LONDON – The U.K. has set up the first randomized controlled trial of COVID-19 vaccines in pregnant women, to assess different dosing schedules. The aim is to find the balance between longer intervals that are known to spur a greater immune response, against shorter intervals that provide faster protection.
The world has been running an ultramarathon since the COVID-19 pandemic began, but despite the ups and downs of cases and deaths, the wins and losses of clinical efforts, every day is another step forward toward herd immunity and the finish line.
LONDON – Relaxing of control measures such as mask wearing and social distancing at a time when most of a population has been vaccinated against COVID-19 greatly increases the probability of the emergence of a vaccine-resistant strain, according to a new modeling study.
Regulatory snapshots, including global submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Biofourmis, Cepheid, Fluxergy, Nanovibronix.
Med-tech happenings, including deals and partnerships, grants, preclinical data and other news in brief: Aptargroup, BD, Bioventus, Boston Scientific, Consensus Business Group, Draper, EC Healthcare, Graymatters Health, Immunai, Medimaps Group, Medx Xelerator, Medx Ventures Group, Misonix, Nanalysis Scientific, Nebion, One Moon Scientific, Prenetics, Weihai Hengyu Medical Products.
Med-tech happenings, including deals and partnerships, grants, preclinical data and other news in brief: 3a-diagnostics, 903 Devices, 10x Genomics, Amwell, Angelmed, Armor Bionics, Bio-Rad, Blockmd, Carlsmed, Converse Health, Edgility, Exthera Medical, Fresenius Medical Care, Informed Data Systems, Levitee, NAMSA, NTT Research, Olympus, One Drop, Paragon, PCORI, Pear Therapeutics, Shapeways, Silvercloud Health, Still Technologies, Withings, Xphyto.
Access Biologicals LLC brought online newly released seroconversion panels that measure the level of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in blood samples, allowing researchers to determine vaccine efficacy. The panels can detect the point when seroconversion occurs and assess the efficacy of a vaccine against new and existing strains of the novel coronavirus. To build the panels, the Vista, Calif.-based company collected blood samples prior to vaccination and after the first and second doses. The plasma was then tested for IgG antibodies to the S1 and S2 spike proteins of the novel coronavirus using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) and chemiluminescent assays (CLIA).
LONDON – Memed Diagnostics Ltd. has adapted the point-of-care test it developed to distinguish bacterial from viral infections to enable rapid assessment of the severity of COVID-19 infections in patients being admitted to the hospital. The triaging tool, Memed COVID-19 Severity, has received a CE mark in Europe and is ready for commercial rollout. After securing the CE mark, Memed is now pursuing emergency use authorization for the test from FDA.
Med-tech happenings, including deals and partnerships, grants, preclinical data and other news in brief: Abbott, Alere, Beckman Coulter, Eyenuk, Gamidor Diagnostics, Pixcell Medical, Quidel, Speedx, Sqi Diagnostics.
