Threats
DHS awards funding to Cambridge startup to develop traveler screening solution
Tamr Government Solutions, based in Cambridge, Mass., has received the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate’s (S&T) inaugural Phase 5 award to develop an international traveler screening solution. The $813,000 funding allotment via the Silicon Valley... Read More »
Raytheon touts successful StormBreaker flight test
Raytheon Missiles & Defense personnel are espousing the benefits of the successful initial guided release of a StormBreaker smart weapon from an F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. "StormBreaker is the only weapon that enables pilots to hit moving targets during bad weather or if dust and smoke are in the... Read More »
DoD ups funding for SIGA technologies to $23M, in label expansion effort for smallpox treatment
Pharmaceutical company SIGA Technologies, Inc. gained a boost to its work toward a label expansion for TPOXX, an antiviral drug for treating smallpox caused by variola virus, thanks to an increase in funding from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) this week. With the addition, DoD is now... Read More »
Regeneron’s COVID-19 antibody therapeutic begins clinical trials with BARDA funding
Biotechnology company Regeneron has begun clinical trials of its REGN-COV2 cocktail, a two-antibody therapeutic for COVID-19, with recent funding from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA). The therapeutic proposes to inhibit SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes... Read More »
Janssen Pharmaceuticals accelerates timeline for development of COVID-19 vaccine
Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, has accelerated the initiation of the Phase 1/2a first-in-human clinical trial of its investigational COVID-19 vaccine. The trial is expected to commence in the second half of July, moved up from its initial September time frame.... Read More »
Bills target cybersecurity defense vulnerability
Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) introduced last week two bills, the Continuity of Economy Act of 2020 and the National Guard Cyber Interoperability Act of 2020, designed to address the nation’s cybersecurity defense vulnerabilities. Peters, ranking member of the Homeland Security and Governmental... Read More »
Bavarian Nordic to increase bulk manufacturing of Ebola vaccines for Janssen
Under the terms of a new contract, Bavarian Nordic will manufacture and deliver additional cases of the MVA-BN Filo vaccine in bulk to Janssen Vaccines & Prevention B.V., building its supply of Ebola vaccines. The deal, valued $13.9 million, will kick off this year and build on the more than 2... Read More »
DHS S&T launches online calculator to estimate airborne SARS-CoV-2 natural decay
Showcasing how much more has been learned about COVID-19 since its discovery, the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) added an online calculator last week that estimates the natural decay of SARS-CoV-2 in the air. SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, is... Read More »
IAEA launches new initiative to better prepare for future pandemics
The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Mariano Grossi, introduced a new initiative to enhance global preparedness for future pandemics like COVID-19. The Zoonotic Disease Integrated Action (ZODIAC) seeks to establish a global network to help national... Read More »
DARPA’s HEALR program focuses on microbial infections
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is working to develop new treatments to combat microbial infections. Through its Harnessing Enzymatic Activity for Lifesaving Remedies (HEALR) program, DARPA seeks to use new tools and strategies to treat microbial infections. Specifically,... Read More »
FDA revokes emergency use authorization for hydroxychloroquine for treating COVID-19
Arguing the potential benefits no longer outweigh the health risks involved, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday revoked its Emergency Use Authorization for hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine to be used as a treatment for patients with COVID-19. “We’ve made clear throughout... Read More »
BARDA teams up with Snapdragon to develop materials for COVID-19 vaccine
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and Snapdragon Chemistry are teaming up to develop a continuous manufacturing platform to produce a specific raw material for COVID-19 vaccines. They are developing ribonucleotide triphosphates (NTPs), a critical raw material for... Read More »
Regeneron begins clinical trial for potential COVID-19 treatment
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals initiated the first clinical trial of REGN-COV2, an antibody cocktail for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. The REGN-COV2 clinical program will consist of four separate study populations, including hospitalized COVID-19 patients, non-hospitalized symptomatic... Read More »
COVID-19 vaccine equal access strategy sought
Health experts maintain the federal government needs to craft a plan to distribute COVID-19 vaccines in Black and Latino that have borne the brunt of the pandemic nationwide. “They are going to have to make sure we have a sound distribution plan to make sure that we don’t repeat the mistakes... Read More »
Phase 3 study of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate to track 30,000 subjects in July
Testing of Moderna’s mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccine candidate moved forward this week, with the announcement that arrangements are being made to study 30,000 subjects as part of a phase 3 study in July and manufacturing set to reach as high as 1 billion 100 microgram doses per year in... Read More »
Emergent BioSolutions to manufacture AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate in U.S.
