Week's news analysis
New steps on the road against Covid-19 pandemic
Valvena
With more than 133.9 million people around the world diagnosed with Covid-19 on April 8, and more than 2.9 million people dead, vaccination campaigns definitely are the main barrier against the pandemic. According to study findings published in the NEJM (New England Journal of Medicine), Moderna's vaccine mRNA-1273 appears to offer protection against Covid-19 for at least six months. Meanwhile, Pfizer and BioNTech's, BNT162b2, is said to be 91.3% effective at preventing the disease.
A phase III trial for Valneva
Regeneron's antibody cocktail in preventive treatment In the fields of Covid-19, vaccines are not the only solution. April 12, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals announced its antibody drug reduced the risk of developing symptomatic Covid-19 infection by 81% compared with a placebo in people living with someone infected by the new coronavirus. The antibody cocktail is already authorised for use in people with mild to moderate symptoms and those facing a high risk of developing severe illness. Regeneron will apply to the US Food and Drug Administration to expand its use as a preventive treatment to more patients. The antibody cocktail may help provide immediate protection to unvaccinated people who are exposed to the virus, according to George Yancopoulos, president at Regeneron. In January, the US government ordered 1.25m doses of the treatment to be delivered by June 30.
A mRNA acquisition for Sanofi Another French company is actively working on Covid-19 in spite of not having brought a product to the market yet. April 9, Sanofi announced the acquisition of mRNA biotech Tidal Therapeutics for up to $470 million. Tidal's technology is based on nanoparticles that deliver mRNA cargos selectively to designated groups of cells in the body, with initial applications targeting specific types of immune cells. This in vivo reprogramming of immune cells technology has the potential to bring CAR-T cell therapy to a much broader patient population, to treat a variety of oncology and autoimmune conditions.
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