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 July 31, 2020. Notable advancements include:

• Moderna announced that its COVID-19 vaccine is moving into the final phase of testing with a study of 30,000 participants.
• Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine is moving into the third phase of testing at 120 clinical sites worldwide.
• Merck has scheduled large-scale studies for its oral coronavirus treatment in collaboration with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics as early as September.

​Recent News:

• Merck aims to start ‘large pivotal’ studies on coronavirus treatment in September
  CNBC – July 31, 2020
  Merck has scheduled “very large pivotal studies” for its oral coronavirus treatment in collaboration with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics as early as September, a company executive announced.
• Pfizer executive targets end of year for COVID-19 vaccine
  Associated Press – July 30, 2020
  Meg Ruesch, research and development leader at Pfizer Inc.’s Andover, Massachusetts, facility, said that the company hopes to have their coronavirus vaccine ready by the end of the year.
• FDA Nears Decision Authorizing COVID-19 Treatment With Convalescent Plasma
  Wall Street Journal – July 29, 2020 
  The Food and Drug Administration is nearing a decision to authorize emergency use of antibody-rich blood plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients for treating those infected with the coronavirus, people familiar with the matter said.
• Pfizer and BioNTech Begin Global Phase II/III COVID-19 Vaccine Trial
  Biospace – July 28, 2020
  Pfizer and BioNTech announced their COVID-19 vaccine global Phase II/III safety and efficacy clinical trial will be conducted in 120 clinical sites around the world, including 39 states in the U.S. Argentina, Brazil and Germany.
• Moderna’s COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate Heads To Widespread Testing In U.S.
  NPR – July 27, 2020 
  The COVID-19 vaccine candidate made by the U.S. biotech company Moderna and developed in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health starts its final phase of testing Monday.
• AstraZeneca pledges $174M to ramp up coronavirus vaccine supply deal with Emergent
  Fierce Pharma – July 27, 2020 
  With a $174 million manufacturing pact signed Monday, Maryland-based Emergent BioSolutions will help produce bulk drug substance for AstraZeneca and Oxford’s COVID-19 vaccine starting this year.
• This Bay Area company thought it might not survive. Then it started making coronavirus proteins
  San Francisco Chronicle – July 26, 2020 
  Atum, a 17-year-old Newark firm specializing in making synthetic genes and proteins, is now playing a vital role in supplying cellular pieces to researchers who use them to build coronavirus antibody tests, drugs and vaccine candidates.
• Scientists Are Researching Ways To Transfuse Antibodies In Coronavirus Treatment
  NPR – July 24, 2020 
  Scientists are trying to figure out whether they can prevent COVID-19 in people at high risk of getting it by infusing them with those antibodies.