PERTH, Australia – The University of Queensland (UQ) and CSL Ltd. are abandoning their trials of an Australian COVID-19 vaccine after recipients generated HIV antibodies during phase I trials. The response means the antibodies produced by the vaccine can interfere with HIV diagnostic tests. However, there was no possibility the vaccine caused infection, and routine follow-up tests confirmed no HIV virus was present, the partners said.

PERTH, Australia – Med-tech company Control Bionics began trading on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX:CBL) Dec. 7 in an IPO that saw the company raise AU$15 million (US$11.25 million). Melbourne-headquartered Control Bionics develops assistive technologies (AT) that allow people with severe disabilities to communicate and control electronic devices using electromyography (EMG).

PERTH, Australia – The University of Queensland (UQ) and CSL Ltd. are abandoning their trials of an Australian COVID-19 vaccine after recipients generated HIV antibodies during phase I trials. The response means the antibodies produced by the vaccine can interfere with HIV diagnostic tests. However, there was no possibility the vaccine caused infection, and routine follow-up tests confirmed no HIV virus was present, the partners said.

PERTH, Australia – Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) is requiring manufacturers of permanently implantable devices to provide patient implant cards and consumer device leaflets with their devices, beginning Dec. 1. New implantable devices will need to comply by Dec. 1, 2020, and existing implantable devices will have until Dec. 1, 2021, to comply.

PERTH, Australia – Australia’s Therapeutic Good Administration (TGA) has unveiled its final regulatory requirements for personalized medical devices, including 3D-printed devices, that go into effect on Feb. 25, 2021. Under the previous framework, custom-made medical devices were exempt from the requirement to be included in the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG).

PERTH, Australia – Melbourne-based Telix Pharmaceuticals Ltd. is acquiring Scintec Diagnostics GmbH subsidiary Therapharm GmbH in a deal worth AU$33 million (US$24.24 million) plus royalties. Zug, Switzerland-based Therapharm has developed a portfolio of radiolabeled diagnostic and therapeutic products, and the deal brings Telix a new targeting asset in hematology, Telix CEO Chris Behrenbruch told analysts during a Dec. 1 conference call.

PERTH, Australia – As the idea of going to Mars starts to look less far-fetched, scientists are beginning to ask practical questions about how space affects the stability of drugs.

PERTH, Australia – Mesoblast Ltd. inked an exclusive global licensing deal with Novartis AG for the development, manufacture and commercialization of Mesoblast’s mesenchymal stromal cell product remestemcel-L, with an initial focus on the acute respiratory distress syndrome, including that associated with COVID-19, just six weeks after the FDA issued a complete response letter for the therapy as a treatment for steroid-refractory acute graft-versus-host disease.