vaccine

Novavax begins vaccine trials; Brazil reports second-highest number of cases in world

By Tommy Flemm 2 years ago

Eased lockdowns and lifted restrictions have placed significant pressure on the global drug pipeline.

The global pandemic, which has affected more than 5.5 million, is forcing drugmakers and biotech firms of all sizes to shorten the timeline for a vaccine, which is essential to easing fears about returning to work and school. To-date, nearly a dozen companies in the U.S., Europe and China have started human trials for more than 100 vaccine candidates.

Most recently, Novavax (NVAX) announced it would begin human trials, for its coronavirus vaccine, making it the fourth company in the U.S. to do so. The biotech company is starting its clinical trials in Australia, and intends to produce 100 million doses by the end of the year and a billion doses in 2021.

Meanwhile, Merck (MRK), one of the largest players in the vaccine race, finally unveiled details of its efforts Tuesday. The company announced

… Read More

Novavax expects COVID-19 vaccine trial results in July

By Tommy Flemm 2 years ago

The intense demand for a coronavirus vaccine has all types of players in the treatment race.

Novavax (NVAX) is the latest biotech company to announce that it is entering its vaccine in clinical trials. It’s recombinant technology, already tested in a late-stage flu vaccine trial, focuses on using DNA from the virus to create a vaccine.

The Phase 1 clinical trial in Australia is the first in the Southern Hemisphere, and is focusing on 130 participants. Pre-clinical data showed a lower dose of the vaccine was effective, which lays a foundation for potentially greater volumes of the vaccine to be produced.

Dr. Gregory Glenn, president of Novavax’s research and development, told Yahoo Finance Tuesday that the company is aiming to produce 100 million doses by the end of the year, and 1 billion by 2021. Trial results are expected as early as July, with a vaccine ready for

… Read More

Here are the top candidates in an ‘unprecedented’ race for a coronavirus vaccine

By Tommy Flemm 2 years ago

The gradual relaxation of coronavirus restrictions is stoking hopes for an economic rebound, with the biotechnology industry riding a wave of expectations in the hunt for an effective COVID-19 treatment.

Vaccines are perceived as key to ending the restraints on work and life that have decimated the global economy, and returning to some sense of normalcy. Worldwide, there are nearly 5 million positive cases and over 300,000 have been killed by the virus.

With so much at stake, the global pipeline has become an intense space race for the new era. Nations are locked in an intense effort to demonstrate their biotech capabilities in the worldwide fight against COVID-19.

In collaboration with branches of the U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) and National Institute of Health (NIH), small and large drug companies have been working on vaccines.

For now, the furthest along are Moderna (MRNA) and Pfizer (PFE), both of

… Read More

Trump dismisses idea of 2nd wave shutdown; vaccine race heats up

By Tommy Flemm 2 years ago

President Donald Trump dismissed the idea of a new series of lockdowns should the world’s largest economy experience a second wave of coronavirus infections, which continue to level off as parts of the country reopen.

In the U.S., overall cases appear to be slowing, although some areas are seeing slight increases in hospitalizations. This week, the U.S. crossed 1.5 million this week, and the death toll passed 94,000 this week, but virtually all 50 states are moving to ease restrictions to some degree while companies are making strides toward finding a vaccine.

However, the increasingly dire state of the U.S. economy has put growing political pressure on Trump, who’s facing a highly competitive reelection bid in November. With the Senate unlikely to address the question of additional stimulus until early June, skyrocketing unemployment has the White House on the defensive.

Touring a Ford car plant in Michigan on Thursday, the

… Read More

The race for a coronavirus treatment is fanning fears of ‘vaccine nationalism’

By Tommy Flemm 2 years ago

Mounting geopolitical tensions in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic have sparked concerns about the rising threat of “vaccine nationalism,” which may hamper international efforts to cooperate on deploying an effective treatment. 

With experimental vaccine trials rapidly progressing in countries that include China, the U.S., Canada and the U.K., expectations are growing that a COVID-19 cure can be made available as early as 2021 — if not sooner for emergency use. AstraZeneca (AZN), Moderna (MRNA), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Sanofi (SNY) and Pfizer (PFE) are among those spearheading the more than 100 efforts to field a vaccine candidate.  

In recent days, China has vowed to deploy a potential vaccine as a “global public good” that would be accessible and affordable. Toward that end, the World Health Organization also laid out principles to encourage collaboration and information sharing on a COVID-19 treatment. 

Yet there are both political and practical considerations surrounding

… Read More