In 2021, progress on preventing and treating COVID-19 was a seemingly endless series of starts and stalls. In spite of the high-profile stumbles, science and finance took startling steps forward.
LONDON – There was a substantial fall in neutralization titers against the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 in the stored sera of people who had received two doses of either Astrazeneca plc’s or Pfizer Inc./Biontech SE’s COVID-19 vaccines, with some samples failing to neutralize the virus at all, according to the latest data from the U.K. Com-Cov study.
Med-tech happenings, including deals and partnerships, grants, preclinical data and other news in brief: Cambridge Orthopaedic, Eurofins, Exthera, Leica, Predicate HPG, Surgicalone, Tianrong, Wilton Management.
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Acer, Aprea, Bayer, Brii, Cytodyn, Cytokinetics, Heron, Intercept, Nrx, Ocugen, Reata, Sesen, VBI.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is continuing a streak of investments in the med-tech space, signing a €20 million (US$22 million) loan agreement with Midiagnostics NV, to scale-up a new rapid COVID-19 PCR test. Leuven, Belgium-based Midiagnostics is developing a rapid PCR test for SARS-CoV-2, which can achieve an accuracy speed 20 times faster than classic PCR machines. A nasopharyngeal swab sample is transferred on a PCR testcard, from which the results are read by a compact reader. Pilot programs for the test began at Brussels Airport this month, with a market launch pegged for Spring 2022.
A cocktail of monoclonal neutralizing antibodies developed by Brii Biosciences Ltd. has become “the first locally-discovered and approved SARS-CoV-2 target-specific treatment in China, through a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled trial,” Rogers Luo, president and general manager of greater China at the company, told BioWorld. The NMPA approved a combination of Brii’s amubarvimab and romlusevimab as a treatment for both adults and pediatric patients, ages 12 to 17, with mild and “normal type” COVID-19 at high risk for progression to severe disease, including hospitalization or death.
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