A multi-institutional group led by the University of California at San Francisco’s Quantitative Biosciences Institute (QBI) has identified more than 200 host proteins that interacted with SARS-CoV-2 viral proteins during infection, creating “a blueprint of how SARS-CoV-2 hijacks human cells.”
PERTH, Australia – Roughly 40% of Australia’s biotech companies are seeking capital as they feel the pinch from international travel bans that seriously hamper capital raising, according to a recent Ausbiotech survey.
HONG KONG – Israeli biopharma Redhill Biopharma Ltd. is looking to extend access to its new investigational drug, opaganib (Yeliva, ABC-294640), following the drug’s initial success from a compassionate-use study treating six patients in Israel hospitalized with moderate to severe COVID-19 symptoms.
BEIJING – In one of the latest Sino-foreign collaborations formed to find a cure for the pandemic that has infected 3.5 million people worldwide, Shanghai-based Junshi Biosciences Co. Ltd. and Eli Lilly and Co. have disclosed an agreement to co-develop therapeutic antibodies for preventing and treating COVID-19. Under the terms, Junshi grants Lilly an exclusive license, outside of greater China, to conduct R&D, manufacture and distribute the SARS-CoV-2 JS-016 neutralizing antibodies developed by Junshi.
Regulatory snapshots, including global submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Bio-Rad, Euroimmun, Lifesignals, Nuvasive, Vitalconnect.
While many biopharma companies are holding the line on U.S. drug prices during the COVID-19 pandemic, a few are providing more fuel to fire up lawmakers over prescription drug prices. The latest flames were stoked by last month’s 220% increase in the price of Jaguar Health Inc.’s Mytesi (crofelemer), a botanical drug used to treat the gastrointestinal side effects of HIV antiretroviral treatments. Two days after the FDA denied an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the drug to be used to treat diarrhea in COVID-19 patients who were given antivirals, Jaguar raised the price of Mytesi from $688.52 per bottle to $2,206.52 per bottle.
The capacity of U.S. medical providers and testing capacity for the unfolding COVID-19 pandemic continues to be sorely tested. But there is now a new route for people to pursue serological testing to detect who has already been exposed to the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
HONG KONG – Israeli companies have produced some promising med-tech solutions for COVID-19, and the artificial intelligence space is turning out to be a particularly strong area of expertise for that tiny but mighty nation. One of the four health maintenance organizations (HMO) in Israel, Maccabi Healthcare Services, has deployed a new AI-powered algorithm that identifies individuals estimated to be at the highest risk of severe COVID-19 complications due to pre-existing conditions and other health factors.
