Briefing documents released by the FDA related to the Vaccines and Related Products Advisory Committee meeting slated for Friday suggest that the COVID-19 vaccine from Johnson & Johnson (J&J) will sail smoothly to an emergency use authorization.

Diagnostics company Sphingotec GmbH is looking to break into the U.S. market with a pair of biomarker assays that could help determine the best treatment for critically ill patients at risk for septic shock. The two assays, which are run on the company’s point-of-care Nexus IB10 immunoassay platform, measure bioactive adrenomedullin (bio-ADM), a hormone that maintains endothelial function; and dipeptidyl peptidase 3 (DPP3), an enzyme that inactivates angiotensin II when released into the blood.

"Step up, speak up" could be the next mantra for COVID-19 screening at airports, universities and large employers if Vocalis Health Inc.'s screening tool takes off – and its recent CE mark approval makes that more likely. Vocalis reported that a large study found the tool, which uses AI-powered vocal biomarkers, had greater than 80% sensitivity and specificity, even in asymptomatic individuals.

The first Senate hearing for the nomination of Xavier Becerra as Secretary of Health and Human Services included the predictable questions about his qualifications, given his position as attorney general for the state of California. However, the candidate repeatedly emphasized price transparency for both hospitals and drug manufacturers, the latter of which are still laboring under the perception that price gouging is a common practice.

HONG KONG – China is steadily greenlighting more COVID-19 vaccines and drugs to go deeper into the clinic, giving the country a growing arsenal against the disease. To date, China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) has approved a handful of drugs and 16 domestically developed COVID-19 vaccine candidates for trials, up from 11 in September 2020.