Tag Archives: pharma

Dutch Government Rolls Out COVID Rapid Breath Test

Reuters reports: The Netherlands is to introduce rapid COVID-19 breath tests to sites across the country to speed up the testing process and make it less intrusive. Testing facilities in Amsterdam were this week the first to start using the SpiroNose, a machine which requires a person to breathe into it to indicate a possible coronavirus infection within a minute. …

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AstraZeneca Vax Shows “Strong Effect” With One Dose

The Washington Post reports: Researchers at Oxford University released new results from their vaccine, which is being manufactured by British-Swedish firm AstraZeneca, showing it gives 76 percent protection for three months after just one dose. Testing also reveals that those vaccinated are much less likely to transmit the disease, which will help stem the continuing spread of the virus. The …

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Lancet: Russian COVID Vaccine Is Over 90% Effective

Politico Europe reports: The Russian-developed Sputnik V vaccine is 91.6 percent effective in protecting against symptomatic COVID-19 — on par with the currently approved Western jabs, according to a peer-reviewed study published in The Lancet Tuesday. The data is from a Phase 3 study, with almost 20,000 participants across a number of hospitals and clinics in Russia taking part in …

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Pfizer, Moderna Vaccines More Effective Than Thought

Changing America reports: Emerging data from Israel indicates that the vaccines manufactured by Pfizer and BioNTech, as well as Moderna, may be even more effective than previous results from clinical trials suggested. Israel’s Ministry of Health studied more than 700,000 fully inoculated people—meaning those who received two doses of either vaccine—in the country and saw only 0.04 percent contract a …

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Trial Result: J&J Single-Shot Vaccine Is 66% Effective

The Wall Street Journal reports: Johnson & Johnson said its experimental Covid-19 vaccine was 66% effective at protecting people from moderate to severe disease in a large clinical trial, positive results that could pave the way for its deployment across the U.S. within weeks. The J&J vaccine also appeared to be generally safe and well tolerated among the 44,325 adults …

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Study: Novavax Shot 89% Effective Against Main Strain

USA Today reports: Another COVID-19 candidate vaccine appears to be safe and roughly 90% effective against the virus that causes the disease. It also protects against at least a few of the variants that have arisen in recent months. On Thursday, Novavax, a Gaithersburg, Maryland-based biotechnology firm, released interim results from two clinical trials of its candidate vaccine, one in …

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STUDY: Pfizer Vaccine Effective Against New Variants

The Hill reports: A Pfizer study released Wednesday determined that the mutations in the COVID-19 variants originally found in the United Kingdom and South Africa have “small effects” on the effectiveness of the company’s vaccine developed with BioNTech. The preliminary research, conducted by Pfizer and University of Texas Medical Branch scientists, concluded that the results showed no need for an …

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Moderna Says Its Vax Is Effective Against New Strains

The New York Times reports: Moderna’s vaccine is effective against new variants of the coronavirus that have emerged in Britain and South Africa, the company announced on Monday. But it appears to be less protective against the variant discovered in South Africa, and so the company is developing a new form of the vaccine that could be used as a …

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UK Scientists Trial “Instant Immunity” COVID Drug

The Guardian reports: British scientists are trialing a new drug that could prevent someone who has been exposed to coronavirus from going on to develop the disease Covid-19, which experts say could save many lives. The antibody therapy would confer instant immunity against the disease and could be given as an emergency treatment to hospital inpatients and care home residents …

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Experts Debate Viability Of Single-Dose COVID Vax

The Hill reports: The first coronavirus vaccine shots administered across the country have raised hopes for a breakthrough in the fight against COVID-19, but experts are now raising an even more hopeful possibility: that people might only need one shot instead of the current two-dose regimen. The prospect would effectively double the number of vaccine doses available and allow more …

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CDC: 1M Americans Have Gotten First COVID Shot

Politico reports: More than 1 million Americans have received Covid shots, but the government isn’t likely to make good on the goal of vaccinating 20 million people by the end of this month, federal officials said Wednesday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention touted breaking the 1 million mark 10 days after the start of the most ambitious immunization …

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US Close To Deal On Tens Of Millions Pfizer Doses

The Associated Press reports: The U.S. government is close to a deal to acquire tens of millions of additional doses of Pfizer’s vaccine in exchange for helping the pharmaceutical giant gain better access to manufacturing supplies. A person with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the deal is under discussion and could be finalized shortly. …

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Experts Expect Vaccine Will Work On Mutant Strain

CNN reports: Scientists at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research expect to know in the next few days if there’s a concern that the coronavirus vaccines might not work against a mutated variant of the virus that’s rapidly spreading in parts of England, according to the institute’s top vaccine researcher. While there’s always a worry that a vaccine won’t …

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The Pharma Douche Story Just Got Even Weirder

The Daily Beast reports: A former Bloomberg News reporter quit her job, divorced her husband, and froze her eggs for imprisoned former CEO Martin Shkreli, known as the “Pharma Bro,” who now refuses to talk to her, Elle reported Sunday. Christie Smythe first broke the news of Shkreli’s arrest on fraud charges in December 2015.  Smythe said she and Shkreli …

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Moderna’s COVID Vaccine Begins Shipping [VIDEO]

The Associated Press reports: Workers on Sunday began packaging shipments of the second COVID-19 vaccine authorized in the U.S., a desperately needed boost to efforts to bring the coronavirus pandemic under control. Employees at a factory in the Memphis area were boxing up the vaccine developed by Moderna Inc. and the National Institutes of Health. The much-needed shots are expected …

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Online Tool Estimates Your Place In COVID Vax Line

ABC News reports: The priority groups outlined by the Framework for Equitable Allocation of the COVID-19 Vaccine report were based on the relative risk facing certain groups as well as the broader societal needs of protecting certain groups of people, such as frontline medical workers. While states are tasked with creating their own distribution plans, most of them are following …

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FDA Advisory Panel Approves Moderna Vaccine

CNBC reports: An influential Food and Drug Administration advisory panel on Thursday overwhelmingly backed Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine, a key step paving the way to distribute the second Covid-19 vaccine in the United States next week. An emergency use authorization means the FDA will allow some people to receive the vaccine as the agency continues to evaluate data. It isn’t the …

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FDA Could Okay Moderna Vax As Soon As Tomorrow

The Washington Post reports: A Food and Drug Administration panel of outside experts is meeting Thursday to review the Moderna coronavirus vaccine. The panel is discussing the vaccine’s safety and efficacy and, if all goes as expected, the shots could get emergency clearance as soon as Friday. The FDA, in a report Tuesday, confirmed that in Moderna’s clinical trial, the …

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OTC “Fully At-Home” COVID Test Kit Will Cost $30

The Associated Press reports: The first home test for COVID-19 that doesn’t require a prescription will soon be on U.S. store shelves. The FDA’s action Tuesday allows sales in places like drugstores “where a patient can buy it, swab their nose, run the test and find out their results in as little as 20 minutes,” said FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn. …

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Willingness To Get Vaccine Soars As Rollout Begins

ABC News reports: With the trucks rolling and the first government-authorized coronavirus vaccine making its way to all 50 states, a strong majority of Americans are inclined to get the vaccine but are divided over exactly when, a new ABC News/Ipsos poll released Monday finds. More than eight in 10 Americans say they would receive the vaccine, with 40% saying …

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