Although U.S. President Joe Biden suggested in September that the pandemic is over, health officials insist there is still much to do in preparation for an endemic stage of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The number of weekly COVID-19 confirmed cases both globally and in the U.S. is similar with each of the last two years, but deaths from the virus are at some of the lowest levels since the pandemic began. Still, the virus will continue to evolve and circulate, and the biopharma industry will need to develop new booster vaccines, antivirals and monoclonal antibodies, among other candidates, to prepare for upcoming battles.

Imunon Inc. has reported partial results from an ongoing nonhuman primate study designed to examine the immunogenicity of its proprietary Placcine vaccine (PL-COV). The data support Placcine as a viable alternative to mRNA vaccines.

Maxwell Biosciences Inc. has announced data on the utility of its Claromer drug discovery platform for the treatment and prevention of SARS-CoV-2, and potentially other respiratory viruses, through a series of preclinical in vitro and in vivo studies.

The development of needle-free mucosal vaccines for SARS-CoV-2 would be advantageous, potentially reducing viral acquisition as well as transmission.

The U.S. NIH is not generally regarded as a wellspring of concepts and policies in the world of artificial intelligence (AI), but that perception may change soon thanks to the agency’s Bridge2AI program. The agency announced recently that it will drop $130 million into this program over four years in an effort to develop standards for data used in AI research, a key development for device makers seeking to sell products that use these complex algorithms.