AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) will provide the EU an extra 9 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine to help resolve a supply dispute that also involves the U.K., according to media reports. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen yesterday described the agreement as a “step forward,” according to NPR. The extra doses bring the total amount…
Pfizer, BioNTech to provide up to 40M COVID-19 vaccine doses to COVAX
Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and BioNTech (NSDQ:BNTX) will supply up to 40 million doses of their COVID-19 vaccine this year to COVAX, a global initiative to provide vaccine doses to developing countries. The companies said today that they expect the first doses to ship out during Q1; the vaccine will go to COVAX at a not-for-profit price. The…
Former FDA commissioner Kessler to help lead Biden’s COVID-19 response
President-elect Joe Biden today announced that Dr. David Kessler, who led FDA through much of the 1990s, will serve as chief science officer of his administration’s COVID-19 response. Kessler’s achievements at FDA included speeding the approval of drugs to reduce the AIDS death toll. He’ll now be helping to lead efforts to speed authorization and…
Pfizer to provide another 100M COVID-19 vaccine doses to EU
Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and BioNTech (NSDQ:BNTX) announced today that they will provide an extra 100 million doses of its Comirnaty COVID-19 vaccine to EU member countries in 2021. “In partnership with the European Commission, member states and healthcare providers, we will be able to reach a total of 150 million Europeans across the continent,” Pfizer CEO Albert…
Honeywell to acquire Sparta Systems for $1.3B
Honeywell (NYSE:HON) announced today that it will buy Sparta Systems (Hamilton, N.J.) and its medtech and pharma quality management software for $1.3 billion. Officials at Honeywell and Sparta Systems’ present owner New Mountain Capital expect the all-cash deal to close by the end of Q1 2021, pending certain regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. The…
BD is playing a crucial role delivering COVID-19 vaccines: Here’s how
Hundreds of millions of vaccine doses will require hundreds of millions of syringes from companies such as BD. As much-hoped-for COVID-19 vaccines roll out to the public, Becton Dickinson (NYSE:BDX) faces an arguably impressive challenge: The Franklin Lakes, N.J.–based medtech giant already has commitments to provide more than 800 million needles and syringes to deliver future COVID-19…
Pfizer in negotations to provide U.S. another 100M COVID-19 vaccine doses
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla told media outlets today that the company is negotiating a way to speed up the delivery of an additional 100 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine to the U.S. next year. Americans are expected to receive some of the first shots of the vaccine today — days after FDA granted an…
Freudenberg Sealing Technologies touts new high-performance seals for butterfly valves
Freudenberg Sealing Technologies, in cooperation with French customer Definox, recently announced that it has developed a new series of high-performance seals for butterfly valves. Definox produces valves and stainless steel equipment for the process industry; it specializes in producing components for processes in the pharmaceutical, food, beverage, cosmetics and animal feed sectors. “We convinced our…
U.S. plans to ship 6.4M COVID-19 vaccine doses to states in mid-December
About 6.4 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and its partner BioNTech (NSDQ:BNTX) will ship to U.S. states in mid-December, as long as the vaccine soon receives an FDA EUA. There are also plans to quickly distribute vaccine from rival COVID-19 vaccine developer Moderna (NSDQ:MRNA), which could soon apply for an EUA, officials at the…
Roche to spend $500M on new operations center in Canada
Roche (SWX: RO, ROG) recently announced that it will create a Global Pharma Technical (PT) Operations site at its Canadian pharmaceutical headquarters in Mississauga, Ontario. The new operations site, announced, Oct. 16, involves a $500 investment over five years, with 200 people hired for skilled jobs by the end of this year. Roche plans to hire 300 more…