Biontech and Pfizer have received emergency approval for their COVID-19 vaccine in the UK. Mass immunization could start next week, the first in Western countries.
Noema Pharma AG kicks off with CHF54m and licenced drug candidates from Roche AG.
After months of lobbying by the BIOM biotech cluster, Bavaria is launching a €50m initiative to push the best and fastest COVID-19 therapies.
COVID-19 mRNA vaccine developer Moderna Inc reported it will file for FDA and EMA authorisation of mRNA-1273 based on Phase III results.
Aviptadil, a vasodilator originally developed to treat erectile dysfunction, led to a 72% survival in critically-ill COVID-19 patients.
In addition to vaccination programmes, the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic requires safe and efficient treatment options for patients infected and suffering from Covid-19 disease. Virus-neutralising antibody therapeutics can not only cure COVID-19 but also protect from infection. New fast-track antibody drug programmes have achieved unprecedented timelines from discovery to the clinics and give hope to save lives and cure COVID-19.
Polyphor has secured $3.3m from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation as support for clinical Phase I/IIa testing of its inhaled antibiotic murepavadin.
Apogenix has entered the global fight against COVID-19. Lead immunotherapy candidate asunercept (APG101) is being evaluated in two clinical phase II trials in patients with COVID-19 disease. With its unique mechanism of action, asunercept may reduce lymphopenia, lung epithelial damage, and inflammatory cell death in COVID-19 patients, thus providing a unique therapeutic approach for this devastating disease.
12 interactive workshops, five plenary sessions and more than 3,000 registered attendees – last week the Global Bioeconomy Summit brought together international experts to discuss major trends and developments.
The current COVID-19 pandemic situation has shown that repurposing drugs can be crucial for delivering new treatments to patients with agility. Existing drugs can be developed to bring fast, safe and cost-effective treatments for a wide range of conditions. The improved use of data and the development of advanced AI-based technologies enable the fast and effective identification of drugs, accelerating drug discovery, repurposing and innovation.