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Today's Rundown

First Moderna, now Pfizer-BioNTech working on booster shot amid rise of COVID-19 variants
Eli Lilly teams up with pharma rival GSK and partner Vir for COVID-19 antibody cocktail test
HHS moves to enable recently retired doctors and nurses to deliver COVID-19 vaccine
Order up: U.S. calls on Pfizer, Moderna for 200 million more vaccine doses
Cancer drug derived from sea squirts outperforms remdesivir in COVID-19 preclinical models
Nearly half of adults older than 65 don't have online medical accounts that could connect them with COVID-19 vaccines
Biopharma roundup—Regeneron cocktail takes aim at viral variants
HCA teams with AHRQ, Johns Hopkins to share key data on COVID-19
AstraZeneca, EU officials duke it out in the press as COVID-19 vaccine supply battle heats up
Lonza's Visp manufacturing lines, tapped in COVID-19 vaccine push, will take time to hit 'cruising speed': report
Anthem misses Wall Street predictions in Q4 profits as COVID costs mount
Care Access Research teams up with AstraZeneca for COVID-19 antibody virtual trial work

Featured Story

First Moderna, now Pfizer-BioNTech working on booster shot amid rise of COVID-19 variants

By Angus Liu

One major concern over emerging coronavirus variants focuses on their impact on the efficacy of existing vaccines. Now, Pfizer and partner BioNTech are developing booster shots so that their COVID-19 vaccine can protect against new, highly contagious variants, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said.

Eli Lilly teams up with pharma rival GSK and partner Vir for COVID-19 antibody cocktail test

By Ben Adams

COVID-19 has been a real leveler in competitor terms; once warring Big Pharmas have joined forces for the greater good on vaccines, both in R&D and more recently on production, and now on treatments.

HHS moves to enable recently retired doctors and nurses to deliver COVID-19 vaccine

By Robert King

HHS seeks to enable retired doctors and nurses to be able to deliver COVID-19 vaccinations as part of a larger strategy to ramp up vaccinations.

Order up: U.S. calls on Pfizer, Moderna for 200 million more vaccine doses

By Beth Snyder Bulik

Can Pfizer and Moderna deliver an additional 200 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to the U.S. by this summer? That's what President Joe Biden said he wants the companies to do as the administration works to bulk up vaccine supplies and dramatically speed up nationwide immunizations.

Cancer drug derived from sea squirts outperforms remdesivir in COVID-19 preclinical models

By Angus Liu

The search among existing drugs for potential COVID-19 treatments has pointed to another promising candidate—PharmaMar’s myeloma drug plitidepsin. In preclinical studies, it performed better than Gilead Sciences’ FDA-approved remdesivir against the SARS-CoV-2 virus behind the disease and was even effective against a more contagious variant.

Nearly half of adults older than 65 don't have online medical accounts that could connect them with COVID-19 vaccines

By Tina Reed

Older adults are being prioritized for COVID-19 vaccines because they are among the most vulnerable to complications from the novel coronavirus. But they are also less likely to be using the tech tools such as online patient portals that would help notify them about vaccine availability and appointment scheduling.

Biopharma roundup—Regeneron cocktail takes aim at viral variants

Sanofi has stepped up to produce 100 million doses of Pfizer and BioNTech's vaccine. Regeneron's antibody cocktail mostly worked against two viral variants. Lilly will test its bamlanivimab antibody in combination with GSK and Vir's experimental antibody. It may take months for Lonza to hit full manufacturing capacity in Switzerland.

HCA teams with AHRQ, Johns Hopkins to share key data on COVID-19

By Robert King

HCA Healthcare formed a consortium with the federal government and several universities to share patient data on COVID-19 in the hopes of creating better treatments and clinical practices.

AstraZeneca, EU officials duke it out in the press as COVID-19 vaccine supply battle heats up

By Eric Sagonowsky

After AstraZeneca's surprise cut to first-quarter COVID-19 vaccine deliveries in Europe, CEO Pascal Soriot is publicly trading barbs with European officials. Soriot says AZ isn't legally tied to specific delivery timing. The EU begs to differ. AZ was said to bail on a Wednesday meeting but denied the charge. And everyone is looking for answers.

Lonza's Visp manufacturing lines, tapped in COVID-19 vaccine push, will take time to hit 'cruising speed': report

By Fraiser Kansteiner

Lonza, tapped to produce Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine, expects two more production lines in Visp, Switzerland to come online within the quarter, though it will take some time before production there hits "cruising speed," the company's CEO said. The move comes as Europe contends with limited shot supplies from Pfizer and AstraZeneca.

Anthem misses Wall Street predictions in Q4 profits as COVID costs mount

By Paige Minemyer

Anthem reported $551 million in profit for the fourth quarter of 2020, falling short of Wall Street analysts' predictions.

Care Access Research teams up with AstraZeneca for COVID-19 antibody virtual trial work