Right on cue, the U.S. FDA authorized bivalent COVID-19 vaccines from Moderna Inc. and Pfizer Inc.-Biontech SE to be given as boosters at least two months following a primary vaccine series or a previous booster. “These updated boosters present us with an opportunity to get ahead of the next wave of COVID-19,” FDA Commissioner Robert Califf said, following the Aug. 31 announcement.
Hansoh Healthtech Co. Ltd., part of Jiangsu Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd., has acquired exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize an oral SARS-CoV-2 3C-like protease inhibitor from Beijing Huayi Health Drug Discovery Institute, also known as the Global Health Drug Discovery Institute (GHDDI). The deal includes ¥12 million (US$1.8 million) up front and up to ¥1.68 billion in potential milestone payments, plus tiered royalties on net sales.
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Bluebird, Innovent, Moderna, Pfizer, Pharmazz, Plus, Polpharma, Tracon.
Clinical updates, including trial initiations, enrollment status and data readouts and publications: Aivita, Alnylam, Beyondspring, Fusion, Kinarus, Redcloud, Sirnaomics, Reneo, Valneva.
Immunoprecise Antibodies Ltd.'s Polytope TATX-03 antibody combination therapy has been shown to neutralize SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern, including the omicron BA.5 subvariant, in an authentic virus assay.
Stemcyte Inc. has received IND approval from the FDA for a phase II trial using umbilical cord blood stem cell therapy for post-COVID syndrome, or long COVID.
Cue Health Inc. rolled out a same-day, at-home, test-to-treatment program through its Cue Health app for any patient in the U.S. with a positive result from its COVID-19 test. The service includes a virtual, on-demand visit with a health care professional to discuss the test result; a prescription for medication to treat the virus, if appropriate; and home delivery of the medication, typically within hours of the visit. Medications may also be made available for pickup at a local pharmacy.
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Biontech, Inhibikase, Novavax, Pfizer.
The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory Inc. has joined forces with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to screen pathogens, toxins and diseases using its high-throughput organ-chip devices. As part of a concerted effort to develop new medical countermeasures against biological and chemical threats, organs-on-a-chip provide directly applicable insights into human responses and enable testing on organs developed from a diverse pool of live donors prior to human trials.
Three of the biggest COVID-19 vaccine developers are heading into a legal battle. Moderna Inc. said it has filed lawsuits alleging the Pfizer Inc.-Biontech SE Comirnaty vaccine infringes patents Moderna filed between 2010 and 2016 that cover its mRNA technology. Pfizer and Biontech “unlawfully” copied the technology without permission, according to Moderna.
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