According to an analysis conducted by BioWorld of the first quarter 2020 financial reports filed by the top 100 public biopharmaceutical companies ranked by market cap, and excluding big pharma companies, the amount that was invested in research and development (R&D) during the period increased by 13% compared to the same period last year.
Responding to COVID-19’s wakeup call as it exposes the risks of relying heavily on foreign biopharma supply chains, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) signed a four-year, $354 million agreement with a team of private industry partners, led by Phlow Corp., to expand U.S. manufacturing of essential medicines at risk of shortage during the pandemic and in future public health emergencies.
LONDON - EMA Director General Guido Rasi has hit out at the lack of coordination in COVID-19 clinical trials, questioning if the huge number of small studies that are running will support regulatory decision-making.
Representing the highest amount ever raised by a public biopharma company on a U.S. exchange, Moderna Inc. priced a $1.34 billion follow-on offering to help fund worldwide manufacturing and distribution of its mRNA-1273 vaccine for COVID-19.
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Kempharm, Novartis, Organicell, Theralase, Tolero.
Clinical updates, including trial initiations, enrollment status and data readouts and publications: Agios, Amplyx, Arbutus, Biogen, Covis, Hepion, Lidds, Mezzion, MGB Biopharma.
The FDA has granted an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the home sample collection kit made by Austin, Texas-based Everlywell Inc., which can be run on two lab-developed tests. However, the agency has also shut down a Gates Foundation-backed effort in Seattle to develop another home sample collection kit even though the organization behind the effort has been authorized by state health authorities. The FDA announced the news about the Everlywell EUA with the stipulation that the user of the kit has completed an online questionnaire that is subsequently reviewed by a health care professional.