May 8, 2020

The California Biotechnology Foundation is committed to keeping you up to date on COVID-19 testing, treatment and prevention advancements. The following resources track what progress has been made as of May 8, 2020. Notable advancements include:

• Pfizer and BioNTech announced that their potential coronavirus vaccine began human trials in the U.S., and, if successful, the vaccine could be ready for emergency use this fall.
• Gilead Sciences is donating more than 1.5 million vials of remdesivir — the breakthrough antiviral drug shown to help COVID-19 patients recover faster —to the most critically ill patients in the nation.
• The FDA green-lit Roche’s new antibody test that will help determine whether or not people have been infected by the novel coronavirus.

​Recent News:

• GSK to test experimental drug to treat pneumonia from COVID-19
  Reuters – May 7, 2020
  GlaxoSmithKline will start trials of an experimental rheumatoid arthritis drug on patients suffering from pneumonia related to COVID-19 at the end of the month.
• Moderna Moves into Phase II Testing of COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate
  Biospace – May 7, 2020
  Moderna said it expects to begin the mid-stage study soon with 600 patients and is finalizing protocols for a hoped-for Phase III study mRNA-1273, which is expected to begin in early summer of 2020.
• Giving blood thinners to severely ill COVID-19 patients is gaining ground
  STAT – May 6, 2020
  Treating Covid-19 patients with medicines to prevent blood clots might help reduce deaths in patients on ventilators, based on new observational data. A team from Mount Sinai Health System in New York on Wednesday reported better results for hospitalized Covid-19 patients who received anticoagulant drugs compared to patients who didn’t.
• Pfizer Begins Human Trials of Possible Coronavirus Vaccine
  New York Times – May 5, 2020
  Pfizer and the German pharmaceutical company BioNTech announced that their potential coronavirus vaccine began human trials in the United States on Monday.
• With Crispr, a Possible Quick Test for the Coronavirus
  New York Times – May 5, 2020
  A team of scientists has developed an experimental prototype for a fairly quick, cheap test to diagnose the coronavirus that gives results as simply as a pregnancy test does.
• Exclusive: Sanofi to enroll thousands for its coronavirus vaccine trials
  Reuters – May 5, 2020
  French drugmaker Sanofi SA said it plans to enroll thousands of subjects globally for trials of an experimental vaccine for the coronavirus it is developing with GlaxoSmithKline Plc, and that it has started to discuss advanced purchases with several countries.
• Regeneron COVID-19 Antibody Treatment Could Be Available by Fall
  Bloomberg – May 5, 2020
  Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. said an experimental antibody treatment for COVID-19 could be available as soon as this fall, an expedited timeline for a drug that’s scheduled to be studied in humans for the first time in June.
• Roche Wins Emergency Approval for its COVID-19 Antibody Test
  Biospace – May 4, 2020
  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) green-lit Roche’s new Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody test that will help determine whether or not people have been infected by the novel coronavirus that has swept across the globe and developed antibodies to the disease.
• Gilead donates 1.5 million vials of breakthrough drug for COVID-19 patients
  San Francisco Chronicle – May 3, 2020
  More than 1.5 million vials of remdesivir — the breakthrough antiviral drug shown to help COVID-19 patients recover faster — will go to the most critically ill patients in the nation early this week, said Daniel O’Day, CEO of Foster City’s Gilead Sciences, which created the drug.
• Drugs for heartburn, gout and depression now being tested as coronavirus treatments
  Los Angeles Times – May 2, 2020
  In a race to find medicines that can tame the coronavirus and treat patients with COVID-19, researchers are scouring the formulary of available drugs and chemical compounds in hopes of finding something they could put to work immediately.

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].