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Today's Rundown

Pfizer, Moderna pledge more mRNA vaccine doses to Europe after AZ supply concerns
Bolstered by pandemic-fueled interest, mental health startup Modern Health raises $74M funding round
FDA could reject AstraZeneca’s COVID vaccine on efficacy and manufacturing shortfalls: analyst
Sanofi invests in health tech firm Novadiscovery, boosting trial simulation platform and COVID-19 work
Hims & Hers, Grapevine Health, ATA partner to advance equitable access to virtual care amid COVID-19
Healthcare roundup: Long-term care facilities facing 'business nightmare,' says AHCA/NCAL chief
GlaxoSmithKline doubles down on Vir pact, throwing in $345M upfront to go beyond COVID-19
Neurocrine's pandemic play? Leverage marketing to launch Ongentys and keep Ingrezza steady
An mRNA vaccine delivered in hydrogel shows promise as a durable cancer immunotherapy

Featured Story

Pfizer, Moderna pledge more mRNA vaccine doses to Europe after AZ supply concerns

By Fraiser Kansteiner

After a coronavirus vaccine supply feud between top officials in Europe and COVID-19 vaccine player AstraZeneca, officials there are doubling down on their purchase of an alternative technology. This week, the bloc finalized the purchase of 350 million additional mRNA vaccine doses.

Bolstered by pandemic-fueled interest, mental health startup Modern Health raises $74M funding round

By Heather Landi

Riding the wave of investor interest in virtual behavioral health startups, Modern Health has closed a $74 million series D investment round. This latest investment brings the company’s total funding to over $170 million in less than two years and raises its valuation to $1.17 billion.

FDA could reject AstraZeneca’s COVID vaccine on efficacy and manufacturing shortfalls: analyst

By Arlene Weintraub

It's not just the worrisome data showing AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine was largely ineffective against the aggressive South African variant that worries some analysts. Inconsistent manufacturing could complicate the company's bid to win over the FDA for a U.S. launch.

Sanofi invests in health tech firm Novadiscovery, boosting trial simulation platform and COVID-19 work

By Ben Adams

Sanofi is funneling €2.5 million into French clinical trial simulation specialist Novadiscovery as it looks to beef up its COVID-19 trial response.

Hims & Hers, Grapevine Health, ATA partner to advance equitable access to virtual care amid COVID-19

By Brian T. Horowitz

With telehealth expanding dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic, several organizations have banded together to boost access to virtual care for marginalized and underserved communities. The American Telehealth Association, Hims & Hers, Grapevine Health and several others formed the Telehealth Equity Coalition to ensure no one is left behind in the shift to virtual care.

Healthcare roundup: Long-term care facilities facing 'business nightmare,' says AHCA/NCAL chief

By Healthcare Staff

Follow along with the latest COVID-19 news straight from the Fierce Healthcare team.

GlaxoSmithKline doubles down on Vir pact, throwing in $345M upfront to go beyond COVID-19

By Ben Adams

Last year, Big Pharma GlaxoSmithKline and George Scangos’ biotech Vir joined forces against COVID-19. Now, the pair is turning its crosshairs on a broader range of respiratory diseases.

Neurocrine's pandemic play? Leverage marketing to launch Ongentys and keep Ingrezza steady

By Beth Snyder Bulik

Diagnosing patients via telehealth can be challenging, but especially when it comes to movement disorders. For Neurocrine Biosciences, that discovery was a double whammy. Two of its key drugs—Ingrezza for the drug-induced disorder tardive dyskinesia and Ongentys for Parkinson’s patients—can be prescribed over video, but uncertainty pushed Neurocrine to get creative.

An mRNA vaccine delivered in hydrogel shows promise as a durable cancer immunotherapy

By Angus Liu

Scientists at China’s National center for Nanoscience and Technology have designed a hydrogel to deliver an mRNA vaccine with an immune-stimulating adjuvant. When injected into mice with melanoma, the vaccine stayed active for at least 30 days, inhibiting tumor growth and preventing metastasis.

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