CAJICA, Colombia – Previous research to develop vaccines for dengue and Zika virus could become the cornerstone for a vaccine against COVID-19, which the Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) is working on.

HONG KONG – Singapore-based Proteona Pte. Ltd. has started a partnership to characterize the clinical response to a new COVID-19 vaccine, with clinical trials soon to start at Flinders Medical Centre testing the candidate developed in collaboration with Adelaide, Australia-based Vaxine Pty Ltd.

HONG KONG – The Japanese government is tightening its grip on its listed companies, including those working on promising COVID-19 treatments. On May 8, the Japanese Ministry of Finance released a list of 518 companies that would be subject to stricter restrictions on receiving foreign investments.

If nothing else, the unfolding coronavirus has advanced the implementation of a wide variety of digital health tools. Panelists at the World Medical Innovation Forum on May 11 explored several current use cases.

Quanterix Corp., of Billerica, Mass., reported that researchers have developed a COVID-19 antibody test with 1,000 times the sensitivity of current tests using its Simoa bead-based immunoassay platform.

Abbott Laboratories received FDA emergency use authorization (EUA) for its COVID-19 molecular test, which will run on the company's new Alinity m system, as well as its COVID-19 antibody blood test, which will run on the Alinity i system. The two actions bring to five the number of COVID-19 tests developed by the Abbott Park, Ill.-based company to receive EUAs.

The May 12 Senate hearing regarding the COVID-19 pandemic included the usual conversations about contact tracing, but Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said he is “cautiously optimistic” that one of the vaccines currently in trial in the U.S. will work, but that it is unlikely a vaccine will be ready by September 2020. In contrast, Assistant Secretary for Health Brett Giroir said testing capacity may reach 50 million tests per month by that time, thanks in part to the fact that antigen testing is now part of the FDA’s emergency use authorization mechanism.