Emerging Infectious Diseases
A global, Phase 3 trial of approximately 20,000 older adult volunteers for the Bavarian Nordic A/S MVA-BN RSV vaccine candidate began this week and is expected to produce results by mid-2023.
The randomized, double-blind test will gather those aged 60 years and older in both the United States... Read More »
New clinical data from Moderna, Inc. this week showed that a month after using a bivalent COVID-19 booster candidate, mRNA-1273.211, superior vaccination efficacy was maintained against all variants of concern, including Beta, Delta, and Omicron.
These results stemmed from 50 µg booster doses,... Read More »
Utilizing its synthetic, CD8+ T cell Adaptive Vaccine platform, Emergex Vaccines Holding Ltd. began preclinical development last week of a new medical countermeasure against tularemia.
Tularemia is caused by francisella tularensis, an exceptionally virulent intracellular bacterial pathogen. The... Read More »
Due to discussions between the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. over pre-exposure prophylactic use, the FDA will extend the review of a Biologics License Application (BLA) for REGEN-COV as a COVID-19 treatment for three months.
Regeneron seeks to use... Read More »
A new avenue of testing for COVID-19 opened last week, with emergency use authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the InspectIR COVID-19 Breathalyzer, a diagnostic capable of detecting SARS-CoV-2 infection from breath samples.
In less than three minutes, the... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) introduced a bill this week to fund research on the COVID-19 impacts on mental health and brain function.
“The pandemic showed us the need to prioritize mental health and support those suffering,” Cassidy... Read More »
Japan’s NEC Corporation gained seed funding of up to $4.8 million from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation (CEPI) this week to help its Norway-based subsidiary with the initial development of broadly protective betacoronavirus vaccine candidates.
NEC OncoImmunity AS (NOI)... Read More »
By supporting conservation in other nations, a bipartisan group of senators has proposed – through the Preventing Future Pandemics Act of 2022 (S.4074) – that the risk of zoonotic disease transmission could be reduced for humans.
As introduced, the bill would authorize the U.S. government to... Read More »
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) this week awarded four grants totaling approximately $4.3 million of investment over the first year alone to launch new Tuberculosis Research Advancement Centers (TRACs) across the country.
These grants will last five years,... Read More »
A Phase 3 clinical trial of Vaxxinity, Inc.’s UB-612 heterologous COVID-19 vaccine booster dose candidate gained up to $9.25 million in support from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation (CEPI) this week to help evaluate the candidate’s abilities.
“As we strive to stay one... Read More »
A supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for Roche’s Actemra/RoActemra intravenous treatment for COVID-19 cases among hospitalized patients was accepted by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week and will benefit from priority review.
If approved, the drug... Read More »
Within 10 years, the World Health Organization (WHO) sees a path to increase the use of and access to genomic surveillance for monitoring and analyzing pathogens through a strategy targeting inequities and leveraging existing capacities.
Genomic surveillance is a process whereby pathogens are... Read More »
The life of N95 masks – a component in fighting the spread of COVID-19 – may be extendable for far longer than initially thought with the use of ultraviolet light, according to recent research from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
In a study published in the Journal... Read More »
Interim data emerged this week from a Phase 2/3 trial of Moderna, Inc.’s mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccine on children between 6 months and 6 years old, demonstrating efficacy similar to usage on adults and with a generally well-tolerated profile.
The KidCOVE trial provided participants with two 25... Read More »
At a virtual meeting on April 6, 2022, the United States Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) will meet to address the future of COVID-19 vaccine booster doses and the process for selecting them for use against specific viral... Read More »
In a letter sent to Congressional leadership, the co-chairs of the COVID-19 Global Vaccination Caucus urged the inclusion of $5 billion in global COVID-19 response funding with any COVID-19 supplemental package.
This would shore up aid when USAID has said it will have fully obligated the funding... Read More »
In a study conducted on non-human primates, Soligenix, Inc.’s CiVax COVID-19 booster vaccine candidate produced increased neutralizing antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 and its Delta Omicron variants.
