Moderna today touted positive interim clinical data from trials for its mRNA-1273 vaccine candidate against coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). The Phase I study, led by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), recorded positive early results from the first eight people tested, each of whom received two […]
Business/Financial News
Icon appoints new chief medical officer
Icon said it appointed Kristen Buck as chief medical officer. Prior to joining the company, Buck was senior VP and chief of clinical development at Optum Insights where she led the clinical operations and regulatory group. She has experience in multiple therapy areas, including GI, neuroscience, dermatology, ophthalmology, oncology, cardiovascular/metabolic, immunology, renal, women’s health, orphan […]
AbbVie gains U.S. nod for $63B Allergan takeover
Pharmaceutical giant AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) has won U.S. antitrust approval for its purchase of Allergan (NYSE:AGN) for $63 billion in cash and stock. The purchase is seen as a hedge against the impending expiration of U.S. patents on AbbVie’s blockbuster drug, Humira. North Chicago-based AbbVie announced the deal in June 2019, but ran up against U.S. Federal Trade Commission […]
Kindeva Drug Delivery launches as independent company from 3M
Kindeva Drug Delivery recently announced that it launched as an independent company, shedding its former 3M Drug Delivery Systems name. The formation of the independent company follows its acquisition by Altaris Capital Partners in a transaction that was worth $650 million. Through the acquisition, 3M will hold a 17% minority interest in Kindeva with Altaris. […]
Fauci: Hundreds of millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses could be ready in January
Dr. Anthony Fauci said this morning that hundreds of millions of doses of a vaccine for COVID-19 could be ready by January. In an interview on the Today Show, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said that a vaccine candidate is in the first phase of a clinical trial. If the second […]
Dexcom shares up on Street-beating Q1 results
Dexcom (NSDQ:DXCM) posted first-quarter results today that beat the consensus forecast on Wall Street but dropped its financial guidance for the year. The San Diego-based company reported profits of $19.9 million, or 21¢ per share, on sales of $405.1 million for the three months ended March 31 on sales growth of 44.4% compared with Q1 2019. […]
Soligenix soars on COVID-19 vaccine licensing agreement with Boston Scientific
Soligenix (NSDQ:SNGX) skyrocketed up 89% in premarket trading this morning after announcing today that it entered into an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement with Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) for its CoVaccine HT novel vaccine adjuvant for COVID-19. Shares of SNGX were up 12.5% at $1.58 per share in mid-morning trading today as well. Boston Scientific’s BTG Specialty Pharmaceuticals […]
Clinical trials ramping up for potential coronavirus-fighting drugs
Bausch Health (NYSE:BHC) announced today that it initiated a clinical trial program in Canada to investigate the use of Virazole for treating COVID-19. With today’s announcement, Bausch joins Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) and Care Access Research, which both announced clinical testing of coronavirus therapies last week. Bausch’s Virazole is currently approved in the U.S. and Canada, among other […]
Qosina touts single-use bioprocessing components for coronavirus response
With the bioprocess industry mobilizing to support the development of tests, vaccines and treatments for COVID-19, medtech distributor Qosina said that its supply of single-use bioprocessing components can offer significantly reduced time to clinic and market over multi-use systems during situations like the coronavirus pandemic. Ronkokoma, N.Y.-based Qosina said it also provides 3D CAD models and […]
OncoSec, Inovio testing COVID-19 vaccines
OncoSec Medical (NSDQ:ONCS) and Inovio Pharmaceuticals (NSDQ:INO) announced that they are testing potential COVID-19 vaccines after the latter received investigational new drug clearance from the FDA. Inovio received an IND nod, while OncoSec’s is pending, but both companies are pursuing a first-in-human Phase 1 clinical trial for their vaccines, according to separate news releases. OncoSec is using […]