HKSTP and AstraZeneca employees at the co-incubation program signing ceremony. The Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) and AstraZeneca have launched a co-incubation program to support biomedical startups as they look to develop integrated oncology solutions to further accelerate innovation in oncology, foster local biomedical technologies and heighten Hong Kong’s status as a biomedical innovation hub. Successful program applicants will be eligible to a series of professional support from HKSTP, including funding of up to about $774,000 (HK$6 million), working space and ..read more

The FDA has granted emergency use authorization (EUA) for the investigational monoclonal antibody therapy bamlanivimab (LY-CoV555) 700 mg and the antibody etesevimab (LY-CoV016) 1,400 mg together, Eli Lilly and Company announced. This comes after an EUA was previously issued for bamlanivimab alone, last November. The combination therapy is approved for the treatment of mild-to-moderate Covid-19 in patients aged 12 and older who are at high risk for progressing to severe Covid-19 and/or hospitalization. Lilly suggests that bamlanivimab and etesevimab be administered together ..read more

Sonoco ThermoSafe, a temperature assurance packaging company, and AirBridgeCargo Airlines, an all-cargo carrier within the Volga-Dnepr Group, have effectively conducted a test shipment with ThermoSafe’s new Pegasus ULD. The companies call it “the world’s first passive bulk temperature-controlled container for pharmaceutical use that is an approved unit load device.” The businesses originally signed a master lease agreement last November. The shipping process involved multiple segments of ground and air transportation, beginning in London and including stops in Amsterdam, Moscow and Frankfurt ..read more

Manufacturers of orphan drugs struggle to uncover valuable commercial insights from their data management efforts, according to a recent industry report from Beghou Consulting. While 54% of respondents in Beghou’s 2021 Orphan Drug Commercialization Report called their data management efforts “somewhat” successful, only 14% said they were successful to a “great extent.” “Given the small number of patients affected by each rare disease, biopharma companies need to deploy advanced analytics techniques to identify prescribing physici ..read more

Pfizer told USA Today that it expects to nearly slice in half the amount of time it takes to produce a batch of Covid-19 vaccine from 110 days to an average of 60 days. This comes as it makes the process more efficient and production continues to be built out, the report notes. Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine is made at three Pfizer plants: beginning in Chesterfield, MO, moving to Andover, MA and finishing in Kalamazoo, MI. The latest CDC numbers indicate that over 22.2 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine had been administered across the US. Referring to it at “Project Light Speed,” Chaz Calitr ..read more

South Africa will put on hold use of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 shot in its vaccination program, after data showed it gave minimal protection against mild-to-moderate infection caused by the country’s dominant coronavirus variant, Reuters reported. South Africa Health Minister Zweli Mkhize noted yesterday that the government would await advice from scientists on how to proceed, after a trial displayed the AZ vaccine did not significantly reduce the risk of mild or moderate Covid-19 from the 501Y.V2 variant that caused a second wave of infections beginning late 2020. Before widespread movement of t ..read more

Newly released 2020 numbers for global air freight markets showed that demand for air cargo decreased by 10.6% in 2020, compared to 2019 levels, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). This was the largest drop in year-on-year demand since IATA started to monitor cargo performance in 1990, outpacing the 6% fall in global trade in goods. Global demand is measured in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTKs). Global capacity, measured in available cargo tonne-kilometers (ACTKs), shrank by 23.3% in 2020 (‑24.1% for international operations) compared to 2019. This was more than double ..read more

During a week in which Johnson & Johnson submitted an application to the FDA for emergency use authorization (EUA) of its one-dose vaccine, GlaxoSmithKline plc and CureVac N.V. announced a new $180 million (€150 million) collaboration to jointly develop mRNA vaccines for Covid-19 with the potential for a multi-valent approach to address multiple emerging variants in one vaccine. As part of an existing agreement, GSK will also support the manufacturing of up to 100 million doses of CureVac’s first-generation Covid-19 vaccine candidate, CVnCoV, in 2021. Under the terms of the new collaborati ..read more

Ocugen, Inc., a biopharma company, and Bharat Biotech, a vaccines specialist, have entered into a definitive agreement to co-develop, supply and commercialize COVAXIN, Bharat’s Covid-19 vaccine candidate, for the US market. Per the deal, Ocugen will be granted US rights to the vaccine candidate and will be in charge of clinical development, regulatory approval (including emergency use authorization, or EUA) and commercialization for the US market. India-based Bharat will supply initial doses for the US once Ocugen is granted EUA. Further, Bharat will support the technology trans ..read more

SGD Pharma, a French supplier of glass primary packaging in the pharma industry, has been awarded a “platinum” rating by EcoVadis, a sustainability ratings provider, positioning it, officials say, in the top 1% of all companies who were rated globally. The company says the rating emphasizes its commitment to sustainable practices and corporate social responsibility (CSR). EcoVadis evaluates over 75,000 companies globally across a multitude of industries. In 2020, SGD Pharma conducted several initiatives and actions that were recognized by EcoVadis. For instance, the company signed the Glo ..read more