About 6.4 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and its partner BioNTech (NSDQ:BNTX) will ship to U.S. states in mid-December, as long as the vaccine soon receives an FDA EUA. There are also plans to quickly distribute vaccine from rival COVID-19 vaccine developer Moderna (NSDQ:MRNA), which could soon apply for an EUA, officials at the federal […]
Distribution
Poll: Nearly half of medtech women executives’ companies ready for pandemic’s second wave
Nearly half of medtech executives polled in a recent survey said their companies are prepared for the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic that is sweeping the globe. Forty-eight percent of the 71 MedExecWomen Fall Forum attendees who responded to the question reported their companies’ readiness hinged on scalable remote commercial capabilities, a bolstered supply chain […]
J&J exec denies pressure to rush COVID-19 vaccine
Johnson & Johnson’s (NYSE:JNJ) chief scientific officer said today that the first doses of his company’s COVID-19 vaccine could be available for frontline healthcare workers in January or February, but added the company isn’t rushing it. If granted an emergency use authorization by the FDA, that’s the earliest Dr. Paul Stoffels said the single-dose vaccine developed […]
J&J exec denies pressure to rush COVID-19 vaccine
Johnson & Johnson’s (NYSE:JNJ) chief scientific officer said today that the first doses of his company’s COVID-19 vaccine could be available for frontline healthcare workers in January or February, but added the company isn’t rushing it. If granted an emergency use authorization by the FDA, that’s the earliest Dr. Paul Stoffels said the single-dose vaccine developed […]
How much could Operation Warp Speed change pharma, medtech distribution?
A top U.S. Department of Health and Human Services official used an appearance today at a virtual medtech conference to repeat the U.S. government’s astounding goal for its Operation Warp Speed program: start delivering 300 million doses of a safe, effective COVID-19 vaccine by January 2021. The project could revolutionize not only how pharmaceuticals are […]
Federal watchdog tells HHS, FEMA and DoD: You can do better on COVID-19
The General Accounting Office (GAO) took three major federal departments to task today on their coronavirus responses and gave some pointed advice for the future. In a wide-ranging report, the GAO told the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Defense (DoD) how to better manage coronavirus-related […]
Report: Why is there still an N95 shortage?
The nationwide shortage of N95 respirators needed by healthcare workers and others during the coronavirus pandemic shows no indications of letting up, according to an article in today’s Washington Post. The newspaper cites a lack of inter-industry cooperation on N95 production, the Trump administration’s use of the Defense Production Act to force companies to make […]
Siemens, Novartis team up on MS drug development
Siemens Healthineers (ETR:SHL) and Novartis (NYSE:NVS) have agreed to jointly design, develop and commercialize diagnostic tests for therapeutic products across Novartis’ therapeutic pipeline, the companies announced today. The first project will be a serum neurofilament light chain (NfL) immunoassay for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and other neurological diseases. Get the full story on our sister site, Drug […]
COVID-19 molecular diagnostic test shipments surpass 150M in U.S.
Total U.S. shipments of COVID-19 molecular diagnostic tests have reached more than 150 million, based on the latest data from the AdvaMed COVID-19 testing supply registry. Manufacturers shipped nearly 8.5 million tests per week in August, up from 3.7 million weekly in April, the medtech trade group noted. AdvaMed launched the registry July 21 to aid state and federal pandemic […]
Quest lets consumers order COVID-19 tests online
Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) today announced that consumers will be able to order one of its COVID-19 diagnostics online and collect the specimen at home, without visiting a doctor’s office. QuestDirect Active Infection is also available by drive-through at more than 500 Walmart Neighborhood Market locations. Results are interpreted by a physician and provided digitally through the […]
U.S. should have enough COVID-19 vaccine by Q3 2021, CDC head tells Senate panel
CDC director Dr. Robert Redfield told a Senate panel today that the federal government should have enough coronavirus vaccine for Americans to resume “regular life” by the third quarter of 2021, according to a report by CNBC. Redfield said vaccinations could begin November or December of 2020 and that it could take 6 to 9 months to […]
