BioSpace News Archive

Drug Development

RT-PCR’s Days Are Numbered as Faster, Better, & Cheaper COVID-19 Assays Emerge

Nucleic-acid-based assays are the gold standard for detecting the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, but they eventually will be replaced with simpler and more advanced techniques, such as CRISPR-Cas, LAMP, and other faster and less-expensive methods.

December 4, 2020
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4 min read
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Gail Dutton
Business

Is CRISPR in use to Create China Super Soldiers?

Has China found a super-soldier formula through the capabilities of genetic engineering? A U.S. govt. official claims, China Super Soldiers are under development.

December 4, 2020
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3 min read
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Alex Keown
Drug Development

AB Science’s Mastinib Plus Gemcitabine Improves Survival, Descreases Pain, in Early Pancreatic Cancer

A dual treatment approach consisting of gemcitabine combined with AB Science’s masitinib was associated with significant increases in survival among patients with pancreatic cancer and pain.

December 4, 2020
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3 min read
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Brandon May
Drug Development

Clinical Catch-Up: November 30-December 4

It was a moderately busy week for clinical trial news, with some important reports coming out about COVID-19 vaccines. Here’s a look.

December 4, 2020
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8 min read
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Mark Terry
FDA

BioCryst Announces FDA Approval of First Oral Therapy to Prevent HAE Attacks in Adults

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced on Thursday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved ORLADEYO (berotralstat) for prophylaxis to prevent attacks of hereditary angioedema (HAE) in adults and young patients 12 years and older.

December 4, 2020
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3 min read
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Krystle Vermes
FDA

Pfizer & BioNTech Experience Early Vaccine Shipping and Distribution Hiccups

Biopharma companies who have COVID-19 vaccines in development, have astonished skeptics by the speed with which they have developed vaccines.. But now comes an even more daunting challenge—scaling up manufacturing and distribution.

December 4, 2020
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5 min read
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Mark Terry
Drug Development

Published Phase I Results Hint at Durability of Moderna’s COVID-19 Vaccine

Researchers with the U.S. National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) published a letter in The New England Journal of Medicine describing the three-month immunogenicity levels in Moderna’s mRNA-1273 vaccine.

December 4, 2020
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3 min read
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Mark Terry
Policy

Global Governments Snap Up COVID-19 Vaccines Well Ahead of Approval

Governments across the globe have flexed their financial muscles to secure promises of as many doses of COVID-19 vaccines as possible when they become available.

December 4, 2020
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2 min read
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Alex Keown
Drug Development

Four Biotechs Roar with Strong IPOs, Other Life Sciences Companies Raise Additional Funds

Like the Grinch’s heart at Christmas, the Nasdaq Exchange grew a little bigger this week with multiple life science companies raising hundreds of millions of dollars in initial public offerings.

December 4, 2020
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4 min read
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Alex Keown
Drug Development

Can Janssen Cure Cancer? Its 80+ ASH Presentations Suggest It’s On the Right Track

With 36 Janssen-sponsored studies and another nearly 50, it has supported, the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson has a presence in more than 80 of the hematology studies presented at the 62nd American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, December 5-8.

December 4, 2020
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4 min read
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Gail Dutton