COVID-19

A batch of Johnson & Johnson vaccines have been destroyed following a mix up with ingredients at a production site Emergent Biosolutions, in Baltimore. It is thought this could be around 15 million doses, writes the Independent. According to a report in the Guardian, workers at the plant manufacturing coronavirus shots for Johnson & Johnson […]

When variants of SARS-CoV-2 emerged in late 2020, concern arose that they might elude protective immune responses generated by prior infection or vaccination, potentially making re-infection more likely or vaccination less effective. To investigate this possibility, researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, and […]

Novavax, a biotechnology company developing next-generation vaccines for serious infectious diseases, GSK and the UK Government Vaccines Taskforce announced that they have reached an agreement in principle to support manufacturing of up to 60 million doses of Novavax’ Covid-19 vaccine candidate (NVX-CoV2373) for use in the UK. GSK will provide ‘fill and finish’ manufacturing capacity […]

Three case studies from Berkeley Lights The Covid-19 pandemic has illuminated how a coordinated response to infectious diseases can result in the development and commercialisation of novel vaccines and therapies at record pace. Berkeley Lights has established multiple partnerships worldwide to provide access to its platform to rapidly accelerate the discovery of therapeutic antibodies for […]

Shelley McLendon, VP of Project Management, Vaccines and Infectious Diseases at ICON, outlines best practices that can keep trials running at optimal speed and efficiency, and the benefits of adopting a strategic partnership. The world responded to the Covid-19 crisis at unprecedented speed — including vaccine development. During a pandemic, timing is critical as the virus […]

The University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) researchers have identified the most toxic proteins made by SARS-COV-2 and then used an FDA-approved cancer drug to blunt the viral protein’s detrimental effects. In experiments in fruit flies and human cell lines, the team discovered the cell process that the virus hijacks, illuminating new potential candidate […]

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Vir Biotechnology have announced the submission of an application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requesting Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) for VIR-7831 (GSK4182136), an investigational dual-action SARS-CoV-2 monoclonal antibody, for the treatment of adults and adolescents (aged 12 years and older weighing at least 40 kg) with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 who […]

Infex Therapeutics has filed for a UK patent for a novel therapy designed to tackle all coronavirus strains. The COV-X program targets a protein which is essential for viral replication across a broad spectrum of related coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-1, MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2. If successfully developed, the treatment aims to form a first line of defence […]

Researchers in the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania have published a new preclinical study which found hormone drugs that reduce androgen levels may help disarm the coronavirus spike protein used to infect cells and stop the progression of severe COVID-19 disease. The study, published online in Cell Press’s iScience, showed how two receptors, known as ACE2 and […]

The Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) has notified the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), and AstraZeneca that it is “concerned by information released by AstraZeneca on initial data from its COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial”. Trial volunteers received two standard doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine […]