Technology
Bavarian Nordic capacity increased with US manufacturer
Bavarian Nordic announced in August 2022 that it had “entered into an agreement” with GRAM to expand capacity for the delivery of monkeypox vaccines to the US
UNITAID’s “Landscape” of tools and strategies
UNITAID published a report to examine the “tools and interventions” to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B, and Chagas.
White paper from IDT Biologika: oncolytic viruses
In a white paper for IDT Biologika Dr Heidi Trusheim and Trevor Broadt examine the process of developing oncolytic viruses and how to avoid problems.
White paper from IDT Biologika: viral vectors
In a white paper Dr Neubert explores how viral vectors offer a host of opportunities for vaccine development with the right conditions and collaboration.
CEPI driving research into monkeypox vaccines
In July CEPI announced that it would provide $375,000 to “support the development of key laboratory tools to advance and standardise assessment of vaccines”.
AI turns its sights to drug discovery challenges
The WHO states that cancer is a “leading cause of death worldwide”. It accounted for nearly 1 in 6 deaths in 2020; that’s almost 10 million. Each year millions of pounds are pumped into cancer research across the world, yet deaths are likely to increase over the next...
“Shot to the heart” (of mutating viruses)
As the Covid-19 pandemic continues with myriad variants, current vaccine technology is struggling to keep up. Often employing B-cell immune responses, vaccines are unable to “anticipate virus mutations”, rendering the patient “vulnerable to infection”. According to...
Twist Bioscience turns to monkeypox controls
Twist Bioscience has launched two monkeypox synthetic DNA controls that are estimated to provide 80% coverage of the viral genome. They support the design of “custom assays targeting regions of the genome”. They can also be used for “amplicon and capture-based...
Prioritising pathogens in a pandemic world
The WHO list of priority diseases sets out the diseases and pathogens that research and development in “public health emergency contexts” should address. The aim is “focused and productive” research and development. These diseases are evaluated on their epidemic...
Solving supply chain safety and sustainability concerns
Through healthcare crisis after healthcare crisis the need for safe and sustainable supply chains is more pressing than ever. Increasing need for cold-chain products requires innovative solutions and recent regulatory changes emphasise this requirement, hence Johnson...
Demanding sustainable subscriptions for AMR
Drs Till Boularte and Ulrik Schilze of BCG stated in February 2022 that “when market forces fail to motivate adequate innovation, other incentives are necessary”. In our article on AMR we explored the risks involved in a highly volatile and expensive market. Shelley...
Operation Warp Speed is a wrap: farewell to funding
In typical American fashion the US Covid-19 vaccination development programme took the name “Operation Warp Speed” (OWS). OWS invested approximately $18 billion in clinical development and manufacturing of covid vaccines, with agreements to purchase 455 million doses....
Noses to the grindstone for nasal vaccines
Writing in Science in July 2022 Dr Eric Topol and Dr Akiko Iwasaki reflected on the “unprecedented success” of the mRNA vaccine programme in response to Covid-19. The next step, they suggested, is to translate the efficiency of the Covid-19 vaccines into nasal vaccine...
Clinical tribulations – how can we grow from Covid-19?
Clinical trials are a critical stage in vaccine development, and during the Covid-19 pandemic we watched vaccines hurtle through the process at remarkable speed. However, vaccine development traditionally lasts a lot longer. So, what takes them so long? In the...
VIE: looking back to last year’s winners!
The World Vaccine Congress in Washington DC, April 2022, was a resounding success with record numbers of attendees and speakers. For a lucky few it also presented the opportunity to have their contributions recognised in our prestigious 15th Vaccine Industry...
A helping hand from double, double toil and trouble
Audiuvare – to help. Although the word "adjuvant" might suggest a group of earnest lab assistants, adjuvants are ingredients that provoke a stronger immune response to vaccines. These supplementary scientists encourage more local and systemic reactions to the vaccine...
Vaccines: more than just a “sharp scratch”?
When most of us think of vaccines we have visions of a nurse with a sharp needle, approaching a bared forearm. Although this is the most conventional means of administration, there is a variety to choose from, with different effects and efficacies. In this article we...
