BEIJING – Chinese biotech companies are focusing on fighting the novel coronavirus, now named as COVID-19 by the WHO, after the country’s government called for all possible assistance. With its Trimer-Tag technology, Chengdu-based Sichuan Clover Biopharmaceuticals Inc. is among the first to reveal production of a vaccine candidate against COVID-19.
PERTH, Australia – As of Feb. 12, Australia’s Department of Health confirmed 15 cases of novel coronavirus in Australia (five in Queensland, four in New South Wales, four in Victoria and two in South Australia). Of the confirmed 15 cases, five people have recovered and the others are in stable condition.
HONG KONG – As drug developers are racing to find a cure for the new coronavirus, researchers in Hong Kong claim to have made major headway in the development of a vaccine for the virus that has so far killed 132. Yuen Kwok-yung, the chair of infectious diseases at the University of Hong Kong’s (HKU) department of microbiology, said in a press briefing at Hong Kong’s Queen Mary Hospital that his team had successfully isolated the novel virus from the first imported case in Hong Kong. But he said the vaccine still needs months to be tested on animals and an additional year for human trials before it is fit for use.
When they work, T cells work great. And the folks at Avidea Technologies Inc. want to make them work more often. Combining expertise in immunology and polymer chemistry, the Baltimore-based startup is developing antigen delivery technology to improve T cell-targeted vaccines.
BOGOTA, Colombia – A two-year-old shortage of measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine in Mexico has become more serious, with 2020 starting out with renewed complaints of even lower availability of the vaccine all over the country.
In response to the emergence of a new coronavirus seen recently in China, and now America, Novavax Inc. has initiated development of a vaccine candidate, the company told BioWorld. Company shares (NASDAQ:NVAX) climbed more than 71% Jan. 21, ending the day at $9.82.
Albuquerque, N.M.-based Agilvax Inc. CEO Joseph Patti told BioWorld that his firm’s antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) method uses “the same linkers, same payloads” as other firms but the “unique factor for us is the target we’re going after” – SLC7A11 (xCT), an amino acid transporter implicated in the metabolic redox activities of metastatic cancer cells.
HONG KONG – Biocure Technology Corp., a Canadian biopharmaceutical company focusing on biosimilar products, is advancing a CAR T product through its South Korean subsidiary, Biocurepharm Inc., thanks to a recently closed private placement.
"We tried to land on Mars and we got to the moon," Novavax Inc. President of R&D Gregory Glenn told BioWorld, referring to the Gaithersburg, Md.-based firm's phase III trial with the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine called Resvax. And it was more than anyone had done thus far, he added.
BOGOTA, Colombia – Argentina, hit by a challenging economic crisis, is struggling to supply vaccines to its population. The most recent shortages affect Menveo, a vaccine produced by Glaxosmithkline plc for preventing meningococcal disease.
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