Development

GSK and CureVac will collaborate on mRNA-based vaccines and mAbs. Separately, the EIB and others provided CureVac with financing for development of its CVnCoV vaccine candidate and expansion of manufacturing.

Catalent has unveiled plans to invest in a European center of excellence for clinical biologics formulation development and drug product fill/finish services at its facility in Limoges, France.

Study reports immune and T-cell response from CanSino COVID-19 vaccine candidate.

Strong immune response by patients receiving two doses of vaccine suggests a possible treatment strategy.

Global regulatory authorities have published a report describing the aligned positions on COVID-19 vaccine development, which were agreed upon by meeting participants of the second workshop on COVID-19 vaccine development.

Through the deal, Roche will gain co-commercialization rights to pralsetinib, Blueprint Medicine’s investigational, once-daily oral precision therapy for the treatment of RET-altered non-small cell lung cancer, medullary thyroid cancer, and other types of thyroid cancer

VAR2 Pharmaceuticals has been selected for its development of a drug-conjugated malaria protein that potentially selectively binds to most human tumor types.

BARDA and DOD have awarded a $450-million contract to Regeneron Pharmaceuticals to manufacture and supply an investigational double antibody cocktail in development for treating COVID-19.

SGS has announced the receipt of approval from Belgium’s Federal Agency for Medicines and Health Products (FAMHP) to begin a new clinical trial of a potential treatment for patients with COVID-19 related respiratory failure.

The European Commission has approved Lynparza (olaparib) for use in patients with germline BRCA-mutated (gBRCAm) metastatic pancreatic cancer within the European Union.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Medicago have announced a collaboration for the development and evaluation of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate.

The European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines and Healthcare (EDQM) has published a new general chapter (2.6.32) in the European Pharmacopoeia (Ph. Eur.) supplement 10.3.

Intravacc will license CimCure’s iBoost technology, and the companies will jointly develop a COVID-19 vaccine candidate.

RNA is easier to manipulate than DNA but challenging to deliver to the right cells.

Data and science must guide FDA in making pressure-filled COVID-19 vaccine and therapy approval decisions.

The guidance document provides recommendations regarding data needed for the manufacturing, development, and approval of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Biotechnology company, ILC Therapeutics, has revealed that it has entered into a research partnership with the University of St Andrews aimed at progressing a therapeutic drug that can treat COVID-19 to clinical trials.

The agency will be waiving fees for scientific advice for academia developing orphan drugs.

The Biomedical Catalyst has been relaunched, meaning that innovative biotech companies will have the opportunity to access a share of £30 million (US$38 million) in grant funding.

The companies have entered into a development and manufacturing agreement for Anthos Therapeutics’ abelacimab for treating thrombotic disorders.

The collaboration will focus on novel therapeutics targeting RNA-modifying proteins for cancer treatment.

Agreements with the PolyPeptide Group and AGC Biologics will scale up production of the Novavax Matrix-M adjuvant.

Therapies for early and late treatment and passive immunization of COVID-19 are needed and can be developed using antibodies from recovered patients.

Bioanalytical studies are an important aspect of biologic drug development that may necessitate partnering with bioanalysis experts.

Biopharmaceutical company, Atriva Therapeutics, has announced, in a May 28, 2020 press release, that it will develop ATR-002, an oral small molecule, for treatment of patients with moderate-to-severe COVID-19 that require hospitalization in a Phase II study.