Without the COVID-19 pandemic, projected values of biopharma nonprofit collaborations and grants would be 72% and 30% below last year’s levels, although it is impossible to know what deals may have come to fruition in a world absent of the disruptive SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Privately held Alzheon Inc. picked up a $47 million grant from the NIH’s National Institute on Aging that will last over five years to support a phase III clinical trial of its oral brain-penetrant small molecule ALZ-801 to treat Alzheimer’s disease.
Privately held Alzheon Inc. picked up a $47 million grant from the NIH’s National Institute on Aging that will last over five years to support a phase III clinical trial of its oral brain-penetrant small molecule ALZ-801 to treat Alzheimer’s disease.
DUBLIN – Osivax SAS has assembled a public funding package of more than €32 million (US$36.3 million) to pursue ongoing clinical development of its universal flu vaccine and to take forward a coronavirus vaccine program based on a similar approach, involving vaccine-like particle (VLP) technology.
Two more companies, Novavax Inc. and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., are on the receiving end of U.S. federal government funding to develop and deliver a COVID-19 vaccine in 2021.
Within a month of disclosing a CA$175.6 million (US$124.7 million) award from the Canadian government to use its antibody discovery platform for the analysis of patients who have recovered from COVID-19, Abcellera Biologics Inc. closed a $105 million series B financing aimed at expanding its capacity and investing in new technologies that complement its antibody discovery engine.
TORONTO – How confident is Canada’s government that Abcellera Biologics Inc. can identify viral antibodies to help stop COVID-19 in its tracks and build the manufacturing infrastructure for antibody therapies against future pandemic threats? Enough to award the Vancouver, British Columbia-based biotech CA$175.6 million (US$124.7 million) for the application of its antibody discovery platform to the analysis of patients who have recovered from COVID-19.
The U.S. National Institutes of Health recently announced a competitive grant opportunity for testing for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which has been characterized as a “Shark Tank-like” program, and NIH director Francis Collins said in a May 7 Senate hearing that one of the criteria for awards is whether supplies can be made readily available for that test, the lack of which has been a significant impediment to testing in the U.S.
Despite a global pandemic that is wreaking havoc on the overall economy, biopharma financings and grants during the month of April have shown solid numbers.
Gaithersburg, Md.-based startup Hememics Biotechnologies Inc. is partnering with the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to develop a rapid, Bluetooth-connected, point-of-care (POC) test for COVID-19. Designed for use in both field and traditional settings, the test detects SARS-CoV-2 and related antibodies from nasal swabs and whole blood, delivering results in a minute or less.