The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee needed two days of hearings to get through a spending measure that provided the FDA with $500 million for its part in the government response. The CDC would receive $7.5 billion for vaccine distribution and tracking, all developments that ran parallel to an announcement that another 200 million doses of vaccine will be delivered by the end of July at a cost of $3.7 billion.
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Curevac, Immunitybio, Lysogene, Nantkwest, Regeneron, Seagen, Xeris.
Biopharma happenings, including deals and partnerships, grants, preclinical data and other news in brief: Amgen, Apollomics, Aqualung, Biontech, Généthon, Moderna, Pfizer, Regeneron, Sanofi, Tyg, Whitelab.
LONDON – After a number of equivocal small studies, the U.K. Recovery trial has applied its heft to turn in statistically significant evidence that the rheumatoid arthritis treatment Roactemra (tocilizumab) reduces mortality in hospitalized COVID-19 patients.
Limited manufacturing capacity, supply chain disruptions and a dearth of personnel with specialized skills are all challenges vaccine makers are facing as they race to produce contracted quotas of COVID-19 vaccines that were developed and authorized in record time.
LONDON – The EMA has requested all COVID-19 vaccine developers to investigate if their products offer protection against new variants of SARS-CoV-2 and to submit the relevant data.