Virology Consortium has been founded to study the threats posed by new SARS-CoV-2 variants increasingly cropping up across the world. The effects of these mutations have yet to be fully... Read More »
CONTINUUS Pharmaceuticals awarded $69.3M federal contract to create U.S.-based manufacturing for critical medicines
The Departments of Defense (DoD) and Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded $69.3 million to CONTINUUS Pharmaceuticals Inc. last week to support the development of domestic production capability for critical medicines using integrated continuous manufacturing (ICM) technology. ICM is a... Read More »
Sens. Schumer, Gillibrand help secure funding to combat Lyme Disease
U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) announced that $16 million in federal funding has been secured to combat Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases. The funding, a $2 million increase over last year, was included in the recently passed bipartisan government... Read More »
Rockefeller Foundation reaches $30M agreement with Thermo Fisher Scientific for COVID-19 tests
The Rockefeller Foundation seeks to boost vaccination efforts in the United States with a $30 million new advance market commitment (AMC) with Thermo Fisher Scientific to procure and stock COVID-19 tests. The investment will provide guaranteed demand to test manufacturers. In return, the stock... Read More »
Sen. Feinstein urges CDC to set COVID-19 vaccine distribution guidelines
U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) is calling on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to issue guidelines that will maximize vaccine distribution. In a letter to CDC Director Robert Redfield, Feinstein pointed out that some vaccine providers have reported leftover doses, doses... Read More »
U.S. government negotiates ability to purchase more than 2 million additional Eli Lilly COVID-19 treatments
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) will be able to purchase more than 2 million additional COVID-19 antibody treatments due to modifications to an existing agreement with Eli Lilly and Company. The therapeutic in question,... Read More »
BARDA to provide funding, technical assistance and expertise to DiaSorin combo COVID-19/influenza test
As DiaSorin Molecular LLC works to create a combination diagnostic for differentiating between influenza A/B and COVID-19, it will receive funding, technical assistance, and the expertise of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA). The announcement, made this week,... Read More »
Senators urge Trump administration to develop national COVID vaccine plan
A group of U.S. Senators recently demanded that the Trump administration take immediate action to remedy the COVID-19 vaccine distribution failures. Specifically, the 43 senators are calling on Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar to develop and implement a national vaccine plan.... Read More »
European Commission, Valneva in advanced discussisons to supply up to 60M doses of COVID-19 vaccine candidate
Valneva SE and the European Commission (EC) are discussing the possibility of the specialty vaccine company supplying up to 60 million doses of its inactivated, adjuvanted COVID-19 vaccine, VLA2001, for use throughout Europe. “Today’s announcement helps to ensure that millions of Europeans... Read More »
U.S. government buys extra 1.25M doses of Regeneron’s COVID-19 antibody therapeutic
The U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Defense (DoD) shored up the national supply of casirivimab and imdevimab this week with the purchase of another 1.25 million doses of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.’s combo monoclonal antibody therapeutic for COVID-19. Regeneron is... Read More »
HHS creates online locator for COVID-19 outpatient antibody treatment sites
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has launched an online site dedicated to locating potential treatment sites for providers and patients seeking monoclonal antibody therapeutic treatments for COVID-19 cases. The therapeutics distribution page shows locations where these... Read More »
International health and humanitarian organizations join to create global Ebola vaccine stockpile
The International Coordinating Group (ICG) on Vaccine Provision is creating a global stockpile of the single-dose Merck and Sharp & Dohme Corp. Ebola vaccine to guarantee response capabilities for any outbreak, with financial support from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. The stockpile was deemed... Read More »
Moderna launches three development programs for HIV, Nipah and seasonal flu vaccines
Moderna, Inc. will expand its vaccine efforts with three new development programs targeting mRNA vaccines for HIV, Nipah, and four seasonal flu viruses. The company also intends to expand its respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine program to older adults. This is thanks to the... Read More »
FDA pledges continued monitoring of UK SARS-CoV-2 mutation
As a new, more infectious strain of SARS-CoV-2 spreads further from the United Kingdom and across the United States, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is advising that its impact on molecular tests will likely be low, with three approved tests currently affected. The variant, known as... Read More »
HHS establishes temporary COVID-19 treatment center in Tucson
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Tucson Medical Center (TMC) began administering monoclonal antibody therapeutic treatments last week. The treatments were given at a temporary COVID-19 infusion center in Tucson. It is just the second federally supported infusion center... Read More »
BARDA DRIVe, NIOSH request expert input on development challenge for better mask designs
Both Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) DRIVe and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) put out a call this week for comments on potential evaluation criteria and testing protocols for an improved mask design challenge. Input will help... Read More »
