The state of the fight:
Moderna pledged permanently to forgo enforcement of its Covid-19 vaccine patents for shots made “in or for” 92 LMICs.
A WHO technical advisory group now “strongly supports urgent and broad access” to Covid-19 booster doses…
The state of the fight:
Sanofi and GSK’s vaccine candidate demonstrated 58% efficacy against symptomatic Covid-19 in Phase 3.
The U.S. FDA lifted its clinical hold on Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, clearing the way for the inactivated vaccine to…
BioNTech on Wednesday introduced the modular mRNA vaccine manufacturing platform it plans to deploy in Africa. But the fanfare was overshadowed by allegations—published last week in The BMJ—that a consultancy in the pay of the German company has sought to “undermine” a WHO-managed initiative for a multilateral mRNA technology transfer hub in South Africa. According to the BMJ article, the Malta-based Kenup Foundation circulated a report last year to South African government officials arguing…
The African Union and Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention convened regional and international stakeholders in Rwanda last week to discuss progress on boosting vaccine manufacturing on the continent.
A joint communiqué underscored successes to date, saying the Partnership for Africa Vaccine Manufacturing (PAVM) had struck deals between multinational and local companies and established WHO training and manufacturing “hubs.” However, the session also recognized stiff…
The state of the fight:
New studies supported heterologous primary regimens and heterologous boosters.
AUTHORIZED VACCINES
Mixing the AstraZeneca/Oxford or Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines with a second dose of Moderna’s shot generated non-inferior immune responses …
The state of the fight:
A slew of vaccine manufacturers announced plans to tackle the Omicron variant.AUTHORIZED VACCINES
New research on the Pfizer/BioNTech shot affirmed its efficacy in younger people and its safety in older people.
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The state of the fight:
WHO issued an Emergency Use Listing for Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin vaccine.
AUTHORIZED VACCINES
WHO listed Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin vaccine for emergency use on Wednesday, citing 78% efficacy against Covid-19 of any severity…
Following up on its previously announced ambitions to make mRNA vaccines in Africa, Germany’s BioNTech issued a joint communiqué last week with Institut Pasteur de Dakar and Rwanda Biomedical Centre outlining a potential—albeit “pre-contractual”—agreement.
If the deal gets formalized, BioNTech will pursue “end-to-end” manufacturing of mRNA-based malaria and tuberculosis vaccines (pending regulatory approval) in Rwanda and Senegal for supply to African Union member states, while “…
The state of the fight:
Regeneron and Roche’s REGEN-COV became the first antibody drug to score U.S. FDA clearance for post-exposure prophylaxis of Covid-19.New, six-month Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine…
Germany’s BioNTech announced Monday that it is “evaluating sustainable mRNA vaccine production capacities in Africa” for a candidate malaria shot and other vaccines.
The company said in a press release it would select promising candidates for clinical development from “multiple vaccines featuring known [m]alaria targets” (such as the circumsporozoite protein) while also evaluating new antigens. First trials are planned for year-end 2022.
In the same press release, BioNTech said…