AstraZeneca acquired Alexion Corp for $39 billion
On Dec. 12, 2020, AstraZeneca and Alexion Pharmaceuticals announced an agreement for AstraZeneca to acquire Alexion. Alexion shareholders…
Amarin reported encouraging efficacy and safety results from VASCEPA pilot study treating COVID-19 infected outpatients
On Dec. 12, 2020, Amarin announced clinical results from the CardioLink-9 Trial, the first results of a study…
CDC recommended vaccination with Pfizer and BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for ages 16 years and older
On Dec. 12, 2020, Pfizer and BioNTech announced that the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted…
US FDA issued Emergency Use Authorization for first COVID-19 vaccine
On Dec. 11, 2020, the FDA issued the first emergency use authorization (EUA) for a vaccine for the…
Baricitinib plus remdesivir showed promise for treating COVID-19
On Dec. 11, 2020, the combination of baricitinib, an anti-inflammatory drug, and remdesivir, an antiviral, reduced time to…
USDA confirmed COVID-19 in a snow leopard at a Kentucky zoo
On Dec. 11, 2020, the USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories announced the first confirmed case of SARS-CoV-2 (the…
US Dept of Veterans Affairs announced initial plans for COVID-19 vaccine distribution
On Dec. 10, 2020, the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced a preliminary plan for distributing COVID-19…
European CHMP adopted positive opinion for HEPLISAV-Bﾮ hepatitis B adjuvanted vaccine
On Dec. 10, 2020, Dynavax Technologies announced that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for…
Pfizer and BioNTech received FDA Advisory Committee vote supporting EUA for COVID-19 vaccine in the US
On Dec. 10, 2020, Pfizer and BioNTech announced that the FDA Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee…
LabCorp received FDA Authorization to make at-home COVID-19 collection kits available rhrough retail
On Dec. 9, 2020, LabCorp announced that the FDA had granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the Pixel…
Virologist Michael Houghton awarded Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of Hepatitis C virus
On Dec. 8, 2020, University of Alberta virologist Michael Houghton was awarded a share of the 2020 Nobel…
First peer-reviewed results of phase 3 human trials of University of Oxford vaccine demonstrated efficacy
On Dev. 8, 2020, University of Oxford and AstraZeneca researchers present a pooled analysis of Phase 3 trials…
FDA accepted for priority review the BLA for Pfizerﾒs investigational 20-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine
On Dec. 8, 2020, Pfizer announced that the FDA accepted for priority review a Biologics License Application (BLA)…
Chimerix announced FDA acceptance of NDA for brincidofovir as a medical countermeasure for smallpox
On Dec. 7, 2020, Chimerix announced that the FDA has accepted the filing of a New Drug Application…
Serum Institute applied for emergency use authorisation for COVID-19 vaccine
On Dec. 7, 2020, the Serum Institute of India (SII) announced that it had applied to Drugs Controller…
Dr. James Lim and Lakshana Sreenivasan discovered that certain immune signals may help medulloblastoma resist chemotherapy
On Dec. 5, 2020, Dr. James Lim and Lakshana Sreenivasan discovered that certain immune signals may help medulloblastoma…
NIH researchers linked cases of ALS and FTD to a mutation associated with Huntingtonﾒs disease
On Dec. 4, 2020, researchers at the National Institutes of Health reported that they had made a surprising…
LA County launched holiday COVID-19 home test collection pilot
On Dec. 4, 2020, Los Angeles County launched a new COVID-19 home test collection program, which allowed certain…
Lilly and UnitedHealth Group partnered on pragmatic study of neutralizing antibody bamlanivimab (LY-CoV555) for COVID-19
On Dec. 4, 2020, Eli Lilly and UnitedHealth Group announced a partnership to conduct a pragmatic study of…
VBI Vaccines partnered with Syneos Health for commercialization of prophylactic 3-antigen hepatitis B vaccine
On Dec. 4, 2020, VBI Vaccines and Syneos Health announced a partnership for the commercialization of VBIﾒs 3-antigen…
CDC’s ACIP issued Interim recommendation for allocating initial supplies of COVID-19 vaccine
On Dec. 3, 2020, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended, as interim guidance, that both 1)…
Meridian launched air-dryable RT-qPCR mix with reduced costs for COVID-19 test manufacturers
On Dec. 3, 2020, Meridian Bioscience announced that it had launched an Air-Dryable RT-qPCR Mix, driving innovation in…
Development of new stem cell type may lead to advances in regenerative medicine
On Dec. 3, 2020, a team led by UT Southwestern announced that it had derived a new ﾓintermediateﾔ…
Roche received FDA Emergency Use Authorization for new test to measure level of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies
On Dec. 2, 2020, Roche announced that its Elecsysﾮ Anti-SARS-CoV-2 S antibody test had received Emergency Use Authorization…
UK medicines regulator approved first UK COVID-19 vaccine
On Dec. 2, 2020, the first COVID-19 vaccine for the UK, developed by Pfizer/BioNTech, was given approval for…
Codex DNA released new synthetic genomes for the fight against COVID-19
On Dec. 2, 2020, Codex DNA announced the release of seven new synthetic SARS-CoV-2 genomes for use in…
Lilly announced 650,000 additional doses of COVID-19 neutralizing antibody bamlanivimab purchased by US government
On Dec. 2, 2020, Eli Lilly announced that the U.S. government had purchased 650,000 additional doses of the…
Pfizer and BioNTech achieved first authorization in the world for a vaccine to combat COVID-19
On Dec. 2, 2020, Pfizer and BioNTech announced that the Medicines & Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in…
FDA approved first PSMA-targeted PET imaging drug for men with prostate cancer
On Dec. 1, 2020, the FDA approved Gallium 68 PSMA-11 (Ga 68 PSMA-11) ﾖ the first drug for…
US Department of Defense awarded $50 million in university research equipment award
On Dec. 1, 2020, the U.S. Department of Defense announced awards to 150 university researchers totaling $50 million…