Bayer agrees to support CureVac development, supply of COVID-19 vaccine candidate
A collaboration and services agreement united Bayer and CureVac N.V. this week in support of CureVac’s new class mRNA-based medicines, particularly its COVID-19 vaccine candidate CVnCoV. Under the agreement, Bayer will support development, supply, and key territory operations through its... Read More »
NIH director: COVID-19 herd immunity requires more vaccinated Americans
At least 80 percent to 85 percent of Americans should receive the COVID-19 vaccine for the country to reach herd immunity, said National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins in a Jan. 6 interview with the Washington Post. “Herd immunity requires the majority of a population to be... Read More »
Study reveals that COVID-19 survivors have immune cells to fight re-infection
A new report from the LaJolla Institute for Immunology has revealed that almost all survivors of COVID-19 have the immune cells necessary to fight re-infection. Based on analyses of blood samples from 188 COVID-19 patients, the findings suggest that the immune system learns to fight specific... Read More »
Bavarian Nordic to supply IMVANEX smallpox vaccine to three European governments this year
Under a $13.5 million contract, Bavarian Nordic A/S announced this week that it would provide supplies of its IMVANEX smallpox vaccine to three European governments in the first half of 2021. “We are pleased to expand our sales of smallpox vaccines to other countries,” Paul Chaplin,... Read More »
CDC to provide $22B in support for expanded response efforts to COVID-19 pandemic
Before Jan. 19, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will release more than $22 billion in funding to support states, localities, and territories grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic through a mix of expanded testing and vaccination distribution efforts. "This funding is... Read More »
IDSA president, HIV Medicine Association chair call on US government to immediately address impediments to COVID-19 vaccine access
Dr. Barbara Alexander, president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), and Dr. Rajesh Gandhi, chair of the HIV Medicine Association, called this week for swift action to overcome the hurdles slowing COVID-19 vaccine access and efforts to counter the raging pandemic. “To address... Read More »
NIAID begins phase 2/3 clinical trial of two antibody therapies for mild or moderate COVID-19 cases
ACTIV-2, a study sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), has begun phase 2/3 trials to evaluate two monoclonal antibody therapies that could help those with mild or moderate cases of COVID-19. The twin antibodies are known as BRII-196 and BRII-198, both... Read More »
Reps. Spanberger, Katko introduce bill to better prepare for pandemics, other threats
U.S. Reps. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) and John Katko (R-NY) introduced a bill to enhance the nation’s readiness to prepare for and respond to public safety and national security threats – including pandemics. Their bill -- the Analyzing Disaster Vulnerabilities and Applicable National... Read More »
UAB researcher creates at-home immunity monitoring technology for COVID-19
While many antibody tests today fail to identify neutralizing antibodies, Dr. Benjamin Larimer, a researcher at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), has developed a diagnostic capable of accurately and quickly identifying these antibodies and showing people’s potential immunity to... Read More »
Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine first to gain WHO emergency use validation
The World Health Organization (WHO) issued emergency use validation for the Pfizer/BioNTech Comirnaty mRNA vaccine last week, ending 2020 by issuing the first such validation for a COVID-19 vaccine. The global organization’s declaration will allow countries to expedite their regulatory... Read More »
Rep. Jim Clyburn to continue leading Select Committee on the Coronavirus Crisis in 117th Congress
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced this week that the Select Committee on the Coronavirus Crisis will continue into the new year and the 117th Congress, still under the leadership of Chairman and Whip Jim Clyburn (D-SC). The subcommittee has been running since April 23, 2020. In the months... Read More »
Phase 3 clinical trial data confirms efficacy of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine
A peer-reviewed report chronicling the phase three trial data of mRNA-1273, Moderna, Inc.’s COVID-19 vaccine, was released in the New England Journal of Medicine last week and confirmed its 94.1 percent efficacy in preventing COVID-19. Distribution of the vaccine has already begun in the... Read More »
CEPI invests in 11th COVID-19 vaccine candidate, Bio E from India
CEPI, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, is collaborating with an India-based pharmaceutical company to develop a COVID-19 subunit vaccine candidate. The partnership is with Biological E Limited, or Bio E, a Hyderabad-based vaccine and pharmaceutical company. CEPI will... Read More »
Colorado State Lab confirms first case of UK COVID-19 variant in United States
The first U.S. case of a new strain of COVID-19 that originated in the U.K. has been confirmed in Colorado’s Elbert County, according to the Colorado State Laboratory. The variant has cropped up in numerous locations throughout the world since its recent discovery -- and rapid spread -- in the... Read More »
DoD funds Emergent, Mount Sinai joint effort to evaluate COVID-19 Human Hyperimmune Globulin
Emergent BioSolutions and Mount Sinai Health System began a program to evaluate Emergent’s COVID-19 Human Hyperimmune Globulin (COVID-HIG) candidate for phase one trials of its preventative capabilities among individuals at high risk of exposure. “Emergent is pleased to partner with Mount... Read More »