Icosavax announced Wednesday the close of $100 million in Series B financing.
The funds will support the development of the biotech’s bivalent RSV and human metapneumovirus vaccine through initial clinical studies, continued evaluation of its virus-like particle (VLP) Covid-19 vaccine candidate, and expansion of its pipeline of other VLP vaccine candidates targeting respiratory diseases, the press release said.
Roche announced Monday that it will buy California-based GenMark Diagnostics for $1.8 billion in cash.
The Swiss biotech will expand its portfolio with GenMark’s molecular diagnostic tests, including the ePlex Respiratory Pathogen Panel, which simultaneously screens for several bacteria and 21 viruses (including influenza A and B, RSV and SARS-CoV-2). The announcement came days after the U.S. FDA issued a warning about false positives from Roche’s own multivirus diagnostic.
Adjuvant Capital announced last week a $300 million Global Health Technology Fund focused on accelerating the development of medical innovations for “historically overlooked public health challenges.”
The New York-based social impact investor noted in its press release that it has already backed 14 companies, requiring each to make products broadly accessible to people in low- and middle-income countries. Adjuvant’s “young portfolio” includes investments in companies addressing…
GSK announced Tuesday that it has dosed the first participant in a Phase 3 trial of its recombinant subunit prefusion RSV vaccine candidate for older adults.
The company began Phase 3 trials for a second RSV candidate (for maternal immunization) in November 2020 and is testing a third RSV shot for infants in ongoing Phase 1/2 studies.
In other news, GSK announced Wednesday that it is increasing its diversity targets for senior leadership. The company will now aim for 45% female…
Meissa Vaccines has dosed the first participant in a Phase 2 challenge trial of its intranasal live attenuated respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine candidate, MV-012-968, the company announced last week.
The San Francisco biotech also released complete Phase 1a data showing that the vaccine was safe, well-tolerated and induced mucosal antibodies in most adult recipients. A dose of the RSV candidate was similarly tolerable and effective in seropositive pediatric patients, according…
GSK announced positive Phase 1/2 data Wednesday for two RSV vaccines, calling the candidates “well-tolerated and highly immunogenic.” Presenting the results at the IDWeek infectious disease conference, the company said both recombinant subunit pre-fusion shots—one for maternal immunization and another for older adults—will proceed to Phase 3 “in the coming months.”
Phase 1/2 trials for a third GSK RSV vaccine candidate (for infants) remain ongoing.
Moderna has “regained all rights” to the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine that it has been co-developing with long-time collaborator Merck, the Massachusetts-based company announced last week. The press release said Merck will complete ongoing Phase 1 trials of lipid nanoparticle-based mRNA-1172 before formally handing over the program and that Merck will focus on its RSV antibody program, currently in Phase 2.
With programs in various stages of clinical development, GSK, J…
Vaccine published first-in-human Phase 1 results for Intravacc’s RSV vaccine candidate in its September 3 issue, finding the intranasal live-attenuated product safe and well-tolerated in healthy adults ages 18 to 50.
Noting in its press release that high background immunity among adults makes efficacy difficult to evaluate, the Dutch company said that it’s seeking a partner for pediatric clinical development.
With competitors challenging Prevnar 13—the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) responsible for 90% of its vaccine sales—Pfizer this week announced the start of Phase 3 trials for three investigational shots.
Two separate studies will compare 13-valent Prevnar with the company’s 20-valent candidate, 20vPnC, in approximately 3,500 infants.
Meanwhile, a study evaluating the safety and efficacy in infants of Pfizer’s respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine candidate, RSVpreF,…
Nasdaq-listed Moderna set initial pricing yesterday for a secondary stock offering this week, saying it expects to raise $500 million.
The announcement comes one day after the company claimed significant progress on its investigational mRNA vaccines against novel coronavirus (2019-nCOV, now called Covid-19), cytomegalovirus, RSV and Epstein-Barr—as well as a methylmalonic acidemia drug.
In other Covid-19 news, J&J announced yesterday that its Janssen subsidiary would “further…