With the World Health Organization’s COVAX facility having more COVID-19 vaccine doses available than have been requested by the countries it was designed to help, industry groups are pushing back against the proposed TRIPS waiver for COVID-19 vaccines.
"Now is the time to discuss the need for future boosters as we aim to move forward safely, with COVID-19 becoming a virus like others such as influenza that we prepare for, protect against and treat,” the FDA’s Peter Marks said in announcing an April 6 virtual meeting of the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC).
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. has filed suits against both Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc. over alleged infringements of its patent on biodegradable cationic lipids that it said "are foundational to the success of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines."
With the World Health Organization’s COVAX facility having more COVID-19 vaccine doses available than have been requested by the countries it was designed to help, industry groups are pushing back against the proposed TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) waiver for COVID-19 vaccines that has been agreed to by the EU, India, South Africa and the U.S.
With global COVID-19 cases on the rise once again, the World Trade Organization (WTO) said it reached consensus among four WTO members – the U.S., European Union, India and South Africa – for an IP waiver regarding vaccines, a proposal to which biopharma reiterated its objections. Meanwhile, in the U.S., the White House appealed to Congress to provide adequate funding to continue the country’s pandemic response, and Pfizer Inc. and Biontech SE submitted an application to the FDA seeking emergency use authorization for a fourth shot of its COVID-19 vaccine.
Chinese state-owned enterprise China Meheco Group Co. Ltd. has signed a deal with Pfizer Inc. to be its mainland China partner for the commercialization of the COVID-19 pill Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir and ritonavir), which won conditional approval from China’s NMPA earlier this year.
Big pharma sponsors of clinical trials in Ukraine are putting studies on hold in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus as the conflict continues into its third week. As revealed by BioWorld last week, hundreds of clinical trials were being conducted in the two countries at the time Russian President Vladimir Putin gave orders to invade Ukraine on Feb. 20.
Chinese state-owned enterprise China Meheco Group Co. Ltd. has signed a deal with Pfizer Inc. to be its mainland China partner for the commercialization of the COVID-19 pill Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir and ritonavir), which won conditional approval from China’s NMPA earlier this year.
The deadly SARS-CoV-2 virus that has cost nearly 6 million lives worldwide and disrupted global economies has brought the biopharma industry $82 billion in sales revenue since the start of the pandemic, with guidance for another $88 billion this year.
China’s NMPA has given conditional approval to Pfizer Inc.’s COVID-19 oral pill Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir/ritonavir). The drug was approved for the treatment of adults with mild to moderate COVID-19 and a high risk of progression to severe disease. This includes the elderly, and people with chronic kidney issues, diabetes, cardiovascular, and chronic lung disease.
