CEPI, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, will provide seed funding of up to $4.8 million to Intravacc BV to advance the development of a broadly protective betacoronavirus vaccine candidate, which can be delivered intranasally.
The U.S. FDA’s device center recently advised companies that make tests for the COVID-19 pandemic that the emergency use authorization program for tests is winding down, albeit with a few exceptions.
Additional early-stage research and drug discovery news in brief, from: CSL, Elicio Therapeutics, Enzolytics, Innovation Pharmaceuticals, Lumen Bioscience, Nanology.
Clinical updates, including trial initiations, enrollment status and data readouts and publications: Abeona, Aridis, Connect, Kalvista, Kubota, Paradigm, Pfizer, Saol, Synairgen.
Although U.S. President Joe Biden suggested in September that the pandemic is over, health officials insist there is still much to do in preparation for an endemic stage of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The number of weekly COVID-19 confirmed cases both globally and in the U.S. is similar with each of the last two years, but deaths from the virus are at some of the lowest levels since the pandemic began. Still, the virus will continue to evolve and circulate, and the biopharma industry will need to develop new booster vaccines, antivirals and monoclonal antibodies, among other candidates, to prepare for upcoming battles.
Additional early-stage research and drug discovery news in brief, from: Applied DNA Sciences, Cardiol Therapeutics, SQZ Biotechnologies, Therapeutic Solutions International.
Infex Therapeutics Ltd. has divulged nonstructural protein 3 (nsp3, PL-PRO) macrodomain (Mac1) (SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19 virus) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of coronavirus acute respiratory syndrome.
Imunon Inc. has reported partial results from an ongoing nonhuman primate study designed to examine the immunogenicity of its proprietary Placcine vaccine (PL-COV). The data support Placcine as a viable alternative to mRNA vaccines.
Three months after agreeing to an intellectual property waiver for COVID-19 vaccines, World Trade Organization (WTO) members are discussing expanding it to therapies, diagnostics and devices used in preventing, diagnosing and treating COVID-19 infections.