Med-tech happenings, including deals and partnerships, grants, preclinical data and other news in brief: Alnylam, Bio-Techne, Cerveau, Fluidx, Openeye, Pharmajet, Sense Biodetection, Tecomedical.
Right on cue, the U.S. FDA authorized bivalent COVID-19 vaccines from Moderna Inc. and Pfizer Inc.-Biontech SE to be given as boosters at least two months following a primary vaccine series or a previous booster. “These updated boosters present us with an opportunity to get ahead of the next wave of COVID-19,” FDA Commissioner Robert Califf said, following the Aug. 31 announcement.
Hansoh Healthtech Co. Ltd., part of Jiangsu Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd., has acquired exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize an oral SARS-CoV-2 3C-like protease inhibitor from Beijing Huayi Health Drug Discovery Institute, also known as the Global Health Drug Discovery Institute (GHDDI). The deal includes ¥12 million (US$1.8 million) up front and up to ¥1.68 billion in potential milestone payments, plus tiered royalties on net sales.
Cue Health Inc. rolled out a same-day, at-home, test-to-treatment program through its Cue Health app for any patient in the U.S. with a positive result from its COVID-19 test. The service includes a virtual, on-demand visit with a health care professional to discuss the test result; a prescription for medication to treat the virus, if appropriate; and home delivery of the medication, typically within hours of the visit. Medications may also be made available for pickup at a local pharmacy.
The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory Inc. has joined forces with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to screen pathogens, toxins and diseases using its high-throughput organ-chip devices. As part of a concerted effort to develop new medical countermeasures against biological and chemical threats, organs-on-a-chip provide directly applicable insights into human responses and enable testing on organs developed from a diverse pool of live donors prior to human trials.
Three of the biggest COVID-19 vaccine developers are heading into a legal battle. Moderna Inc. said it has filed lawsuits alleging the Pfizer Inc.-Biontech SE Comirnaty vaccine infringes patents Moderna filed between 2010 and 2016 that cover its mRNA technology. Pfizer and Biontech “unlawfully” copied the technology without permission, according to Moderna.
Hansoh Healthtech Co. Ltd., part of Jiangsu Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd., has acquired exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize an oral SARS-CoV-2 3C-like protease inhibitor from Beijing Huayi Health Drug Discovery Institute, also known as the Global Health Drug Discovery Institute (GHDDI). The deal includes ¥12 million (US$1.8 million) up front and up to ¥1.68 billion in potential milestone payments, plus tiered royalties on net sales.
Moderna Inc.’s and Pfizer Inc.-Biontech SE’s COVID-19 bivalent boosters could be coming to the U.S. in the first week or so of September – even though the U.S. FDA just received the completed emergency use authorization (EUA) requests for the vaccines this week. The CDC is already taking pre-orders from providers, states and other jurisdictions for the yet-to-be authorized booster doses as part of its fall-winter booster campaign strategy. It also scheduled a Sept. 1-2 meeting of its Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices, signaling that it expects the FDA to grant the EUAs by the end of August.
While other COVID-19 vaccine makers are developing bivalent boosters comprising the original SARS-CoV-2 strain and an omicron variant, Russia’s Gamaleya National Research Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology is trekking a different course. Leaving behind the ancestral strain, Gamaleya’s next generation of the Sputnik V vaccine has been specifically adapted against delta and omicron variants of the coronavirus.
Etherna Immunotherapies NV has raised €39 million (US$39 million) in new financing as it pivots to an mRNA-platform strategy. It has added a couple of heavy hitters to its board and its roster of investors, indicating that the move has already gained traction in the marketplace.
