Sientra Inc., of Santa Barbara, Calif., reported gains in both its breast products and Miradry segments during its fourth-quarter earnings call after the close of the market March 11. For his part, CEO Jeff Nugent noted that the company had experienced record total net sales in the fourth quarter of $23.2 million, representing growth of 22% year-on-year. However, the company provided full-year 2020 guidance for 12% to 17% growth, which William Blair’s Margaret Kaczor said was below her organization’s 22% estimate, “though the shortfall is largely a result of negative impacts from COVID-19.”

As the COVID-19 strain of coronavirus continues to spread around the globe, companies are scrambling to develop effective diagnostics and vaccines to contain the outbreak and reduce future threats. Among those is Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Plymouth Meeting, Pa., which has been awarded a $5 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to speed testing and scale of smart delivery device for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate.

LONDON – The World Health Organization (WHO) has officially declared COVID-19 a pandemic, but is pushing back strongly against countries giving up on stringent control measures.

Taking a breather from the political rhetoric that’s permeated the U.S response to COVID-19 and pushed legislation aimed at lowering drug prices to the back burner, a House subcommittee Wednesday advanced several bipartisan bills intended to improve the safety and ensure the supply of drugs and medical devices.

U.S. FDA commissioner Stephen Hahn appeared before a congressional panel to discuss the administration’s budget proposal for the agency, but the outbreak of COVID-19 predictably dominated the proceedings.