Moncef Slaoui, chief advisor to Operation Warp Speed, the public-private partnership to hurry along a vaccine for COVID-19, cited tough going in the early days of development, as researchers met “a real challenge to engage the population.” During a panel discussion at the virtual 39th J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, he pointed to “a double-edged sword, to talk about what a vaccine can do, when we don’t know – and then once you know, you’re going to have to change your message.”
CAJICA, Colombia – Authorities in Brazil released new efficacy data for Sinovac Biotech Ltd.'s COVID-19 vaccine Coronavac that surprised on the downside, suggesting the vaccine could be much less effective than initially indicated for preventing symptomatic infections.
CAJICA, Colombia – Brazil's Butantan Institute and the government of the state of Sao Paulo released efficacy results on Jan. 7 for Coronavac, developed by China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd., that suggest the COVID-19 vaccine is more than 78% effective.
CAJICA, Colombia – A phase III trial for an HIV vaccine developed Janssen Vaccines & Prevention BV is finally moving forward in Latin America and elsewhere in the world after a delay of more than a year caused by slow regulatory progress and worsened by a string of COVID-19 lockdowns.
CAJICA, Colombia – Brazil's Butantan Institute and the government of the state of Sao Paulo released efficacy results on Jan. 7 for Coronavac, developed by China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd., that suggest the COVID-19 vaccine is more than 78% effective.
DUBLIN – Curevac AG has entered a global alliance with Bayer AG to accelerate its efforts to bring a third, desperately needed mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine to market. The vaccine in question, CVnCoV, began a pivotal phase IIb/III trial on Dec. 14.
The U.S. FDA is actively working on guidance for conversion of emergency use authorizations (EUAs) to conventional premarket review programs, but the FDA’s Tim Stenzel said he does “not perceive a need to rush to convert EUAs” because of the volume of EUA applications, and because he does not expect the public health emergency “to end anytime soon.”
LONDON – The EMA has recommended approval of Moderna Inc.’s COVID-19 vaccine, becoming the fourth western regulator to do so, after Israel approved the product on Jan. 5 and the FDA and Health Canada in December.
Thanks to the pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus identified in late December 2019, 2020 was the year of COVID-19. It was a year of lockdowns and social distancing, a year of Zoom meetings and virtual conferences, and a year when donning a face mask sometimes came to signify a political rather than health decision.
HONG KONG – China National Biotec Group (CNBG) said that BBIBP-CorV, one of the two COVID-19 vaccines it currently has under development, provides 79.34% protection against the coronavirus.