Aiming to mimic public-private COVID-19 vaccine success, the US NIH will fund pandemic drug research, including taking candidates up to Phase II.

PharmaVentures’ Adrian Dawkes talks about how COVID-19 will impact pharma deals going forward and how Korean firms in particular may be able to grab opportunities in the global arena. 

Pfizer has unveiled promising results from a study of Xeljanz but needs a bigger trial. Given RECOVERY’s track record, the pharma company may opt to wait for its results.

CureVac is not throwing in the towel just yet, but the odds are stacked against a successful end result.

The pandemic has reignited interest and investment in vaccines across a wide array of disease areas by big pharma and venture investors, a panel of BIO experts said.

WTO director general says pharma could have done more on voluntary licensing for COVID-19 vaccines and also calls for better transparency of pricing and contracts to ensure “a level playing field” when it comes to saving lives.

Identifying patients who have not mounted an immune response to SARS-CoV2 and treating them with the antibody cocktail cuts risk of death by a fifth.

AstraZeneca had wanted to outperform Regeneron and Lilly in post-exposure prevention, but will now hope for more durable protection from its long-acting antibody.

The US obtained access to doses that it will donate to low- and low-middle-income countries, Merck & Co. is lining up government purchases of its Phase III drug, and Ocugen will submit a BLA in the US rather than pursue an EUA for Bharat's vaccine. Plus progress and setbacks for COVID-19 therapeutics. 

The Bio Korea meeting included a discussion around the challenges faced by Korean developers of COVID-19 therapies and vaccines and how they should approach the global market. Cooperation and production technology will be key.

News and views from day one of the BIO Digital annual meeting include debate about when FDA will go back to the offices, industry's role in pandemic-related policy discussions and how to prepare for the next pandemic. 

Arriving two to three months later than planned, Novavax’s nanoparticle-based vaccine is still a welcome addition to the field, for both rich and poor countries.

Factors in addition to the rejuvenation of pharmaceutical revenues and biotechnology product failures are likely to pull in opposite directions at the sector’s recovery from the pandemic.

A recent study says a cohort of unvaccinated individuals aged under 16 years in Israel showed a nearly two-fold decrease in COVID-19 positivity for each 20 percentage points of individuals vaccinated overall. As Pfizer, Moderna and Bharat Biotech develop pediatric vaccines, should they consider if herd immunity might make such vaccines redundant?

The Biden Administration’s pledge to provide 500 million doses of Pfizer/BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccines is a direct blow to China’s global vaccine diplomacy push.

Brazil is permitting imports of additional coronavirus vaccines, while in India, Serum Institute will manufacture Sputnik V, the government is unifying vaccine sourcing, and emergency use approval has been granted to Lilly's anti-COVID-19 antibodies.