Category: Pharmaceuticals
Two doses of Sinovac vaccine found insufficient against coronavirus variant
The Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine will remain as part of Singapore’s national vaccination programme as a three-dose regime, inspite of recent findings by the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) and the Ministry of Health (MOH). The joint study has found […]
US-FDA authorises AstraZeneca’s new COVID-19 antibody treatment
Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca’s (AZ) first preventative COVID-19 drug has been approved for use by the US Food & Drug Administration (US-FDA). The drug, now formally named Evushield, is a combination of two monoclonal antibodies that work together to prevent infection […]
New Omicron-specific vaccine to be ready by January, Novavax
Biotechnology company Novavax Inc. (Novavax) anticipates developing and mass manufacturing an Omicron-specific COVID-19 vaccine as soon as January next year. Different from current mRNA vaccines, Novavax’s new protein subunit vaccine involves engineering host cells – from a moth – to […]
Longer dose interval between vaccinations produces stronger immune response
Delaying the second dose of mRNA COVID-19 vaccination brings about a stronger immune response, claim investigators of study conducted under the Canadian COVID-19 Immunity Task Force (CITF). The peer-reviewed study looked into how the pandemic has affected paramedics in North […]
Current vaccines likely ineffective against new coronavirus variant
The CEO of drugmaker Moderna, Stéphane Bancel, has said the current crop of COVID-19 vaccines are unlikely to be as effective against the Omicron variant of the coronavirus; and that it could take months to begin shipping a vaccine that […]
India sitting on 200 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, SII CEO says
Nearly 200 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines are lying unused in Indian states as people refuse to get vaccinated. “The vaccine industry has worked tirelessly to provide enough stocks for the nation,” said the CEO of top vaccine maker the […]
Pilot clinical drug trial for treatment of infantile spasms
The first patient in an AC-21-024 study, a pilot clinical trial of tricaprilin for the treatment of Infantile Spasms, has been enrolled by Cerecin, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing ketogenic agents as potential neurotherapeutics. Tricaprilin is an investigational oral drug under development for several neurological conditions, […]
SCG/Formycon collaborate on COVID-19 drug FYB207 for Asia-Pacific
Innovative biotechnology companies, Singapore-based SCG Cell Therapy Pte Ltd (SCG), and Germany-based Formycon AG (Formycon), have entered into a collaboration and license agreement for a preclinical stage ACE2 immunoglobulin fusion protein, FYB207. The drug has shown promising potential against major […]
Singapore signs supply agreement for Merck’s experimental oral COVID-19 drug
Merck and Co., Inc. (Merck), also known as MSD outside the US and Canada, has just announced a supply and purchase agreement with Singapore that will provide the Republic with access to Merck’s experimental oral antiviral drug for COVID-19. The […]
Experimental pill for home treatment of COVID-19 passes clinical trials
An investigational oral antiviral treatment for SARS-CoV-2 has been shown to significantly reduce a person’s risk of hospitalisation or death from COVID-19, according to clinical trials conducted by pharmaceutical giant Merck, referred to as MSD outside of the US and […]
