July 31, 2020 – Sanofi (Paris, France) and GSK (London, UK) announced a collaborative effort with the U.S. government to accelerate the development and manufacturing of a COVID-19 recombinant protein-based vaccine. The vaccine candidate, developed by Sanofi in partnership with GSK, is based on the recombinant protein-based technology used by Sanofi to produce an influenza … [Read more...]
BD announces $24M U.S. government investment to support scale up of U.S. manufacturing of COVID-19 diagnostic tests
July 31, 2020 – BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) (Franklin Lakes, NJ) announced a $24 million investment from the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to support the scale up of U.S. manufacturing capabilities for BD Veritor Solution for Rapid Detection of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes … [Read more...]
Hologic awarded $7.6M federal contract for COVID-19 testing
July 27, 2020 - Hologic Inc. was awarded an undefinitized contract action with a ceiling of $7.6 million from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) to expand production of custom sample collection and processing consumables for COVID-19 testing. This investment will increase Hologic's production from 4.8 million COVID-19 … [Read more...]
Hospitals scrambling with new national COVID-19 data reporting system
July 23, 2020 - Hospitals and states are scrambling to adopt a new national COVID-19 data reporting system hastily implemented by the Trump administration last week that has left some, mostly rural, states in the dark about the severity of their own coronavirus outbreaks. The White House last week abruptly instructed all hospitals to stop reporting their COVID-19 data to the … [Read more...]
Pfizer, BioNTech announce agreement with U.S. government for up to 600 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine candidate
July 22, 2020 – Pfizer Inc. (New York, NY) and BioNTech SE announced the execution of an agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Defense (DOD) to meet the U.S. government’s “Operation Warp Speed” program goal to begin delivering 300 million doses of a vaccine for COVID-19 in 2021. Under the agreement, the U.S. government … [Read more...]
$10B from CARES Act to be distributed to hospitals this week
July 21, 2020 – Funds of $10 billion from the federal CARES Act will be distributed to hospitals with high numbers of COVID-19 patients this week. It is the second round of high-impact relief funds for hospitals. HHS says it based the distribution from hospitals that reported more than 161 COVID-19 admissions between January 1, 2020, and June 10, 2020. Hospitals will be … [Read more...]
Thermo Fisher Scientific’s response to COVID-19 continues to expand to support development, production of therapeutics, vaccines
July 20, 2020 – Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (Waltham, MA) continues to expand global capacity and capabilities across its pharma services network to support customers in government, industry and academia as they accelerate development and production of COVID-19 vaccines, therapies and other treatments. The company is now supporting more than 200 of these projects … [Read more...]
Quidel’s Sofia SARS Antigen FIA updates EUA performance data to 96.7% PPA vs PCR
July 20, 2020 – Quidel Corporation (San Diego, CA) announced it has updated the performance data for its Sofia SARS Antigen FIA test on its package insert to 96.7% using direct nasal swab specimens versus PCR as a result of further studies included in its amended Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) that were submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration … [Read more...]
AHA files initial brief in price transparency suit
July 20, 2020 – The American Hospital Association (AHA) has filed an initial brief urging a federal appeals court in Washington, DC, to overturn an U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) rule requiring hospitals to disclose their confidential privately negotiated charges with insurers. The AHA argues that the rule rests on a "manifestly unreasonable statutory … [Read more...]
Federal medical personnel head to Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas
Federal medical personnel, as part of the Disaster Medical Assistance Teams under HHS, are headed to Parkland Memorial Hospital (Dallas, TX) after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson requested support from the federal government. Personnel includes medical professionals and specialists often deployed for natural disasters, terrorist attacks or disease outbreaks … [Read more...]