The Trump administration today released a plan to distribute an eventual COVID-19 vaccine free of charge, initially to targeted groups and more broadly as supply increases. The government is planning a phased distribution using a contract awarded to McKesson in August. The first recipients could include: Healthcare personnel likely to be exposed to or treat people…
Thermo Fisher to manufacture Inovio COVID-19 vaccine candidate
Inovio Pharmaceuticals (NSDQ:INO) announced that Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) will manufacture its COVID-19 vaccine candidate. Plymouth Meeting, Pa.-based Inovio said in a news release yesterday that Thermo Fisher signed a letter of intent to manufacture the INO-4800 COVID-19 vaccine candidate, joining a consortium of third-party manufacturers that aim to produce 100 million doses of Inovio’s vaccine by 2021,…
Schott producing vials for 3 of 4 COVID-19 vaccine candidates
Specialty glass manufacturer Schott announced today that it is delivering vials to three out of every four COVID-19 vaccine projects undergoing phase I, II, and III testing , according to Global Data. The Mainz, Germany-based company has delivered millions of glass vials to SARS-CoV-2 programs, including partners of the Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed vaccine…
Could Vaxxas’ tiny patches enable a better COVID-19 vaccine?
Tiny vaccine delivery patches could solve logistical challenges, but they face manufacturing hurdles. Here’s how Vaxxas is trying to overcome them. Merck (NYSE:MRK) and Vaxxas announced earlier this year that the pharmaceutical giant was using Vaxxas’ High Density Microarray Patch (HD-MAP) platform as a delivery platform for a vaccine candidate. Vaxxas did not disclose what…
Kohlberg & Co. snaps up majority stake in PCI Pharma Services
Private equity outfit Kohlberg & Co. announced today that it has agreed to acquire a majority stake in pharma supply chain outsourcer PCI Pharma Services. Abu Dhabi-based sovereign investor Mubadala Investment is also making a significant investment in Philadelphia-based PCI. Financial terms of the deal were not disclsoed. Private markets investment manager Partners Group, previously…
Feds ink COVID-19 vaccine distro deal with McKesson
The U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Defense Dept. (DoD) announced a COVID-19 vaccine distribution deal with McKesson. Under Operation Warp Speed, McKesson will become a central distributor of future COVID-19 vaccines and related supplies needed to administer the pandemic vaccinations, according to a news release. The Centers for Disease Control and…
Kodak stock down 30% after pharma deal put on hold
Shares of Eastman Kodak (NYSE: KODK) were down more than 30% near the close of trading today after a tweet from the U.S. International Development Finance Corp. said a $765 million loan for domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing is on hold. The Aug. 7 tweet said: “On July 28, we signed a Letter of Interest with Eastman…
Pfizer to make Gilead’s remdesivir COVID-19 treatment
Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) announced today that it entered into a multi-year agreement with Gilead Sciences (NSDQ:GILD) to manufacture and supply its antiviral remdesivir treatment. The investigational antiviral remdesivir will be manufactured by Pfizer under the agreement as the company becomes one of the multiple external manufacturing organizations supporting efforts to scale up the supply of the investigational…
U.S. to spend $1B for doses of J&J’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate
The U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services and Defense Dept. agreed to a $1 billion deal for a vaccine candidate from Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ). HHS and DoD announced the agreement with Janssen Pharmaceutical, as the J&J subsidiary is set to offer large-scale manufacturing and the delivery of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, with the federal…
Sanofi, GSK to supply up to 60 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to UK
Sanofi (NYSE:SNY) and GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK) announced that they reached an agreement with the UK government to supply up to 60 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. Subject to a final contract, the UK government will receive the doses of a vaccine candidate developed by the two companies in partnership and based on the recombinant protein-based technology Sanofi used to…