Novavax Inc. said on February 10 the company’s two-dose vaccine was 80% effective against COVID-19 in a late-stage trial testing the shot in teens aged 12 to 17 years.
GSK-Vir therapy has neutralizing activity against Omicron sub-variant, data shows
Antibodies, Broadly Neutralizing Antibodies (bNAbs), Clinical Data, Clinical Trials, Columbia University, Covid-19 Data, COVID-19 Studies, GlaxoSmithKline, Monoclonal Antibodies, Omicron BA.2, R&D, Researchers, Sotrovimab, Vir BiotechnologyAn antibody-based COVID-19 therapy developed by GSK and Vir Biotechnology retains neutralizing activity against the emerging BA.2 form of the Omicron coronavirus variant, according to data from a laboratory study cited by Vir on February 10.
COVID Update: Revisiting the Lab-Leak Theory and Under 5 Vaccination
Beijing, CDC, Children, China, Clinical Data, Clinical Trials, Covid-19 Data, COVID-19 Infections, COVID-19 Origins, COVID-19 Vaccinations, Emergency Use Authorization (EUA), GlaxoSmithKline, Heart Disease, Heart Problems, Janssen, Johnson & Johnson, Neutralizing Antibodies, New England Journal of Medicine, Omicron (B.1.1.529) (South Africa), Omicron BA.2, R&D, Scripps Research Institute, Vir BiotechnologyJane Qiu, a freelance science writer based in Beijing, published an overview of her efforts to investigate the lab-leak theory for the origin of COVID-19. In another update, the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee is scheduled to meet on February 15 to discuss an amended Emergency Use Authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children 6 months through 4 years of age.
One month after posting positive Phase II data, Novartis and Molecular Partners are seeking Emergency Use Authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for ensovibep, a DARPin antiviral therapeutic candidate developed to treat COVID-19.
As Pfizer’s antiviral Paxlovid tablets against COVID-19 roll out, the company indicated it had halted the development of the intravenous variation of the drug, PF-07304814. In other news, SaNOtize Research & Development Corp. and Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd. announced that a Phase III trial of Nitric Oxide Nasal Spray (NONS) hit the primary endpoint.
Global COVID-19 cases surpassed 400 million on February 9, according to a Reuters tally, as the highly contagious Omicron variant dominates the outbreak, pushing health systems in several countries to the brink of capacity.
The discovery of the Omicron variant in white-tailed deer in New York raised concerns that the species – numbering 30 million in the United States – could become hosts of a new coronavirus strain, a lead researcher said on February 8.
Companies Making the Biggest Bucks from COVID-19 Therapeutics Sales
Analysts, Antivirals, Bamlanivimab (LY-CoV555), Biopharma Companies, Business, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), COVID-19 Antibodies, COVID-19 Therapeutic, Deals, Eli Lilly, Etesevimab (Lilly), Gilead, Investors, Merck, Molnupiravir, Omicron (B.1.1.529) (South Africa), Paxlovid, Pfizer, REGEN-COV (casirivimab and imdevimab), Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Remdesivir, Sales, Therapeutics, U.S. governmentAlthough the COVID-19 pandemic has hit companies unevenly, some biopharma firms that have produced new drugs or vaccines against the disease have shown big spikes in drug sales. BioSpace reviewed five companies that produced non-vaccine treatments for COVID-19.
COVID-19-Related Stroke Risk and Omicron-Specific Vaccine May Not be Necessary
American Stroke Association, Antibody cocktails, BNT162b2 (Pfizer and BioNTech), Clinical Trials, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), COVID-19 booster shots, COVID-19 Studies, COVID-19 Vaccinations, COVID-19 Vaccines, Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients, Inhaled Formulations, Investigational New Drug (IND), Moderna, mRNA-1273/Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine (Moderna), Omicron (B.1.1.529) (South Africa), Primates, R&D, South Africa, StrokesA new study by the American Stroke Association found that the risk of stroke in adults with COVID-19 between the ages of 65 to 74 was highest the first three days after diagnosis. Additionally, investigators at the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases’ Vaccine Research Center ran tests on primates and found that updating COVID-19 vaccines to focus on the Omicron variant may not provide much benefit.
U.S. coronavirus deaths surpass 900,000, driven in part by Omicron surge
Africa, Brazil, Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic, COVID-19 Deaths, COVID-19 Vaccinations, Delta Variant (B.1.617.2; India), Health Officials, India, Iowa, Joe Biden, Omicron (B.1.1.529) (South Africa), Peru, Reuters Data, Russia, United StatesThe coronavirus pandemic reached a grim new milestone in the United States on Feb. 4 with the nation’s cumulative death toll from COVID-19 surpassing 900,000, even as the daily number of lives lost began to level off, according to data collected by Reuters.