While Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech have submitted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) requests for their COVID-19 vaccines, the data so far suggest the benefits of a fourth shot may be modest.
Alnylam is suing both Moderna and Pfizer over what it claims are patent infringements related to the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company’s biodegradable cationic lipids that it says have been foundational to the success of the mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines developed by the two companies.
Pfizer Inc. and the company’s German partner BioNTech SE on March 15 filed an application with U.S. regulators seeking emergency use authorization for a second booster shot of their COVID-19 vaccine for people aged 65 and older.
COVID-19 Update: Omicron BA.2 Surges, Long COVID and Mental Health
BioNTech, BNT162b2 (Pfizer and BioNTech), Business, China, CNBC, Coronavirus Cases, Coronavirus Vaccines, COVID-19 booster shots, COVID-19 shots, Depression, France, Germany, Italy, Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine (J&J), Johnson & Johnson, Long COVID, Moderna, mRNA-1273/Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine (Moderna), National Health Commission (China), Omicron (B.1.1.529) (South Africa), Omicron BA.2, Pfizer, R&D, Stocks, Switzerland, The Netherlands, United KingdomMany countries around the world that appeared to have kicked COVID-19 are reporting surges, largely the result of the so-called “stealth” Omicron variant, BA.2.
Pfizer Halts Business in Russia, Suggests 4th Booster is Necessary
BNT162b2 (Pfizer and BioNTech), Business, Clinical Trials, CNN, Collaborations, COVID-19 booster shots, COVID-19 shots, COVID-19 Vaccines, Drug Supply Chain, Face The Nation, FDA, Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Humanitarian support, Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, Pfizer, R&D, Russia, Therapeutics, Tumors, UkraineIn response to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, Pfizer will cease operations within Russia and proceeds from the company’s subsidiary in that country will be donated to provide direct humanitarian support to the people of Ukraine. Regarding COVID-19, Pfizer Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla noted in an interview with Face the Nation that it is likely that a fourth booster shot of the company’s vaccine will be needed to fend off another surge of infections.
GeoVax vaccine targeting virus in two places shows promise; virus may become resistant to antibody drugs
Antibody Studies, BNT162b2 (Pfizer and BioNTech), Cell, Clinical Trials, COVID-19 Studies, Delta Variant (B.1.617.2; India), Genetics, GlaxoSmithKline, Immunosuppression, Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine (J&J), Medical Journals, mRNA-1273/Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine (Moderna), Mutations, New England Journal of Medicine, Omicron (B.1.1.529) (South Africa), R&D, Researchers, SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, The Lancet, The Lancet Microbe, Vir BiotechnologyAn experimental vaccine developed by GeoVax Labs Inc. succeeded in promoting development of antibodies that target two different sites on the virus in a small pilot study and was advanced to mid-stage clinical trials, researchers reported.
COVID-19 patients who receive one of the few antibody treatments that works against the Omicron variant must be carefully monitored because after the drug is infused, the virus may mutate and become resistant to it, researchers warned after seeing such cases with Delta variant patients.
COVID-19 Changed the Biopharma Industry – and There’s No Going Back
Artificial Intelligence, At-Home Testing, BioNTech, Biotech/Biopharma, BNT162b2 (Pfizer and BioNTech), Business, Clinical Trials, Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic, COVID-19 Testing, COVID-19 Vaccines, Messenger RNA (mRNA) Vaccines, Moderna, Nonprofit, Pfizer, Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), R&DThe COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the biopharma industry. From artificial intelligence breakthroughs to at-home genetic testing, BioSpace reviews some of the ways COVID-19 has changed the industry and what we may see in the near future.
Redhill antiviral shows promise in safety study; J&J shot less effective preventing hospitalization
Antibodies, BNT162b2 (Pfizer and BioNTech), Cells, Coronavirus Vaccines, COVID-19 Studies, Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients, JAMA Network, Janssen, Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine (J&J), Johnson & Johnson, Proteins, R&D, SARS-CoV-2 virus, Science Translational MedicineAn experimental oral drug being developed by Redhill Biopharma Inc. interrupts a process that helps the coronavirus infect cells and might keep COVID-19 patients from becoming seriously ill, the company said. Additionally, the risk of hospitalization after vaccination with Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine was about five times higher than for those who received the Pfizer and BioNTech shot, a large French study found.
Two doses of the Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE COVID-19 vaccine was protective against severe disease in children aged 5 to 11 during the recent Omicron variant surge, but quickly lost most of its ability to prevent infection in the age group, according to a study by New York State researchers.
COVID-19 Update: Omicron BA.2 Raises Questions, FDA Limits GSK Antibody
BNT162b2 (Pfizer and BioNTech), CDC, Clinical Trials, Coronavirus Cases, Covid-19 Data, COVID-19 Studies, COVID-19 Vaccinations, FDA, GlaxoSmithKline, Monoclonal Antibodies, mRNA-1273/Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine (Moderna), Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in children (MIS-C), Omicron (B.1.1.529) (South Africa), Omicron BA.2, R&D, Sotrovimab, Teenagers, Vir BiotechnologyThe BA.2 subvariant of Omicron, which appears to be even more transmissible than Omicron, is accounting for more than a third of global COVID-19 cases. In other news, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration placed limits on the use of GlaxoSmithKline and Vir Biotechnology’s COVID-19 antibody therapeutic, sotrovimab.