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 […]
coronavirus
Here at MassDevice — medtech's online business journal — we're covering news about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic daily. Here is the latest about coronavirus and the medical device industry, regulatory changes related to the pandemic, new tests for the virus, vaccine development, and much more.
FDA authorizes Kantaro’s ‘high performance’ COVID-19 antibody test
Kantaro Biosciences announced today that it received FDA emergency use authorization (EUA) for its COVID-SeroKlir antibody test. New York-based Kantaro, a joint venture between Mount Sinai Health System and RenalytixAI (NSDQ:RNLX), developed the semi-quantitative SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody test kit to determine the presence and precise level of IgG antibodies related to COVID-19. A partnership with […]
HHS confirms involvement in presidential transition process
U.S. Health and Human Services Dept. Secretary Alex Azar confirmed that HHS is working with president-elect Joe Biden on a presidential transition. Speaking during a press briefing, Azar said HHS is in contact with the transition team after the General Services Administration formally recognized Biden as the president-elect, having previously sidestepped questions regarding the potential […]
This AI algorithm could detect COVID-19 in chest X-rays
Northwestern University researchers are touting a new AI platform that can detect COVID-19 in X-ray images of the lungs. DeepCOVID-XR, a machine-learning algorithm, performed better than a team of specialized thoracic radiologists by spotting COVID-19 in X-rays about 10 times faster and 1%-6% more accurately, according to a news release. Get the full story at […]
Who would — and wouldn’t — line up for COVID-19 vaccines?
Once enough people receive effective vaccines against the novel coronavirus, experts say, the end of the pandemic may be in sight. But a new poll of older adults — one of the highest-priority groups for vaccination — suggests an uphill climb lies ahead to reach that goal. In all, 58% of adults aged 50 to […]
Regeneron antibody cocktail wins emergency use authorization
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NSDQ:REGN) has announced that the FDA has granted emergency use authorization (EUA) for the combination of casirivimab and imdevimab to treat COVID-19. The monoclonal antibody cocktail is reportedly the first treatment to show “statistically significant anti-viral activity” against COVID-19, according to its developer. In a trial, the combination of drugs cut hospitalization or emergency […]
Medtronic rises on Street-beating Q2 driven by ventilator sales
Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) shares ticked up before hours today on second-quarter results that topped the consensus forecast. The Fridley, Minn.-based company posted profits of $494 million, or 36¢ per share, on sales of $7.6 billion for the three months ended Oct. 30, 2020, for a -64% bottom-line slide on a sales decline of 0.8%. Adjusted to exclude […]
BD adds informatics option to its COVID testing platforms
Healthcare providers who use the Becton Dickinson (NYSE:BDX) BD Veritor Plus and BD Max COVID-19 testing platforms have a new informatics option. BD announced today that it has launched new reporting capabilities for COVID-19 data, enabling its BD Synapsys informatics to generate scheduled reports. BD Veritor Plus is a portable instrument designed to deliver SARS-CoV-2 antigen […]
Why making a lot of ventilators may not be enough to prevent COVID-19 deaths
Medical device companies and even manufacturers outside the industry answered the call to make ventilators needed to treat people with severe COVID-19 cases. But as a newer and larger wave of the novel coronavirus hits the U.S., the equipment may not be enough, The New York Times reported yesterday. The problem, according to the Times, […]
GE Healthcare touts new AI for COVID-19 patients’ breathing tubes
GE Healthcare (NYSE:GE) today unveiled a new artificial intelligence algorithm for assessing endotracheal tube (ETT) placements in COVID-19 patients. Included in GE Healthcare’s Critical Care Suite 2.0, the AI solution helps clinicians assess the ETT placements during the process of ventilating critically ill COVID-19 patients, according to a news release. Critical Care Suite 2.0 uses […]
BREAKING: AstraZeneca says its COVID-19 vaccine could be up to 90% effective
AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN) announced today that one of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate dosing regimens is 90% effective in preventing the virus. Cambridge, United Kingdom-based AstraZeneca, working in collaboration with Oxford University, found the vaccine to be highly effective in preventing COVID-19 for subjects in the UK and Brazil, with no hospitalizations or severe cases of the disease […]
