Saying it’s too early to gauge the potential economic benefit of a marketed COVID-19 therapy for his firm, Aldeyra Therapeutics Inc. CEO Todd Brady cited “a strong feeling of altruism” among researchers addressing the crisis, as they turn over discoveries likely to be helpful beyond it.
PERTH, Australia – Australian stem cell company Mesoblast Ltd. completed a capital raising of AU$138 million (US$90 million) to scale up manufacturing of its allogeneic cell therapy, remestemcel-L, to treat COVID-19 acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).
LONDON - EMA Director General Guido Rasi has hit out at the lack of coordination in COVID-19 clinical trials, questioning if the huge number of small studies that are running will support regulatory decision-making.
Representing the highest amount ever raised by a public biopharma company on a U.S. exchange, Moderna Inc. priced a $1.34 billion follow-on offering to help fund worldwide manufacturing and distribution of its mRNA-1273 vaccine for COVID-19.
Moderna Inc.’s chief medical officer, Tal Zaks, said that the results in hand “give us great confidence that we've got the right dose range for phase III” work slated to begin this summer with COVID-19 vaccine prospect mRNA-1273. A regulatory filing could come as early as 2021.
While a significant number of clinical trial delays occurred during the month of April, it was business as usual from a regulatory standpoint for companies with late-stage therapies ready for the market and for those targeting underserved patient populations.
HONG KONG – Blockchain technology usually is associated with digital currencies. However, it’s now emerging as an important platform for COVID-19 management. It’s been a focus in China, where a top-down approach is key to driving sectors and technology.
LONDON – Geopolitical tensions over the issue of access to COVID-19 vaccines intensified this week, after the CEO of French pharmaceutical company Sanofi SA said the U.S. government would get first access to its product because it was first to fund the research.
DUBLIN – Abivax SA has rejected an acquisition offer in order to pursue a phase IIb/III trial of its lead anti-inflammatory drug ABX-464 in 1,034 COVID-19 patients.
LONDON – The U.K. is launching a £28 million (US$34.5 million) project to sequence the whole genome of every COVID-19 patient in the country treated in intensive care, with the aim of uncovering host genetic factors that lead some people to be more severely affected by the infection. The study will involve up to 20,000 people currently or previously treated in one of 170 intensive care units (ICUs), whose genomes will be compared to 15,000 people with a confirmed infection who had mild or moderate symptoms.