COVID-19
While COVID-19 tests have been crucial in identifying and tracking cases of infection and disease-related morbidity and mortality, they aren’t without their potential drawbacks.
With multiple COVID-19 vaccines in development, the CDC is confident that any vaccines the FDA authorizes or approves will be safe because they are based on the FDA’s usual stringent protocols. The greater question, after a vaccine is approved, is how it will be distributed.
Relief Therapeutics and NeuroRx released results on Tuesday from their open-label prospective study looking into RLF-100 (aviptadil) as a potential treatment for COVID-19 and respiratory failure.
To date, all the major clinical trials of vaccines against COVID-19 have been in adults.
Eli Lilly announced that it is pausing its clinical trial of a combination antibody against COVID-19 over safety concerns. Typically, this would be because a patient or volunteer showed a serious side effect or became sick, but the company did not clarify what the reason for the pause is.
Please check out the biopharma industry coronavirus (COVID-19) stories that are trending for October 13, 2020.
J&J did not disclose much information about the unexplained illness, stating, “We must respect this participant’s privacy. We’re also learning more about this participant’s illness, and it’s important to have all the facts before we share additional information.”
AstraZeneca signed a deal with Operation Warp Speed, the U.S. government program to advance COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics, for a monoclonal antibody cocktail.
Moncef Slaoui, the head of Operation Warp Speed, suggested the first Emergency Use Authorization for a COVID-19 vaccine will likely be around Thanksgiving.
In early August, Russia became the first country to approve a coronavirus vaccine.
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