Cancer researchers fear advances for patients could be delayed by almost a year and a half because of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, a new survey reveals. Scientists at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, told the survey that their own research advances would be pushed back by an… Read More
Most media and public attention during the pandemic has focused upon efforts to develop an effective vaccine to prevent COVID-19, which is caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Some attention has been paid to investigational therapeutics for treating infected patients, such as the antiviral drug remdesivir or the corticosteroid dexamethasone,… Read More
A computational model of a human lung cell has been used to understand how SARS-CoV-2 draws on human host cell metabolism to reproduce by researchers at the University of Warwick, UK. This study helps understand how the virus uses the host to survive and enable drug predictions for treating the… Read More
A new therapy for influenza virus infections that may also prove effective against many other pathogenic virus infections, including HIV and COVID-19, has been developed by Purdue University scientists. In an average year, more than 2 million people in the United States are hospitalised with the flu, and 30,000 to… Read More
The efficacy of the Sputnik V vaccine is 91.4%, based on the second interim analysis of data obtained 28 days after administering the first dose (seven days after the second dose), according to the Gamaleya Center and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF). The calculation was based on the analysis… Read More
The University of Oxford, in collaboration with AstraZeneca, has announced interim trial data from its Phase III trials that show its candidate vaccine, ChAdOx1 nCoV-2019, is effective at preventing COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) and offers a high level of protection. Following the trial reaching the target for interim analysis, the independent Data… Read More
The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) awarded its first ACM Gordon Bell Special Prize for High Performance Computing-Based COVID-19 Research to a multi-institution research team that included the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory. The team was singled out for its work, AI-Driven Multiscale Simulations Illuminate Mechanisms of… Read More
The ChAdOx1 nCov-2019 coronavirus vaccine, developed by teams at the University of Oxford, has been shown to trigger a robust immune response in healthy adults aged 56-69 and those over 70 years of age. The data, published today in The Lancet, suggest that one of the groups most vulnerable to serious… Read More
Pfizer and BioNTech have announced that after conducting the final efficacy analysis in their ongoing Phase III study, their mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine candidate, BNT162b2, met all of the study’s primary efficacy endpoints. Analysis of the data indicates a vaccine efficacy rate of 95% in participants without prior SARS-CoV-2 infection (first… Read More
New research from GovGrant, R&D and IP specialist, reveals that 86% of UK SMEs in health-related sectors think innovation is important for their recovery from COVID-19. Despite this, almost half (47%) - healthcare, medtech and pharma - say the cost is the main barrier for them when it comes to… Read More
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) human medicines committee (CHMP) has started a rolling review of Moderna’s mRNA-1273 vaccine candidate against COVID-19. This follows confirmation of eligibility of mRNA-1273 for submission on October 14, 2020. On 16 November Moderna announced that the independent, US NIH-appointed Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) for… Read More
Moderna has announced a supply agreement with the UK government to supply mRNA-1273, its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, beginning in March 2021 if it is approved for use by UK regulatory authorities. This agreement comes as the UK continues its efforts to secure access to safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines. “We… Read More
The investigational NIH-Moderna COVID-19 vaccine mRNA-1273 has been found to be safe and effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 in adults. This is according to the interim results reviewed by an independent data and safety monitoring board (DSMB) overseeing the Phase III trial of the investigational COVID-19 vaccine mRNA-1273. The interim… Read More
The UK’s Department for Health and Social Care Testing Innovation Fund has backed the Wellcome Sanger Institute and the COVID-19 Genomics UK (COG-UK) Consortium in expanding whole genome sequencing of positive SARS-CoV-2 virus samples to map how COVID-19 spreads and evolves. The £12.2M funding will allow the Sanger Institute to… Read More
The Janssen COVID-19 vaccine candidate leverages the company’s AdVac technology platform, which was also used to develop and manufacture Janssen’s European Commission-approved Ebola vaccine and construct its Zika, RSV, and HIV investigational vaccine candidates. Janssen’s AdVac technology platform has been used to vaccinate more than 110,000 people to date across… Read More
Bristol scientists have demonstrated a new virtual reality [VR] technique which should help in developing drugs against the SARS-CoV-2 virus – and enable researchers to share models and collaborate in new ways. The innovative tool, created by University of Bristol researchers, and published in the Journal of Chemical Information and… Read More
