The first patients have been dosed with ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, an adenovirus vaccine vector (AAV) developed by the Jenner Institute at the University of Oxford. It becomes the fifth COVID-19 vaccine to enter the clinic. Clinical trials of the vaccine, based on an adenovirus vaccine vector (AAV) and the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, began today in healthy volunteers aged between 18 – 55 in Oxford, UK. The vaccine was developed at Oxford’s Jenner Institute and was chosen as the most suitable vaccine…
Sartorius reported pronounced year-on-year increases in sales and orders for its first quarter 2020, indicating the opportunities for bioprocessing and the resilience of biopharma amid the coronavirus pandemic. For many businesses, the first quarter 2020 could be described as exceptional; at best subdued, but more realistically unsettling or even disastrous. Since January, the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has led to systematic shutdowns and lockdowns, creating fiscal uncertainty and forcing many businesses to shut up shop. But for Sartorius Stedim Biotech, the…
From Regeneron to GSK, monoclonal to bispecific, industry is increasingly looking at antibody (Ab) therapies to tackle the novel coronavirus. We bring you a comprehensive guide to what’s in the pipeline. Only six weeks ago, Bioprocess Insider brought to you a highlights reel of the treatments and prophylaxis in the development pipeline to treat COVID-19, caused by the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). But six weeks is a very long time in a global pandemic, and since then new projects have begun…
J&J says its Janssen Adeno vector and PER.C6 technologies provide the ability to rapidly develop and upscale production of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate Not unexpectedly, much of Johnson & Johnson’s Q1 2020 financial call was taken up with talk of coronavirus. “COVID-19 is one of the most severe global health challenges we have seen in our lifetimes, but at the same time, we have unprecedented science and technology available today to help us mount a false and effective response,†said…
North Korea has asked for help to increase COVID-19 monitoring capacity and has received reagents needed for testing, according to the WHO. Officially no COVID-19 cases have been reported in North Korea (DPRK). However, only a few hundred people have been tested for SARS-CoV2, the virus that causes the disease, according to World Health Organization (WHO) representative to DPR Korea, Edwin Salvador. “The WHO has been receiving weekly updates from the [DPRK] Ministry of Health on COVID-19. As of 2…
Cytiva – formerly known as GE Healthcare Life Sciences – will develop a prototype affinity resin to support a COVID-19 vaccine candidate being developed by the University of Queensland A team from the University of Queensland (UQ), Australia is working on a fast-tracked vaccine for the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, using its molecular clamp’ technology. The platform tech, invented by UQ scientists and patented by UniQuest, aims to provide stability to the viral protein that is the primary target for our…
British American Tobacco (BAT) will use its tobacco-based expression technology to make a not-for-profit vaccine candidate targeting the novel coronavirus. The vaccine candidate has been developed by Kentucky BioProcessing (KBP), the wholly owned subsidiary of the Big Tobacco firm BAT. “KBP recently cloned a portion of the genetic sequence encoding the selected coronavirus antigen – a substance which induces an immune response in the body and the production of antibodies,†a BAT spokesperson told this publication. “This sequence was then…
SPONSORED  The virtual pharma business model has gradually become a popular alternative to traditional pharma. As an integrated service provider, Yourway offers the logistical support from study design to packaging needed by virtual and small companies entering into clinical trials. Yourway is a large organization that has flexible solutions embedded in our offering, and this nimbleness and agility help us to provide optimal solutions to virtual pharma companies. Virtual pharma companies are not bound to an organization’s internal, in-house service…
Novartis’s AveXis unit has received a CHMP nod for the spinal muscular atrophy gene therapy at its latest meeting, sending it on the final steps to market in the EU. After several delays plus a row over a controversial lottery-style managed access program in Europe, Novartis gene therapy Zolgensma (onasemnogene abeparvovec) has finally been granted a positive opinion by the EU’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP). The committee has recommended a conditional marketing authorization of Zolgensma for the…
Cobra Biologics and the Karolinska Institutet with EU Horizon 2020 emergency funding in hand have teamed to develop a DNA vaccine against COVID-19. Contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) Cobra Biologics and Swedish medical university form part of a consortium called OPENCORONA aimed at developing and manufacturing a DNA vaccine against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) set to be delivered to patient muscle to generate  a viral antigen on which the immune system then reacts. The consortium, which also includes Karolinska…