Mologic has announced that, following successful independent validation by the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) and St George’s, University of London, its professional-use rapid diagnostic test for COVID-19 has received a CE mark (meeting European Economic Area standards) and is ready for manufacture and global distribution. Rigorous independent assessment has shown the tests to have a sensitivity of up to 96% (21-28 days post-symptom onset), and specificity of 98.8% (95% CI 96.6-99.8). The test has been validated to date on 108 positive samples, 255 negative samples, and 223 cross-reacting samples in line with the WHO pre-qualification requirements. As with…
Author: Brett Johnson
A common drug, already approved by the FDA, may also be a powerful tool in fighting COVID-19, according to research published this week. Heparin could be used as a decoy to prevent SARS-CoV-2 from infecting human cells. SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, uses a surface spike protein to latch onto human cells and initiate infection. But heparin, a blood thinner also available in non-anticoagulant varieties, binds tightly with the surface spike protein, potentially blocking the infection from happening. This makes it a decoy, which might be introduced into the body using a nasal spray or nebulizer and run interference…
Fluxergy is collaborating with Mass General Brigham (MGB) to evaluate Fluxergy’s research-use-only COVID-19 molecular-testing platform. Fluxergy will work with the MGB Center for COVID Innovation, which was launched in late March. The so-called Diagnostic Accelerator is a collaboration between the Wyss Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital that aims to speed up the commercialization of innovative diagnostic tests. Fluxergy’s diagnostic system comprises consumable “lab-on-chip” test cartridges called Fluxergy Cards, the Fluxergy Analyzer and FluxergyWorks software. It can provide results in under an hour, and is designed to be cost-effective and scalable, using proprietary printed circuit-board manufacturing and microfluidics technologies. See…
The U.S. has agreed to pay Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE nearly $2 billion to secure 100 million doses of their experimental Covid-19 vaccine to provide to all Americans free of charge. Under the $1.95 billion agreement, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Defense Department will receive 100 million doses of the vaccine should it be cleared by regulators, and can also acquire an additional 500 million doses. The U.S. has already made other agreements including a $1.2 billion deal with AstraZeneca PLC for at least 300 million doses of a vaccine developed by University of Oxford.…
Before you exercise outside, assess your risk. Wearing a mask can feel pretty claustrophobic. Walking through the grocery store rebreathing your own hot breath is not a pleasant sensation. Now, imagine running with it. We know by now that wearing a mask in certain circumstances is important. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) currently recommends wearing a cloth face covering in public settings where social distancing measures are hard to maintain to slow the spread of the virus. But should runners wear face masks outside? The answer: it depends. First, assess your surroundings. The most important thing…
SUMMARY: BioNTech expects to begin phase three trials, at the end of July. Gilead Sciences also announced that test results on remdesivir, the only approved treatment for COVID-19, shows a reduction in mortality in 62 percent of extremely sick patients. Optimism from a potential vaccine and the success of remdesivir also resulted in spike in the US stock market. Abridged. The CEO of the German company BioNTech told The Hill that he expects the coronavirus vaccine the company is developing in partnership with Pfizer to be ready for approval by December. BioNTech CEO Ugur Sahin said several hundred million doses could be produced even before approval and up to 1.2…
Dr. Birx wants Florida to start new ‘Pool Testing’ for COVID-19 The White House Coronavirus Task Force is looking at a groundbreaking way to boost testing and, in turn, identifying positive cases in the state. It’s called “Pool Testing,” which would allow allow large groups of people — like families or students — to all be tested at the same time. Dr. Deborah Birx Dr. Deborah Birx, coordinator of the task force, says Florida is a great place to try this kind of testing. She says it could bump up testing from 5,000 tests per day to 50,000. “This is…
Abstract. A summary of a study provides the first in vivo evidence that zinc sulfate in combination with hydroxychloroquine may play a role in therapeutic management for COVID-19. As COVID-19 continues to spread, the mortality rate rises, as well as significant widespread economic losses. New potential therapies and means of prophylaxis against COVID-19 are urgently needed to combat this novel infection. A new in vitro study out of NYU Langone investigates the outcomes amongst patients who received hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin alone compared to those who received triple therapy with zinc sulfate, finding that when zinc sulfate is added in triple therapy…