Adagio Therapeutics and Gritstone bio are two companies who could add to the armamentarium against Omicron.

A US FDA review panel has given a lukewarm reception to molnupiravir, while Inovio is assessing its vaccine candidates against the new omicron variant, J&J nears a South African vaccine deal with Aspen, and South Korea brings in new COVID-19 measures. Meanwhile, Serum exports Novavax vaccine, Bharat looks at Covaxin in Omicron and Ocugen's Covaxin trial put on hold. 

Phil Dormitzer has been headhunted to help GSK get up to speed in RNA and other vaccine platforms.

Join the Asia Pacific content team for a wide-ranging overview and analysis of recent developments across China, India, South Korea and Japan in the policy, regulatory, commercial and vaccines spaces over the past few months. 

From inactivated virus-based to mRNA platforms, the race is on in China to develop vaccines to fight the latest omicron variant, with substantial new funding pouring into one young mRNA company.

NRx’s BriLife has demonstrated strong potential in early data from a mid-stage COVID-19 trial, spurring the company on to begin a Phase IIb/III study as soon as possible.

The VMIC has neither confirmed or denied to Scrip a report from the Financial Times that the project, which has received many millions of taxpayer money, is about to be sold off privately, with Oxford BioMedica mentioned as a potential bidder. 

While news of a potentially highly transmissible new variant is causing alarm, Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna are already pursuing a multi-pronged response to B.1.1.529.

Pfizer and BioNTech’s Comirnaty supply under existing agreements will continue as planned despite anticipated expansion into a new child sub-population in Europe.

New research by US-based Canadian scientist Michael Worobey sheds further light on the role of the Wuhan market in the human origins of SARS-CoV-2.

While the stock prices of a few biotech companies have advanced significantly as a result of their pandemic efforts, a broad biotech stock index has underperformed the pharmaceutical index. Why?

Moderna co-founder Robert Langer shared tips to drive innovation at a recent summit, while narrating a fascinating tale of tenacity during the development of angiogenesis inhibitors with Judah Folkman. If an idea is important, it’s sure to be criticized, said the man who has over 1,000 patents issued or pending worldwide.

Brii’s antibody combo therapy nears approval in China, based on data from a late-stage study conducted outside the country.

Ildong has become the latest Korean pharma firm to start developing an oral COVID-19 drug in the country, potentially competing with Merck and Pfizer’s candidates which are now under approval review locally. The latest co-development deal is also set to expand the market prospects for the antiviral's Japanese originator.

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla discussed the emergency use authorization filing for Paxlovid, expanding access to the COVID-19 pill in lower income countries and booster shots, at the STAT Summit.

Roche has bowed out of the race to develop an oral COVID-19 therapy, leaving a lucrative but likely short-lived market for its rivals.