While a number of U.S. cities and towns have been conducting wastewater testing for the SARS-CoV-2 virus for some time, the CDC has finally established a dashboard for reporting the results of this surveillance. While the resulting data may be useful in the current pandemic for allocation of resources, the establishment of a network of wastewater surveillance instruments can also be instrumental in future public health efforts, such as tracking foodborne infections and detecting the emergence of new antibiotic-resistant pathogens.
Xanadu Bio, a Yale University spinout developing an intranasal SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine booster, has secured an exclusive license from the school for a polymeric nanoparticle delivery platform to support the project. The delivery tech could potentially have future applications for influenza, respiratory syncytial virus and even cystic fibrosis.
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Ascletis, Azurity, Biogen, Celltrion, Everest, Gilead, GW, Jazz, NGM, Obseva, RDIF, Sanofi, Sinomab.
Biopharma happenings, including deals and partnerships, grants, preclinical data and other news in brief: Arbor, Askbio, Bayer, Biogen, Edigene, Healx, Merakris, Merck, Orange Grove, Ovid, Ridgeback, Touchlight, Xbrane.
Clinical updates, including trial initiations, enrollment status and data readouts and publications: Active Biotech, Actuate, Acurx, Antengene, Biomarin, Canbridge, Eubiologics, Evelo, Lysogene, Maplight, Nanoscope, Neoimmunetech, Pop, Tearclear, Uniqure.
As the U.S. FDA struggles to meet a massive court-ordered release of documents related to its approval of the Pfizer Inc.-Biontech SE COVID-19 vaccine, it could help itself by being more proactive in publicly releasing documents related to the approval and labeling of prescription drugs, according to a U.S. regulatory expert.
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Cytokinetics, Mylan Laboratories, Novavax, RDIF, Revolo, Roche, TG, Tiziana, Viatris.
Biopharma happenings, including deals and partnerships, grants, preclinical data and other news in brief: Biomunex, Nanopass Technologies, Navidea, Varsity .
“The premise of our whole company is that we target molecular machines, but we don’t target the engine,” Adrian Schomburg told BioWorld. Instead, “we interfere with the throttle and other highly specific controls of these machines.” “We,” in this case, is Eisbach Bio GmbH, a German startup that is developing anticancer programs aimed at exploiting synthetic lethality by targeting helicases. Founded in 2019, the company has three programs, a recently announced collaboration with MD Anderson Cancer Center in oncology, and another program in COVID-19.
The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has unanimously recommended the agency endorse administering Moderna Inc.'s COVID-19 vaccine, Spikevax (elasomeran), to adults. The vote was a strong echo of the FDA’s full approval of the vaccine for adults only a few days earlier, on Jan. 31. After hearing safety and efficacy data from Moderna and an internal analysis of that data from the CDC, ACIP recommended by a vote of 13-0 that the CDC endorse the vaccine’s use for people 18 years and older.
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