U.S. health regulators are looking at authorizing a potential fourth dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in the fall, the Wall Street Journal reported on February 19, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Pharmaceutical products developed in China could have a steep hill to climb to be approved for use within the United States, impacting the plans of several large companies who hoped to capitalize on clinical data accumulated in that country.

GSK

GlaxoSmithKline and U.S. partner Vir Biotechnology will boost production of their antibody-based COVID-19 treatment by adding a second manufacturing plant to help meet soaring demand in the United States.

Visionary tech magnate Elon Musk is taking his neurotech company to the next step toward in-human trials of his implantable brain-machine interface.  

Gilead Sciences Inc. said an unauthorized network of drug distributors and suppliers sold pharmacies more than $250 million of counterfeit versions of the company’s HIV treatments over the last two years, endangering patients.

While wealthier countries have come a long way to boosting their populations with an extra shot of COVID-19 vaccines to protect against Omicron, studies in Israel are evaluating whether a fourth dose of an mRNA vaccine offers additional protection. Although the data is still early, research suggests that it might not. 

Pfizer BioNTech

According to a Wall Street Journal report, the preferred Covid-19 shot globally is the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

The controversy surrounding Covid-19’s origin continues to heat up, as the National Institutes of Health’s recent removal of genetic data about the novel coronavirus virus from the NIH archive was brought into the spotlight.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Sept. 9 the regulatory agency needs more time to decide whether e-cigarette maker Juul Labs Inc. and other major manufacturers can sell their products in the United States.

Pfizer Inc. on Aug. 25 said a booster dose of the company’s two-shot Covid-19 vaccine spurs a more than threefold increase in antibodies against the coronavirus, as the drugmaker seeks U.S. regulatory approval for a third injection.