Given the ethics and feasibility of placebo-controlled COVID-19 vaccine trials, Access Consortium members are recognizing appropriately designed immunobridging studies as an acceptable approach for authorizing the vaccines, including those being developed to protect against SARS-CoV-2 variants.

LONDON – The U.K. government has accepted the recommendation of medical experts and will begin the rollout of COVID-19 boosters from next week, using mRNA vaccines only. That follows data from the U.K. Cov-Boost trial, looking at combinations of initial and booster doses. The results showed Pfizer Inc./Biontech SE’s and Moderna Inc.’s products generated the best immune responses, regardless of which vaccine was administered initially.

Biopharma happenings, including deals and partnerships, grants, preclinical data and other news in brief: Alivamab, Celonic, Celyn, Chemdiv, Compass, Convergent, Cresset, Curevac, Defence, Eleva, Gwynant, IO, Jupiter, Merck, Mihkal, Molsoft, Novartis, Point, Rentschler, Teva, Wacker.

Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: ADC, Alnylam, Beigene, Chiesi, Hummingbird, Hutchmed, Instil, Mirum, Monopar, Redhill, Relief, Scynexis, Tonix, Y-Mabs.

Clinical updates, including trial initiations, enrollment status and data readouts and publications: ABVC, Aivita, Alzamend, Atyr, Bellus, Celldex, Cytokinetics, Diamedica, Hepion, Immunitybio, Janssen, Legend, Matinas, Mymd, Oncopeptides, Outlook, Pharmather, Pharma Two B, Providence, Resverlogix, Urovant, Vistagen, Zentalis, Zynerba.

Regulatory snapshots, including global submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Visby Medical.

The Biden administration may have jumped ahead of the FDA review when it announced last month that it planned to roll out COVID-19 boosters by Sept. 20, but that’s not likely to happen when it comes to the timing of vaccines for young children.

Shares in France’s vaccine specialist Valneva SA were sharply down after the U.K. government tore up a contract to supply 100 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine, codenamed VLA-2001. Until today, Valneva was one of the largest COVID-19 vaccine contractors with the U.K. government, which got its orders early in the pandemic. Valneva was supposed to be supplying 100 million doses of its inactivated virus vaccine to the U.K., which had an option on a further 90 million shots.

Biopharma happenings, including deals and partnerships, grants, preclinical data and other news in brief: Abcellera, Adicet, Annexon, Amylyx, Anebulo, Azurrx, Baymedica, Bioarctic, BMS, First Wave, Fujifilm, GT Biopharma, Inmed, Kinnate, Max, MD Anderson, Navrogen, Neuexcell, Polypid, Provention, Provention, Radius, Satellos, Siga, Snipr, SQZ, Telix, Tempest, Tetragenetics, Twist.