As Covid-19 Takes Up Residence in the White House, Which Companies Are Working to Combat the Virus?
Jill Biden, the First Lady of the United States, recently tested positive for Covid-19, and President Joe Biden also underwent testing following his wife’s positive result. Fortunately, the President’s results were negative. This occurred as the President was slated to attend the G-20 summit held on September 9-10 in New Delhi, with plans to travel following the summit. It underscores the continued importance of Covid-19 testing and precautions in the ongoing effort to manage the pandemic.
According to the World Health Organization, more than one million Americans have lost their lives to Covid-19 since the beginning of the global pandemic. Many companies joined the race to develop vaccines, diagnostic testing and antiviral treatments to combat the virus, with a number of clear winners. Drugmakers including Pfizer Inc (PFE), BioNTech (BNTX), Moderna Inc (MRNA), Gilead Sciences Inc (GILD), AstraZeneca Plc (AZN) and Merck & Co (MRK)are estimated to have brought in about $100 billion in revenue from COVID vaccines and treatments in 2022.
This week the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded more than $1.4 billion for Project NextGen to support the development of a new generation of tools and technologies to protect against COVID-19 in future years.
We took a look at the latest progress in treating an illness that looks like it’s here to stay.
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN) has been awarded $326 million to support the development of a next-generation monoclonal antibody for COVID-19 prevention. Regeneron’s novel monoclonal antibody will potentially protect people who do not respond to or cannot take existing vaccines – a critically unmet need in COVID-19 therapeutics.
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) was awarded $10 million by Project NextGen for BLUE KNIGHT™, a collaboration between BARDA and Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JLABS to distribute to the awardees of the BLUE KNIGHT™ Resident QuickFire Challenge: Accelerating Project NextGen.
Pfizer (PFE) and BioNTech (BNTX) reported this week that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has recommended marketing authorization for the companies’ Omicron XBB.1.5-adapted monovalent COVID-19 vaccine (COMIRNATY® Omicron XBB.1.5).
Also this week, Moderna’s (MRNA) clinical trial data confirmed its updated Covid-19 vaccine generates a strong immune response in humans against the BA.2.86 Pirola variant. The study demonstrated the vaccine delivered an 8.7 to 11-fold increase in neutralizing antibodies against circulating variants, including BA.2.86, EG.5, and FL.1.5.1.
The BIO COVID-19 Therapeutic Development Tracker provides a comprehensive overview of COVID-19 therapeutic development by biotechnology companies.
