HONG KONG – Korean biopharma Celltrion Inc. said it’s halfway through the process of creating a super antibody to reign in the COVID-19 novel coronavirus that has claimed almost 13,000 lives globally.
BEIJING – Shanghai Junshi Biosciences Ltd. is developing neutralizing antibodies as a potential treatment for COVID-19, and the program will move on to clinical trials soon. Meanwhile, the biotech is set to launch a pre-revenue IPO on Shanghai’s STAR market.
PERTH, Australia – As Australia closes its borders to all non-citizens and non-residents, it looks within the country for solutions to manage the worsening COVID-19 pandemic.
BEIJING – Biotech companies in China were among the first to experience disruptions in their operations and development plans from the COVID-19 outbreak, with employees unable to report to work and difficulties continuing trials.
In a flurry of catch-up following the coronavirus outbreak in China, a number of biopharma companies have announced development within the last few weeks to address the ever-spreading infection known as COVID-19.
HONG KONG – Fujifilm Holdings Corp. stock (TYO:4901) jumped 8.8% to ¥5,890 (US$53.48) on Feb. 25, as Japan considers using Avigan (favipiravir), an anti-influenza medication developed by the company’s Toyama Chemical Co. Ltd., to treat COVID-19. The share price ended the day at ¥5,567, for a gain of 2.83%.
BEIJING – As the clock ticks on COVID-19’s spread, Chinese biotech companies are hoping to unleash the power of cloud computing and artificial intelligence to find a cure for the virus.
BEIJING – Multiple China-based clinical trials have been put on hold as the country concentrates on its fight against COVID-19. To curb the spread of the novel coronavirus that has infected over 72,000 people and killed nearly 2,000, China has imposed travel and transport restrictions, making trips difficult or even impossible for patients and physicians.
SEATTLE – Tracing the family tree of COVID-19 through its evolving DNA sequence makes it possible to disprove many false claims circulating on social media about the novel coronavirus, and, in particular, that it was generated in a covert biological weapons program. “From everything I’ve looked at, there is zero evidence for genetic engineering; it looks like normal evolution,” said Trevor Bedford, a computational biologist at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, who has been using genomes sequences taken from patient samples to track the spread of the virus since Jan. 11.
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