Please check out the biopharma industry coronavirus (COVID-19) stories that are trending for July 27, 2020.
News information is not all-inclusive and updates will now be published on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
FDA Actions
LabCorp was granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) permitting diagnostic testing of groups of people for COVID-19 infections using matrixed pooled testing. The testing method tests several patients at once.
Diagnostics
Bruker Corporation launched the FluoroType SARS-CoV-2 plus next-gen 6-plex PCR assay for highly specific detection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The assay is CE-IVD labelled according to the European IVD Directive.
Testing Therapies, Antivirals and Vaccines
Moderna announced yesterday that it had expanded its contract with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) for its mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccine. BARDA had earlier awarded the company up to $483 million. They added another $472 million in support of late stage development including the expanded Phase III trial, which also launched today.
AI Therapeutics launched a Phase II trial in newly diagnosed COVID-19 patients in collaboration with Yale University. The trial will evaluate up to 142 outpatients with LAM-002A to determine if it can reduce viral load in confirmed COVID-19 patients.
Can-Fite BioPharma submitted an IND to the FDA for a Phase II trial of piclidenoson for COVID-19. Piclidenoson has been dosed in more than 1,000 patients in previous trials as well as two ongoing Phase III studies for rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis.
NEOIMMUNETECH received FDA approval for a second study of NT-17 (efineptakin alfa) for COVID-19. The investigator-initiated Phase I study is being run by Jian Li Campian of Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis.
Company Actions
Todos Medical signed a contract to supply Best Supply with COVID equipment and reagents in order to enter the COVID-19 testing field. The total value of the initial contract is $1.4 million.
Emergent BioSolutions signed a deal with AstraZeneca to provide contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) services to support the manufacture of that company’s vaccine candidate, AZD1222, a viral vector-based, weakened version of adenovirus containing the genetic material of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein.
Other Industry News
Although the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has put many businesses on hold, the biotech industy continues to boom. The sector is growing at record speeds, and only a small portion of the capital deals are related to the pandemic.