Emergent BioSolutions Inc. announced Thursday it signed an agreement to provide its contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) services to support AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine candidate in the United States. The agreement, valued at approximately $87 million, gives Emergent stateside... Read More »
Iran sanctions bill garners Republican Study Committee support
The Republican Study Committee (RSC) is endorsing Rep. Bryan Steil’s bill, the Stop Evasion of Iran Sanctions Act. The RSC’s backing of the measure is in accordance with the group’s National Security Strategy: Strengthening America and Countering Global Threats. “The United States... Read More »
Defense Production Act Title 3 actions initiated
The Department of Defense (DoD) has initiated five Defense Production Act Title 3 officials said would aid in sustaining defense-critical workforce capabilities amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The $135 million action assists in retaining body armor, aircraft manufacturing, and shipbuilding... Read More »
OraSure Technologies revives partnership with BARDA to create SARS-CoV-2 lab test
Another SARS-CoV-2 laboratory diagnostic has caught the attention of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), which is teaming up with OraSure Technology, Inc. to get it United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Emergency Use Authorization (EUA). This test,... Read More »
BARDA partnership with Chembio bears fruit as Zika diagnostic test heads to market
For three years, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) has supported the development of Chembio Diagnostics’ DPP Zika IgM System diagnostic system, and now, the result has been approved for marketing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The test detects... Read More »
FDA grants emergency use authorization to Illumina for COVID-19 test
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted an emergency use authorization to Illumina for the first COVID-19 diagnostic test utilizing next generation sequence technology. The Illumina COVIDSeq Test is for the qualitative detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA from respiratory specimens collected from... Read More »
DHS scientists develop breakthrough for foot-and-mouth disease
U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) inventors John Neilan and Michael Puckette have come up with a breakthrough to treat foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in livestock. FMD is a disease that is extremely contagious and afflicts animals with cloven... Read More »
Agencies offload more than 33,000 pounds of seized narcotics in Fort Lauderdale
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) personnel and U.S. Coast Guard Cutter James crew members recently offloaded narcotics seized in international waters during a briefing at Port Everglades in Florida. The Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security joined in detailing the... Read More »
BARDA, DARPA support AstraZeneca through phase 1 trial of COVID-19 therapeutic
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) have reached an interagency agreement with AstraZeneca to support phase 1 clinical development of a monoclonal antibody combination therapy for use against COVID-19. This... Read More »
House bill would require foreign nations to improve reporting on disease outbreaks
U.S. Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Conor Lamb (D-PA) introduced legislation that would require foreign nations to implement systems for reporting and monitoring outbreaks of novel diseases. In addition, the Never Again International Outbreak Prevention Act (H.R. 7132) would sanction bad... Read More »
Largest study of its kind finds hydroxychloroquine not effective among young people to treat COVID-19
A highly anticipated University of Minnesota study examining the use of hydroxychloroquine among young health care workers found the drug does not prevent symptoms of COVID-19. The randomized trial primarily examined the use of the drug on 821 young participants with a median age of 40, who... Read More »
CEPI, CSL and University of Queensland partner on COVID-19 vaccine candidate
The University of Queensland (UQ) has partnered up with CSL and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) to accelerate development, manufacturing, and distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate its researchers pioneered earlier this year. In an agreement formalized this week,... Read More »
Bavarian Nordic equine encephalitis vaccine candidate shows promise in phase 1 trial
Results are in from the phase 1 human trial of the Bavarian Nordic A/S vaccine candidate MVA-BN WEV, a prophylactic meant for use against three equine encephalitis viruses, and the data paints the picture of a well-tolerated vaccine capable of spurring immune responses. The vaccine is meant to... Read More »
FLIR software bolsters COVID-19 skin temperature screenings
FLIR Systems officials said the company has developed software for its T-Series, Exx-Series, and A-Series thermal imaging cameras to perform COVID-19 elevated skin temperature screenings in high-traffic areas. Officials said the process via FLIR Screen-EST can be conducted in two seconds or less... Read More »
Rep. Titus introduces bill to prevent explosive nuclear weapons testing
U.S. Reps. Dina Titus (D-NV) introduced a bill that would prevent explosive nuclear weapons testing. According to a report by The Washington Post, senior Trump administration have recently discussed conducting an explosive nuclear test. The Preserving Leadership Against Nuclear Explosives... Read More »
Commission on biodefense backs Congressional efforts to improve nation’s biodefense
The Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense supports efforts by Congress to improve the country’s biodefense following the COVID-19 pandemic. “This will not be the last biological crisis this nation faces,” commission members wrote to Congressional leaders. “In addition to the potential... Read More »
Tool aims to predict next COVID-19 outbreak
RAND Corp. recently developed an analytical tool that can be used to predict the regional risks of importing cases of COVID-19. The tool can be used by policymakers to mitigate the threat to public health. The COVID-19 Air Traffic Visualization tool uses International Air Transport... Read More »
Agencies collaborate for emergency harbor assessments
The Coast Guard recently joined three other agencies in signing an agreement they said is designed to assess Hawaii’s harbors following disasters such as severe weather events. The Coast Guard has agreed to a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric... Read More »
AbbVie, Harbour BioMed, Utrecht University and Erasmus Medical Center partner on COVID-19 therapeutic
A coalition of AbbVie, Harbour BioMed (HBM), Utrecht University (UU), and Erasmus Medical Center (EMC) have joined together to create a monoclonal antibody therapy that could hold the key to preventing and treating COVID-19, through its viral cause: SARS-CoV-2. The therapeutic is based on a... Read More »