A notorious hacking group with ties to Russia’s intelligence network has been targeting COVID-19 vaccine developers, according to the United States, United Kingdom, and Canadian government. APT29, also known as ‘The Dukes’ or ‘Cozy Bear,’ has been organizing cyber attacks in an effort to steal confidential information regarding COVID-19 vaccine development and research, according to […] Continue reading ->
Some 75 new countries have submitted expressions of interest to join the COVAX Facility, potentially supporting 90 other countries who have already joined the COVAX Advanced Market Commitment initiative created to pool demand and secure lower prices for bulk purchases of a COVID-19 vaccine. Meanwhile, Moderna is pulling ahead in the COVID-19 vaccine rat race […] Continue reading ->
Ibadan, Nigeria – The World Health Organisation (WHO) is advocating for equitable access to effective COVID-19 vaccines but developments surrounding the race to a vaccine suggest this may be extremely difficult. And health policy leaders in Africa and other low and middle-income countries are increasingly worried about their prospects for being pushed to the back […] Continue reading ->
The United States has secured almost all of Gilead Sciences’ projected production of remdesivir – an antiviral that was shown to reduce hospitalization times for COVID-19 patients- for the next three months. US Health and Human Services (HHS) has secured 100 percent of Gilead’s projected production for July (94,200 treatment courses), 90 percent of production […] Continue reading ->
A COVID-19 vaccine candidate under development by pharma giant Pfizer and biotech firm BioNTech showed promise in interim results released Wednesday. The vaccine candidate, BNT162b1, was able to induce the formation of antibodies that neutralized SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in all participants who received doses between 10ug to 30ug, according to a report […] Continue reading ->
A six-vial five-day course of remdesivir – a promising COVID-19 treatment – will be priced at US $2340, or $390 per vial for developed countries, Gilead Sciences Chief Executive Officer Daniel O’Day wrote in an open letter on Monday. “Earlier hospital discharge [thanks to treatment by remdesivir] would result in hospital savings of approximately $12,000 […] Continue reading ->
A standardized set of more than 80 compounds with known or predicted activity against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has been compiled by the Medicines for Malaria Venture in an effort to catalyze the discovery of drugs for the disease. The announcement comes amidst rapid shifts in the research around potential COVID-19 treatments. Just […] Continue reading ->
A rising star in the COVID-19 treatment arena, dexamethasone – a powerful corticosteroid – has stirred excitement among World Health Organization experts and researchers around the world, following the publication of promising early results from the United Kingdom’s Recovery trial.  In COVID-19 patients only receiving supplemental oxygen, the trial found that dexamethasone reduced mortality by […] Continue reading ->