Moderna Inc. and Covaxx Inc. are readying for delivery more than 220 million doses of their respective COVID-19 vaccines to Europe and emerging countries in newly cut deals. Moderna, of Cambridge, Mass., said it granted an option to the European Commission to buy up to 80 million additional doses of mRNA-1273 and is set to manufacture 500 million to 1 billion doses globally in 2021. The company said the vaccine, if approved, will ship to the EU beginning in December. The company’s shares (NASDAQ:MRNA) had a solid day Nov. 25, with shares closing 10.78% upward at $109.18.

LONDON – The 10 weeks of laboratory time lost during the first U.K. COVID-19 lockdown will translate to a 17-month delay in oncology drug discovery and development projects, according to the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) in London.

Moderna Inc., late on Nov. 30, said it has asked the FDA to bless emergency use of its COVID-19 vaccine mRNA-1273 after phase III data confirmed it to be 94.1% effective in preventing symptomatic cases of the disease and 100% effective in preventing severe cases. The Cambridge, Mass.-based company said efficacy was "consistent across age, race and ethnicity and gender demographics."

LONDON – Long-awaited guidance on the EU regulation for in vitro diagnostics (IVD) that comes into force in May 2022 arrived as the industry increased its calls for implementation to be postponed, citing the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic has derailed work on bringing products into compliance with the new rules.

Moderna Inc. and Covaxx Inc. are readying for delivery more than 220 million doses of their respective COVID-19 vaccines to Europe and emerging countries in newly cut deals. Moderna, of Cambridge, Mass., said it granted an option to the European Commission to buy up to 80 million additional doses of mRNA-1273 and is set to manufacture 500 million to 1 billion doses globally in 2021. The company said the vaccine, if approved, will ship to the EU beginning in December. The company’s shares (NASDAQ:MRNA) had a solid day Nov. 25, with shares closing 10.78% upward at $109.18.

Medtronic plc reported second quarter worldwide revenue of $7.647 billion, a decrease of 0.8% as reported and 1.5% on an organic basis. Analysts noted, however, that the figure beat the consensus of $7.08 billion. It also exceeded Wells Fargo’s $7.12 billion estimate. With the continued uncertainty related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Dublin-based company did not provide formal annual or quarterly financial guidance. Still, the need for ventilators pushed the company ahead.

PARIS – Carmat SA has closed an $11.8 million loan in the form of a government-backed loan from a French banking syndicate. In an environment made uncertain by the COVID-19 crisis, Carmat will be able to continue its clinical development program on its total artificial heart, undisturbed. “This financing facility contributes to securing our cash position and extends our financial visibility through to the third quarter of 2021,” Stéphane Piat, CEO of Carmat, told BioWorld.

PARIS – Ganymed Robotics SAS reported the successful completion of functional prototype testing for its surgical robotic assistant used in total knee arthroplasty. According to a systematic review of the literature, published in the Journal of Arthroplasty, more than 2 million patients undergo knee arthroplasty each year after suffering arthritis of the knee.

DUBLIN – Synox Therapeutics Ltd., a spin-out from Celleron Therapeutics Ltd., has raised €37 million (US$43.7 million) in a series A round to conduct a pivotal trial of emactuzumab, an antibody its parent company in-licensed from Roche Holding AG in August.