The results, released last week, showed the heat-stable vaccine candidate generated as much... Read More »
The more detail provided on a disease, the better for doctors to pursue proper treatment, and in that regard, Roche and its subsidiary TIB Molbiol announced this week that they have tests capable of identifying between the Delta variant and various Omicron subvariants of SARS-CoV-2.
These tests... Read More »
With an eye on potential vaccine development, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) announced this week that it will expand its partnership with Bangladesh’s icddr,b for a study into survivors of the deadly Nipah virus.
This support will take the form of nearly $1 million... Read More »
U.S. Sens. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) introduced legislation Thursday that would modernize programs currently focused on surveilling and forecasting future pandemic-causing viruses.
Called the Modernizing Biosurveillance Capabilities and Epidemic Forecasting Act, the bill... Read More »
Dosing officially began last week in a Phase 2 trial of Moderna’s COVID-19 Omicron variant-specific, bivalent booster vaccine candidate.
Known currently as mRNA-1273.214, the candidate combines another Omicron booster candidate with Moderna’s official COVID-19 vaccine, mRNA-1273.
"We are... Read More »
Researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) began a clinical trial this week investigating rare but potentially serious systemic allergic reactions to COVID-19 mRNA vaccines.
“People who experienced an allergic reaction after receiving a COVID-19 mRNA... Read More »
According to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), its effort to produce safe and effective vaccines within 100 days of an identified epidemic or pandemic threat has garnered $1.535 billion from world governments and organizations.
The 100 Days Mission is a five-year plan... Read More »
Joined by nine of his colleagues, U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) wrote to House Appropriations Committee leaders this week requesting additional financial support for global vaccination efforts to end the COVID-19 pandemic and strengthen international relations.
The effort is, at least in... Read More »
In the most recent update to its malaria guidelines, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended that the vaccine RTS,S/AS01 be used to prevent P. falciparum malaria among children living in areas of moderate to high transmission.
This represents the first time a vaccine for malaria was... Read More »
Efforts are underway to study the possibilities of oral smallpox treatment TPOXX as a post-exposure prophylactic (PEP), with the announcement of clinical trials by SIGA Technologies, Inc. last week.
These trials will support a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) label expansion for the drug,... Read More »
Triggered by a new case of avian flu in Iowa and cases of African Swine Fever in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, U.S. Sens. Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Raphael Warnock (D-GA) have introduced legislation to streamline funding for dogs used to detect animal diseases on cargo.
The National Detector Dog... Read More »
Reckoning with a world still navigating a pandemic and the changing diplomatic realities a war in Ukraine has wrought, United States Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) this week called for increased COVID-19 aid abroad to counter Russian and Chinese influence.
“As Russian tanks roll into Ukraine... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Robert Scott (D-VA) introduced the No Surprises for COVID-19 Tests Act last week to close legislative loopholes and extend free COVID-19 testing.
COVID-19 tests were meant to be free and widely available as a result of the CARES Act, but some companies... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) will continue long-standing partnerships with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Sanofi, and Seqirus to build up medical countermeasures to influenza pandemics and other public health emergencies.
For years, these partnerships and other... Read More »
With test data showing their COVID-19 vaccine’s capabilities to fight COVI-19 in regular or booster form, Sanofi and GSK announced this week that they intend to submit data as the foundation of regulatory authorization requests.
The Sanofi-GSK offering is a refrigerator temperature-stable,... Read More »
Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) and Munich Security Conference (MSC) personnel are espousing the benefits of a recently convened tabletop exercise to reduce high-consequence biological threats.
The effort involved uniting senior leaders from across government, industry, and civil society to... Read More »
Following an endorsement from the independent Data and Safety Monitoring Board this week, Moderna, Inc. officially began the third phase of trials for its mRNA Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSC) vaccine candidate this week.
The safety greenlight was based on preliminary Phase 2 safety and... Read More »
A virtual event organized by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research last week pulled in government officials and technical experts to address the best means of accelerating... Read More »
Seven senators last week urged the Biden administration to outline plans to develop more durable COVID-19 vaccines following a year of emerging variants that have tested the efficacy of current treatments.
Led by U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and... Read More »
