Roche (SWX:ROG) has won World Health Organization (WHO) prequalification for Actemra/RoActemra. Actemra/RoActemra is an anti-interleukin-6 receptor (aIL-6R) receptor antagonist with tocilizumab as an active substance. The prequalification will assist in low- and middle-income countries in procuring the therapy for patients on systemic corticosteroids who require supplemental oxygen or mechanical ventilation. Actemra/RoActemra is the twelfth medicine…
Israeli researchers release data on fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccine
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…
UK ramps up booster program to confront surge in COVID-19 cases
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced that the country will accelerate its coronavirus vaccination booster initiative to fight a “tidal wave” of cases resulting from the infectious Omicron variant. Johnson acknowledged that two doses of vaccine were unlikely sufficient to fight off the recent surge in infections, which hit the second-highest level in the…
Why global vaccine equity concerns could prolong the COVID-19 pandemic
In May, the World Health Assembly set the goal of fully vaccinating 10% of each country’s population by September 30. A number of countries hit the goal, including 15 in Africa, but more than 50 didn’t. “It’s very concerning,” said Donna Patterson, a fellow at the Wilson Center, in a recent webinar from that organization. Uneven…
UK puts vaccine manufacturing plant up for auction
The U.K. government has put a manufacturing plant up for sale that was instrumental in the country’s plan to battle future pandemics. According to The Financial Times, the plant, dubbed the Vaccine Manufacturing Innovation Centre (VMIC), had received at least £215 million of public funding since it was launched in 2018. A handful of companies…
J&J joins Moderna and Pfizer in researching Omicron variant
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) has announced that it is collaborating with academic institutions internationally to gauge the effectiveness of its COVID-19 vaccine against Omicron and other SARS-CoV-2 variants. In particular, J&J said it is conducting research on blood serum from clinical trial volunteers who have received single or multiple doses of its COVID-19 vaccine. The…
OSHA suspends enforcement of COVID-19 vaccine mandate
The Biden administration will not proceed with enforcing its vaccine mandate for businesses with at least 100 employees given a recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The administration had planned on putting the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in charge of administering the COVID-19 vaccine mandate. While a statement…
Federal appeals court concludes Biden’s vaccine mandate poses ‘serious constitutional concerns’
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued an opinion on November 12 concluding that the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate was ‘fatally flawed.’ A three-judge panel on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has blocked the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA’s) plan to institute a vaccine mandate for employers with at least…
J&J COVID-19 vaccine to find use in conflict zones
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) has reached an agreement with the U.S. government and the public–private health partnership Gavi to distribute the Ad26.COV2.S vaccine to conflict zones or humanitarian settings. New Brunswick, NJ–based Johnson & Johnson anticipates deliveries in such areas in the coming days. “We believe our single-shot COVID-19 vaccine has a critical role to…
States sue to block COVID-19 vaccine mandate
The attorneys general in 26 U.S. states are opposing the Biden administration’s plan to force many employers to require their workers to obtain vaccination against COVID-19. While the majority of states were Republican-led, Kansas, Louisiana and Kentucky were three Democratic-leaning states that joined the litigation. White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said in a media briefing…