By Kyle Blankenship
The Trump administration made a major splash in the race for a COVID-19 vaccine yesterday with its $1.95 billion supply deal for Pfizer and BioNTech's shot. With 100 million doses due in the deal, the two companies stand to turn a profit on the agreement—and that's not such a bad thing, one analyst writes.
read more
By Ben Adams
Roche has canned a phase 1 test of a potential hepatitis B antiviral as part of its third-quarter clean-up of unwanted pipeline drugs.
read more
By Angus Liu
Roche just suffered its first quarterly sales decline since 2011, no thanks to biosimilars and the coronavirus pandemic. U.S. biosimilar attack on its legacy oncology blockbuster trio was more serious than expected, and growth from newer meds such as Ocrevus, Hemlibra and Tecentriq slowed amid COVID-19 lockdowns.
read more
By Arlene Weintraub
Deal values in the first half of 2020 in pharma and biotech were $7.7 billion and $12.6 billion, respectively, marking a precipitous drop over the previous year, PwC reported. But the firm's analysts say the ingredients are in place for a dealmaking rebound, depending on the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.
read more
By Healthcare Staff
Follow along with the latest COVID-19 news straight from the Fierce Healthcare team.
read more
By Eric Sagonowsky, Angus Liu, Kyle Blankenship, Conor Hale, Fraiser Kansteiner
It will likely take multiple doses of an approved COVID-19 shot to confer immunity, Bill Gates said Wednesday. Meanwhile, the WHO's Mike Ryan warned that vaccinations wouldn't kick off until early 2021. COVID-19 slowdowns hit Roche's quarterly sales. Plus, Adarza Biosystems is using lasers to paint a clear picture of the body's immune response.
read more
By Conor Hale
A fingerprint on a dirty computer screen can actually illustrate the science at work behind a diagnostic technology for examining the body’s wider immune response to the novel coronavirus.
read more
By Kyle Blankenship
Maryland biotech Novavax has seen its reputation soar in recent weeks with a major U.S. investment in its early-stage COVID-19 vaccine hopeful. For Novavax's leadership, a step into phase 2 testing would mean a massive stock payout at the company's pumped-up share price—and the shot doesn't even need to cross the FDA finish line.
read more
By Fraiser Kansteiner
U.K.-funded CGT Catapult scored $127 million to expand its Essex vaccine manufacturing and innovation center. The company is also gearing up to open a rapid deployment site that will produce COVID-19 vaccines for the country as soon as a shot is approved.
read more