ROCKVILLE, Md.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–20/20 GeneSystems, Inc. announced today that it will offer in its CLIA laboratory a COVID-19 antibody test that received an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the FDA on May 3. According to test manufacturer Roche Diagnostics, the blood test has a specificity greater than 99.8% and sensitivity of 100% (14‑days post-PCR confirmation) and is used to determine if a person has developed antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
Of all the venture funding flowing into the medtech industry, a lower proportion than ever is being invested in companies at the start-up stage, a new analysis by Evaluate Vantage shows. Less than 5% of venture cash has been put into seed funding and series A rounds so far this year.
This shifting of cash from early into later rounds is a continuation of a trend that has been clear for some time. What is somewhat unexpected, however, is the relative prominence of series D financings in 2020 so far. Granted, this year is hardly typical; perhaps the pressures of the pandemic have pushed investors to mid- as well as late-stage rounds.
WASHINGTON, D.C., May 22, 2020 – Connected DMV’s COVID-19 Strategic Renewal Task Force held its kickoff meeting on Thursday and affirmed their support for regional collaboration to tackle the pandemic with the following statement:
“The COVID-19 health pandemic has reinforced the importance of regional collaboration and cooperation between the District, Maryland and Virginia. It is also a necessity, if we are to secure the long-term stability and vitality of the DMV, solidify our position as a hub of innovation and leadership, and instill confidence in all our residents – on the safest path forward. Together and inclusive of our diverse communities, we need to define how our region can best recover, emerge, and thrive after the most acute conditions of the pandemic have subsided. The Connected DMV Strategic Renewal Task Force is committed to that shared future. Every step we make together as a region will ensure a stronger future for the DMV.”
The phase I trial in healthy adult volunteers began in April. More than 1,000 immunisations have been completed and follow-up is currently ongoing.
The next study will enrol up to 10,260 adults and children and will involve a number of partner institutions across the country.
The phase II part of the study involves expanding the age range of people the vaccine is assessed in, to include a small number of older adults and children:
• Aged 56-69 • Aged over 70 • Aged between 5-12 years
REUTERS: Oxford University and AstraZeneca are recruiting around 10,000 adults and children in Britain for trials of an experimental coronavirus vaccine, a day after receiving US backing worth up to US$1.2 billion.
Institutions across Britain had begun enrolling up to 10,260 adults and children to see how well the human immune system responds to the vaccine and how safe it is, the university said.
GAITHERSBURG, Md., May 25, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ: NVAX), a late-stage biotechnology company developing next-generation vaccines for serious infectious diseases, today announced enrollment of the first participants in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial of its coronavirus vaccine candidate, NVX‑CoV2373, a stable, prefusion protein made using its proprietary nanoparticle technology. NVX‑CoV2373 includes Novavax’ proprietary Matrix‑M™ adjuvant to enhance immune responses and stimulate high levels of neutralizing antibodies. Preliminary immunogenicity and safety results from the Phase 1 portion of the trial are expected in July 2020.
WASHINGTON – (May 21,2020) — Children’s National Hospital is establishing a regional pediatric telehealth consortium in response to coronavirus with $928,000 in funding awarded by the Federal Communications Commission’s Wireline Competition Bureau. The funding, which is part of the FCC’s COVID-19 Telehealth Program, enables the nationally-ranked pediatric hospital to expand its telehealth platform to support 15 healthcare sites in the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia region serving children and young adults, providing care to children with COVID-19 as well as those who are medically vulnerable and helping to protect healthcare workers as the pandemic threat continues.
ROCKVILLE, Md., May 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Emmes today announced that its data and statistical analysis work for the Adaptive COVID-19 Treatment Trial (ACTT) played an important role in the accelerated timetable to evaluate remdesivir’s effectiveness in treating hospitalized COVID-19 patients.
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, sponsored the clinical trial, which included 1,063 participants at 60 sites in 10 countries. Emmes has a long history in supporting NIAID’s Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases and has served as a Statistical and Data Coordinating Center for more than 350 of its clinical trials since 1998.
AstraZeneca Plc will make as many as 30 million doses of coronavirus vaccine available to the U.K. by September and has committed to delivering 100 million doses this year. The U.K. will be the first country to get access to the vaccine should it be successful.
The vaccine being developed at the University of Oxford will get 65.5 million pounds ($79 million) of funding, U.K. Business Secretary Alok Sharma said today in a statement. The inoculation is already being studied in humans and could reach late-stage trials by the middle of the year. Another 18.5 million pounds will go to Imperial College London as trials accelerate.
ROCKVILLE, MD – May 19, 2020
Creatv MicroTech (Creatv), a cancer screening and diagnostic company with headquarters in Rockville, Maryland, is announcing a collaboration with the University of Miami School of Medicine on a study supported by the National Institutes of Health / National Cancer Institute entitled “MRI Imaging and Biomarkers for Early Detection of Aggressive Prostate Cancer”. Allan Pollack, Sanoj Punnen and Radka Stoyanova are the study’s Principal Investigators.
The study objective is to evaluate and validate the integration of quantitative imaging features with pathologic, molecular and blood markers to better manage prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment selection. Creatv’s biomarker, cancer associated macrophage-like cells (CAMLs) originated within the cancer stroma and can be found along with circulating tumor cells (CTCs).
