COVID-19 Update | June 18, 2021

COVID-19 News

COVID-19 Update | June 18, 2021

June 18, 2021

The California Biotechnology Foundation is committed to keeping you up to date about COVID-19 testing, treatment and prevention advancements. The following resources track what progress has been made as of June 18, 2021. Notable advancements include:

  • Novavax results for its two-shot COVID-19 vaccine showed 90 percent effectiveness at preventing people from falling ill in a 30,000-person trial conducted when variants had begun to complicate the pandemic.
  • Aethlon Medical, a San Diego-based biotech company, may have found a promising new therapeutic treatment for COVID-19 through a device called a hemopurifier, which can filter out the coronavirus from an infected patient’s blood.
  • Pfizer said its oral rheumatoid arthritis drug Xeljanz reduced death or respiratory failure in hospitalized COVID-19 patients with pneumonia, according to a study published in theNew England Journal of Medicine.

​Recent News:

  • S. daily death average under 300 for 1st time in over a year
    ABC 7 – June 16, 2021
    As the U.S. reports many of its lowest COVID-19 metrics since the onset of the pandemic, the CDC is now predicting in its weekly virus forecasts that the country’s steady viral decline will likely continue in the weeks to come. Nationally, daily deaths, new cases, and hospital admissions are all expected to decrease over the next four weeks.
  • The U.S. agrees to buy 200 million more doses of Moderna’s vaccine, in case boosters are needed.
    New York Times – June 16, 2021
    The Biden administration, planning for the possibility that Americans could need booster shots of the COVID-19 vaccine, has agreed to buy an additional 200 million doses from the drugmaker Moderna with the option to include any developed to fight variants as well as pediatric doses.
  • Pfizer’s rheumatoid arthritis drug shows benefit in COVID-19 pneumonia
    Reuters – June 16, 2021
    Pfizer Inc said its oral rheumatoid arthritis drug Xeljanz reduced death or respiratory failure in hospitalized COVID-19 patients with pneumonia in Brazil, meeting the study’s main goal. Results of the study, which tested the drug in 289 hospitalized adult patients with the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus, were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
  • Revive Therapeutics Advances Repurposed Drug for Mild to Moderate COVID-19
    BioSpace – June 16, 2021
    Repurposed drugs became the front-line defense against COVID-19 within a few months of the pandemic’s emergence. Now bucillamine, currently in Phase III trials in the U.S., may be poised to join them.
  • Another life-saving COVID-19 treatment found
    BBC News – June 16, 2021
    Exactly one year from the discovery that a cheap steroid drug prevented COVID-19 deaths, researchers say they have found another life-saving therapy. It is expensive – a potent intravenous infusion of antibodies to neutralize the virus, rather than dampen the body’s inflammatory response to it. Results from the Regeneron Recovery trial suggest it could help one in three of those in hospital with severe COVID-19. For every 100 patients treated, experts calculate, it would save six lives.
  • S. authorizes another batch of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine, a reported 14 million doses
    CNBC – June 15, 2021
    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday authorized around 14 million more doses of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine manufactured at a Baltimore factory, according to two sources familiar with the plans. The FDA confirmed it had authorized a batch of the one-dose vaccine made at Emergent BioSolutions’ plant, but did not say how many doses were in the batch.
  • Novavax’s coronavirus vaccine is 90 percent effective, study finds
    Washington Post – June 14, 2021
    Novavax, a Maryland biotechnology company that endured delays in developing a coronavirus vaccine, revealed results Monday showing that the world is close to having another shot that prevents illness and death, stops virus variants — and proves easy to store. The two-shot regimen was 90 percent effective at preventing people from falling ill in a 30,000-person trial conducted when variants had begun to complicate the pandemic in the United States and Mexico.
  • San Diego Biotech Company’s Therapy Treatment Showing Promising Results in COVID-19 Patients
    NBC 7 San Diego – June 12, 2021
    Scientists at Aethlon Medical, a San Diego-based biotech company, may have found a promising new therapeutic treatment for COVID-19. “What we do is capture the virus and completely remove it from circulation, never to return, and nobody else does that,” said Charles Fisher, MD, chief executive officer at Aethlon Medical Inc. Through a device called a hemopurifier, which looks a little bit like a dialysis cartridge, Fisher says they are able to filter out the coronavirus from an infected patient’s blood.
  • As trials progress, FDA weighs COVID-19 vaccine authorizations for children
    BioPharma Dive – June 11, 2021
    As the FDA considers expanding authorization to young children, the  U.S. finds itself in a very different stage of the pandemic, complicating how much data the agency will ask of vaccine makers and whether it will require standard approvals rather than emergency clearances. Dramatically reduced caseloads have shifted the risk-benefit balance, especially given emerging concerns over heart muscle inflammation in very small numbers of younger vaccine recipients.

Rely on California Biotechnology Foundation to monitor breaking news and provide updates on the latest advancements in COVID-19 diagnostics, vaccines and treatments.

Stay informed on the latest news and trends on the economic and health benefits of this industry by visiting the new CABiotech.org

If you have any questions about informational briefings contact California Biotechnology Foundation Executive Director Patty Cooper at (916)764-2434 or [email protected].