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Today's Rundown

BioNTech, Fosun Pharma eye 1B doses of COVID-19 vaccine capacity with new China JV
Eli Lilly taps 3 Indian drugmakers to bolster supply of COVID-19 drug baricitinib
COVID-flu combo vaccine from Novavax sparks immune response to both viruses in animals
Will a waiver work? Don't expect COVID-19 vaccine patents to lift quickly, if ever, analysts say
With $15B in COVID-19 vaccine sales in sight, BioNTech aspires to become a 'global immunotherapy powerhouse'
Drug licenser LianBio poaches Lilly's COVID-19 antibody leader to fill CEO role
Kaiser Permanente generates $2 billion profit for Q1, rebounding from 2020 loss
BARDA partners with software developers to help triage COVID-19 patients
COVID-19 tracker: FDA experts to discuss vaccinating kids; Behind schedule, AZ hits 50M doses delivered to the EU

Featured Story

BioNTech, Fosun Pharma eye 1B doses of COVID-19 vaccine capacity with new China JV

By Angus Liu

As BioNTech makes inroads with its COVID-19 vaccine in Western countries under a partnership with Pfizer, the German biotech is bringing its work in China to the next level with a joint venture with licensing partner Fosun Pharma. The goal is to have manufacturing capacity of up to 1 billion doses a year.

Eli Lilly taps 3 Indian drugmakers to bolster supply of COVID-19 drug baricitinib

By Noah Higgins-Dunn

Eli Lilly has tapped three Indian generic drugmakers—Cipla, Lupin and Sun Pharma—through royalty-free, non-exclusive voluntary licensing agreements to manufacture and sell its COVID-19 drug baricitinib, which recently received emergency authorization for hospitalized patients when paired with Gilead's remdesivir.

COVID-flu combo vaccine from Novavax sparks immune response to both viruses in animals

By Arlene Weintraub

As Novavax prepares to file for FDA emergency use authorization of its COVID-19 shot, the vaccine developer is already looking ahead to the possibility of combining coronavirus and flu protection. In ferrets and hamsters, a flu-COVID combo vaccine produced antibodies against both viruses at levels comparable to what was seen with either component vaccine alone, the company said.

Will a waiver work? Don't expect COVID-19 vaccine patents to lift quickly, if ever, analysts say

By Kevin Dunleavy

Less than a week after the United States unveiled support for a measure that would end patent protection for COVID-19 vaccines, analysts are casting doubt on whether it will happen and if it would even make a difference.

With $15B in COVID-19 vaccine sales in sight, BioNTech aspires to become a 'global immunotherapy powerhouse'

By Angus Liu

BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine Comirnaty is already hauling in billions of dollars in revenue, fueling the young biotech’s aspiration to expand beyond the pandemic shot to build what its CEO Ugur Sahin calls a “global immunotherapy powerhouse.”

Drug licenser LianBio poaches Lilly's COVID-19 antibody leader to fill CEO role

By Amirah Al Idrus

As LianBio strikes more deals to bring new drugs to China, the company is installing a new CEO: Yizhe Wang, Ph.D., who will arrive next Monday after leading the team that brought Eli Lilly’s COVID-19 antibody, bamlanivimab, to an emergency nod. Wang fills a vacuum left by LianBio’s founding CEO Bing Li, who departed quietly earlier this year.

Kaiser Permanente generates $2 billion profit for Q1, rebounding from 2020 loss

By Robert King

Kaiser Permanente posted a $2 billion profit for the first quarter of the year after serving more COVID-19 patients and seeing growth in its health insurance plan.

BARDA partners with software developers to help triage COVID-19 patients

By Andrea Park

The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority has thrown its weight behind two startups analyzing COVID-19 patients’ risk of deteriorating.

COVID-19 tracker: FDA experts to discuss vaccinating kids; Behind schedule, AZ hits 50M doses delivered to the EU

By Noah Higgins-Dunn,Kevin Dunleavy,Fraiser Kansteiner

The FDA's independent group of vaccine experts have scheduled a June 10 meeting to discuss the use of the COVID-19 vaccines in children, the agency said. Roughly four months behind scheduled, AstraZeneca has hit 50 million doses delivered to the European Union. And more headlines.

COVID-19 Tracker