A day after the FDA granted emergency authorization for the use of the Pfizer Inc./Biontech SE COVID-19 vaccine, the U.S. CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) gave a thumb’s up for the vaccine, as did the Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup.
The latest global regulatory news, changes and updates affecting medical devices and technologies, including: USTR seeking input on nations with poor IP protections; NICE sticks with ABI to evaluate PAD; Health Canada to extend COVID-19 flexibilities.
Med-tech happenings, including deals and partnerships, grants, preclinical data and other news in brief: Activepure Technologies, Aditx Therapeutics, American Bio Medica, Ashvattha Therapeutics, Babylon Health, Builtspace, Diabeloop, Efemoral Medical, Eurofins Technologies, GE Healthcare, Hummingbird Bioscience, Insightec, Lifescan, Luminultra, Mymedbot, Novacyt, Novocure, Oncimmune, Pacific Biosciences, Roche, SonALAsense, Tempus Labs, Todos Medical, Variscite, Welldoc.
TORONTO – Waterloo, Ontario-based DarwinAI Corp. and Raleigh, N.C.-based Red Hat Inc.are developing a suite of deep neural networks for COVID-19 detection and risk stratification via chest radiography in cooperation with Boston Children’s Hospital. DarwinAI designed COVID-Net as “explainable” artificial intelligence (AI) that illuminates the inner workings of AI-driven medical technologies and promptly offered it on an open-source platform for the broader hospital community.
Michael Mina, assistant professor of epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, again criticized the U.S. FDA for taking a conventional regulatory approach to rapid antigen tests for the pandemic. However, not everyone at the FDA’s parent department deserves brickbats. Mina said Assistant Secretary for Health Brett Giroir deserves a lot of credit for assisting in the effort to stand up pilot studies for rapid antigen tests that could be used to restore the U.S. economy even in the absence of a fully rolled-out vaccination campaign.
Regulatory snapshots, including global submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Applied Biocode.
LONDON – A study of genetic variants in patients with life-threatening COVID-19 has shed light on the mechanisms that underpin severe disease, uncovered new drug targets and pointed to approved drugs, including JAK inhibitors and phosphodiesterase type 4 inhibitors, as therapies that could aid recovery.
The FDA’s vaccine advisory committee voted 17-4 with one abstention Dec. 10 to recommend an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the Pfizer Inc./Biontech SE mRNA vaccine BNT-162b2 to prevent COVID-19 in individuals 16 and older.
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