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.

As the COVID-19 outbreak continues to dominate the news, an increasing number of companies have come forward to help. For its part, CHF Solutions Inc., of Eden Prairie, Minn., is looking to bring its device-based intervention for fluid management to the fight.

Avellino Lab USA Inc. has developed a diagnostic test for the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which has been validated in keeping with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)'s Policy for Diagnostics Testing in Laboratories Certified to Perform High-Complexity Testing under CLIA prior to Emergency Use Authorization for Coronavirus Disease-2019 during the Public Health Emergency. Physicians can order the assay now, while the company continues testing.

Despite the growing concerns about the potential for the community spread of COVID-19 in the U.S., the FDA-FTC public workshop on competition in the biologics marketplace went ahead as scheduled March 9, playing to a full house with some audience members sitting in an overflow room. And all the invited speakers and people registered to speak during the open public hearing session showed up.