LONDON – Oxford Immunotec plc is aiming to plug a significant gap in the COVID-19 diagnostics landscape, with the development of a commercial clinical grade test for quantifying T cell responses to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. T-Spot Discovery SARS-CoV-2, currently available for research use only, is based on the same automated technology as the company’s tuberculosis diagnostic, which is approved for use in more than 60 countries.
TORONTO – Toronto-based Oncall Health Inc. has raised CA$7.9 million (US$6 million) in series A funding to help health care organizations lessen COVID-19’s impact on their EMR and other operational programs. An even more ambitious goal, said CEO Nicholas Chepesiuk, is to streamline delivery of virtual health care across a range of small to large U.S.-based organizations “in a way that makes sense for their brand and their workflow.”
Regulatory snapshots, including global submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Cepheid, Conformis, Guide Sensmart, Oxford Immunotec, Surgical Innovation Associates.
Med-tech happenings, including deals and partnerships, grants, preclinical data and other news in brief: Accelerate Technologies, Aptorum Group, Billiontoone, Confirm Biosciences, Exagen, Genosity, Infirmary Health, Inflammatix, Karl Storz, Labcorp, LC-SCRUM-Asia, Jellagen, Mayo Clinic, Olink Proteomics, Premier, Proterixbio, Provider Network of America, Pulse Biosciences, Radiant Technologies, Saranas, Securiport, Seek Thermal, Stryker, Swift Biosciences, Wright Medical, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Well Health Technologies.
KARACHI, Pakistan – Faced with lockdowns and massive disruptions to supply chains, distributors and manufacturers of surgical equipment in countries across South Asia like Pakistan, Indian, Bangladesh and Nepal are struggling to find a way forward but also looking for opportunities to expand their share of the global market while reducing their existing reliance on imports of basic supplies.
Regulatory snapshots, including global submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Hologic, Masimo, Quotient, Zymo Research.
With only days left before Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc. planned to initiate a phase II/III trial of its COVID-19 DNA vaccine candidate, INO-4800, and its accompanying delivery device, the FDA placed a partial clinical hold on the company’s study. This is the study’s second delay as the company originally planned to begin in July or August. November is now the earliest potential start date. Inovio told BioWorld that the company and its partners are continuing to prepare for the phase II/III trial “following resolution of the FDA’s partial clinical hold.”
Wellington Life Sciences general partner Regina Hodits, during a talk with CBT Advisors CEO Steve Dickman at the recent Biopharm America meeting, said the disaster scenario feared for European investments when COVID-19 struck “turned out very different. We never have a lot of time off in summer, not as much as we would want to, but this year we certainly had no time off,” as portfolio firms found money and Wellington tapped new opportunities.
A team of scientists at Duke Health has identified biomarkers that accurately detect viral infections before a person becomes symptomatic. The findings were published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.