Supply Chain

The White House Coronavirus Task Force promised a swift rollout of COVID-19 vaccines — but one of a number of takeaways from its first briefing since July. The briefing yesterday gave the task force a chance to once again urge Americans to heed COVID-19 guidance while also providing an update on vaccines and therapeutics.   The…

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently announced it was gathering supply kits to facilitate a potential mass vaccine effort. FDA has yet to approve a vaccine for COVID-19, and at least five states are planning to require independent verification of vaccines after FDA approval. In the interim, HHS is partnering with…

Sanofi (NSDQ:SNY) and GSK (LON: GSK), which have teamed up to produce a COVID-19 vaccine candidate, have signaled their intent to work with the legal administrator of the COVAX Facility. The two companies have vowed to produce 200 million doses of a vaccine based on the protein subunit AS03 adjuvant. Governments, businesses and health organizations…

Among the numerous logistical challenges to providing COVID-19 vaccines around the globe, temperature is receiving little attention. Relatively few logistics or healthcare organizations have freezers capable of cooling down to –80° C (–112° F). But vaccines using gene-based technology known as messenger RNA (mRNA) require such ultralow temperatures. Against that backdrop, Stirling Ultracold has announced…

Palantir Technologies (NYSE:PLTR), the controversial data-mining company, will assist the U.S. government in tracking the administration of COVID-19 vaccines. The company is developing a tool to enhance the logistics of vaccines for the novel coronavirus. Founded in 2003, Palantir has a long history of working with the federal government. The company’s software possibly played a…

Some 72 people have died in South Korea after receiving flu shots, leading several physicians to call for a pause in immunizations. Government officials initially reported there was no clear link between the deaths and the vaccines. Among the casualties was a 17-year-old high school student.  The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) decided…

COVID-19-related drugs are in short supply in the U.S., according to a recent report from the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) at the University of Minnesota. Supplies are scarce for nearly three-quarters (72.5% or 29 of 40) of COVID-19 drugs, according to the CIDRAP report, which cites data from the American Society…

As Pfizer and its German biotech partner BioNTech progress with a Phase 3 COVID-19 vaccine candidate, the companies are preparing for the prospect of delivering an approved vaccine at scale. Pfizer anticipates that it could produce up to 100 million doses in the remainder of 2020 and an additional 1.3 billion next year. The companies…

Professional thieves have long looted valuable medicines. Now, drugmakers and their partners are aiming to protect COVID-19 vaccines from theft. Pharma companies are using fake shipments and GPS software to plot bogus shipments to throw off thieves. Meanwhile, glassmakers like Corning are incorporating black-light verification to battle counterfeiting, according to The Wall Street Journal. Hospitals…

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…