Biopharma happenings, including deals and partnerships, grants, preclinical data and other news in brief: Aditxt, Aipharma, Collegium, Dicerna, Immuneoncia, Moderna, Novo Nordisk, Wuxi.
As global demand for rapid testing soars due to a new variant of COVID-19, one company is shaking up the diagnostics market with an at-home rapid PCR solution. Founded in 2017 by scientist and entrepreneur Jonathan Rothberg, Detect Inc. is the developer of Detect COVID-19, a direct-to-consumer PCR test that provides results within one hour.
LONDON – A suite of papers rushed through peer review and published in Nature late on Dec. 23, 2021 contain data indicating approved monoclonal antibody drugs designed to neutralize SARS-COV-2 have substantially weaker activity against the Omicron variant.
The FDA went from zero to two oral antivirals to treat COVID-19 in the space of two days, granting emergency use authorizations last week to Pfizer Inc.’s Paxlovid and Merck & Co. Inc.-Ridgeback Biotherapeutics Inc.’s molnupiravir. Both five-day regimens are authorized for use, within five days of COVID-19 symptom onset, in individuals at high risk of progressing to severe disease, including hospitalization and death.
Clinical updates, including trial initiations, enrollment status and data readouts and publications: Agenus, Akston, Alphamab, Amo, Bausch, Medicenna, Mereo, Moleculin, Nervgen, Redx, Vallon.