Early data from Israel’s Sheba Medical Center showed that an additional booster of COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and BioNTech (NSDQ:BNTX) led to a fivefold increase in antibodies one week after receipt of the vaccine.  Pfizer had earlier announced that a third dose of the vaccine increased antibody levels 25-fold compared to a two-dose primary…

As COVID-19 infections in the U.S. hit new highs, President Joe Biden announced that the country would buy at least 20 million courses of Pfizer’s (NYSE:PFE) COVID-19 pill Paxlovid.  The government had planned on purchasing half as much of the drug, which won regulatory authorization in late December for certain patients with a high risk of developing…

With the pandemic continuing to disrupt the pharmaceutical industry, drug makers find themselves torn between the traditional domain of drug making and an emerging domain of new platforms and focuses. This disparity was reflected in the most popular pieces of content from Pharmaceutical Processing World in 2021. 1. GSK, Pfizer and J&J among the most-fined drug…

WHO head Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus faulted wealthy nations for advocating widespread use of COVID-19 boosters while billions of people across the globe remain unvaccinated. Ghebreyesus concluded that the situation could lead to more potentially dangerous SARS-CoV-2 mutations. The WHO has asked wealthy countries to prioritize vaccine initiatives in countries with low vaccination rates over…

Dubai-based Vector Pharma FZCO has signed an exclusive agreement with R-Pharm US (Princeton, New Jersey) related to distributing the drug Ixempra (ixabepilone) in the Middle East and North Africa. The chemotherapy agent Ixempra can be used as a monotherapy or in combination with capecitabine to treat metastatic or locally advanced breast cancer. The drug is…

Last month, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued nasal spray company Xlear for claiming that its xylitol-containing saline nasal spray could help fight COVID-19. Specifically, the FTC alleged that Xlear had violated the COVID-19 Consumer Protection Act. The Department of Justice also accused the company of violating the Federal Trade Commission Act. American Fork, Utah–based…

Privately-owned materials science firm SiO2 Materials Science has entered into an agreement with Seoul-headquartered Doosan Corp. related to the distribution of its vials, syringes and blood collection tubes in Asia and Oceania. The alliance will initially cater to the needs of pharmaceutical and diagnostics companies, with the scope of the partnership increasing over time. As…

Mere months ago, health experts were divided on whether COVID-19 boosters were necessary for the broader public.  Then came delta and then came omicron.  Now, Israel is moving to become one of the first countries to offer a fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccine to people at least 60 years old and those at high risk…

As we have seen with certain vaccines over the last 18 months, cryogenic transport and storage is becoming a significant issue for biopharmaceutical manufacturers as more products and components must be stored at very low temperatures to be kept functional. The repercussions of these new requirements are being felt throughout the biopharmaceutical production industry as…

Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO) announced that one of its contract manufacturers filling syringes for its Wegovy (semaglutide) pens in the U.S. market has temporarily ceased manufacturing following a report of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) problems. The company projects it will be unable to meet U.S. demand for the drug in the first half of 2022 and…