In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, pulmonologist Joseph Varon offered an opinion that made headlines around the world and went viral on social media. Varon was fighting two wars, he said: one against COVID and one against stupidity.

Janssen terminated a seven-year-old vaccine collaboration with Bavarian Nordic. The two companies partnered in 2015 to develop potential vaccines against the hepatitis B virus and human papillomaviruses.

Moderna

Moderna is still fending off patent challenges over the lipid nanoparticle delivery system used in the company’s COVID-19 vaccine, Spikevax.

BioNTech’s first-quarter 2022 sales and earnings more than tripled due to demand for the COVID-19 vaccine the company developed with Pfizer, but the German biotech firm is still forecasting a full-year decline in vaccine sales.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc completed the divestiture of Sunosi (solriamfetol) in the United States. to Axsome Therapeutics Inc.

COVID-19 vaccine makers are shifting gears and planning for a smaller, more competitive booster shot market after delivering as many doses as fast as they could over the last 18 months.

Although 2020 was a tough year for the biopharma industry — and most other industries as well — it appeared to rebound significantly in mid-2021. However, biotech stocks are generally getting hammered during 2022, although to be fair, the entire stock market is down.

FDA sign

Less than one month after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration raised concerns about the supplemental New Drug Application for Pfizer and Myovant Sciences’ Myfembree (relugolix), the regulatory agency extended the review period to Aug. 6. The initial approval review date was May 6.

The Janssen COVID-19 vaccine is now limited to certain individuals ages 18 and up after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration downgraded its emergency use authorization.

COVID-19, syringe needle

The first World Trade Organization meeting to discuss a draft agreement to temporarily waive intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines went “very well”, its chair said on May 6.