LONDON – A second phase III trial of Johnson & Johnson’s adenoviral-vectored COVID-19 vaccine is starting in the U.K. this week, amid concerns the positive news from the Pfizer Inc./Biontech SE vaccine study will deter volunteers from coming forward to take part.

A Polish/Dutch team of investigators has reported new insights into the structure of the SARS-CoV-2 genome that suggests it could be amenable to both small-molecule and oligonucleotide drugs.

PERTH, Australia – The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of digital health technology, and the Australian government quickly enabled programs in telehealth and e-prescriptions. It now is embracing opportunities to build on this momentum to accelerate the country’s economic digital transformation. Not only will this transformation contribute to Australia’s recovery, but also to its long-term prosperity, said Sue MacLeman, chair of Australia’s Medical Technologies and Pharmaceuticals Industry Growth Centre (MTPConnect), during a recent ANDHealth teleconference.

Qiagen NV has started U.S. commercialization of a portable SARS-CoV-2 antigen testing device that can analyze up to 30 patient samples an hour. The Qiareach test features a portable hub device – smaller than a laptop – that can hold up to eight nasopharyngeal swab samples at a time. The test provides a digital readout of the results in two to 15 minutes – with strong positive results taking closer to two minutes and negative results coming back in 15 minutes.

Although the global impact of a novel virus like SARS-CoV-2 has so far reached devastating proportions, it has spurred science at an unprecedented rate with potential vaccines developed under a year now nearing U.S. authorization. But while some may say the end to this pandemic is in sight, an actual date is blurry at best, as manufacturing and supply capabilities muddy the outlook.