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Today's Rundown

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Sanofi chose a proven platform over speed in its COVID-19 vaccine hunt, CEO says

Several COVID-19 vaccine candidates are racing ahead at unprecedented speeds, with some set to enter late stage testing this summer. That group doesn’t include Sanofi, where they’re less worried about being first to market and are instead focusing on proven technology, CEO Paul Hudson said Monday. 

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Top Stories

Fauci: No directive or plan to slow down COVID-19 testing despite Trump's latest remarks

Infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci, M.D., said no Trump administration officials have directed him or the federal coronavirus task force to slow down testing, and more tests are on the way.

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Former HHS Secretary Leavitt: A 'national strategy is required' for COVID-19 contact tracing

Contact tracing, supply chain questions raised in Senate hearing.

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New dexamethasone stats suggest lifesaving potential for severe COVID-19 patients

The medical community expressed caution when researchers in England said the widely used steroid dexamethasone could save the lives of seriously ill COVID-19 patients. Health experts demanded a full report to be convinced. Now, they have more data, though not yet from a peer-reviewed journal.

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Inovio, advancing COVID-19 shot, scores DOD deal to scale up needleless vaccine devices

Way back in January, Invoio was among the first groups to get involved in COVID-19 vaccine research under a $9 million grant from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations. Now that the company has advanced to human testing, it has scored a much larger contract from the U.S. government for delivery devices. 

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Avalere: COVID-19 hospitalizations could cost up to $17B this year

COVID-19 hospitalizations could cost payers as much as $17 billion in 2020, with Medicare and commercial plans on the hook for the most money, a new Avalere analysis found.

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Sanofi spends $425M to double down on Translate Bio mRNA pact, eyes Q4 COVID-19 vax start

Sanofi Pasteur is betting big on its pact with mRNA biotech Translate Bio as it deepens its ties and commitment to infectious disease vaccines using this new tech.

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Schrödinger, Google Cloud to supply massively parallel computing efforts to global COVID-19 initiative

Digital molecule designer Schrödinger is expanding its efforts against the novel coronavirus, using its partnership with Google’s cloud computing division to screen new potential antivirals as part of a global Big Pharma collaboration.

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Healthcare roundup: Apple Watch adds handwashing detection feature

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

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Biopharma roundup: Sanofi corners vaccine tech new and old; Merck launches "Cancer During COVID-19" web series

Sanofi touted its proven vaccine tech over new, speedier platforms. A private equity firm is marketing a former-BMS plant as an "onshoring" drugmaker's dream. Plus, Indian CDMO Piramal Pharma nabbed a former G&W plant in Pennsylvania. And Merck expanded its virtual oncology series with Katie Couric.

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Merck extends Couric partnership for online series about cancer during COVID-19

Merck's new online oncology series is taking on a timely topic: COVID-19. Host and well-known journalist Katie Couric began the series recently with the interview of a young woman diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer just before the pandemic began shutting down New York.

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