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☆ Pfizer rejects Moderna claim it copied Covid vaccine, accuses rival of rewriting history
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Vials with Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine labels are seen in this illustration picture taken March 19, 2021. Pfizer has rejected allegations made by rival Moderna that its Covid-19 vaccine is a copy, accusing the Boston biotech company of rewriting history to lay claim to technology developed by a field of scientists over many years. Pfizer asked a federal court in Massachusetts on Monday to dismiss Moderna's lawsuit seeking monetary damages for alleged patent violations related to the Boston company's Covid vaccine. "The Moderna inventions that Pfizer and BioNTech chose to copy were foundational for the success of their vaccine," the company claimed. Pfizer and BioNTech did not copy Moderna's technology," Pfizer said in its response.

☆ Fact Check-PCR test for COVID-19 uses gene cloning but cannot be used to clone humans
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test kits for COVID-19 use what’s known as gene cloning – not reproductive cloning – to detect the presence or absence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, but social media posts claim that humans are being cloned using COVID-19 PCR tests. The claim appears to originate from an Aug. 18 segment of the Stew Peters Show titled, “Patent PCR Test Linked To Human Cloning Video Shows Animal Experiments, Cross Species Genetics” (here). The 2015 paper by Hoseini and Sauer explains methods for gene cloning with PCR and used a gene encoding a red fluorescent protein as its example. PCR tests for COVID-19 cannot be used for human cloning. Molecular cloning, or gene cloning, that is described in a 2015 paper about using PCR to copy individual genes is an entirely different process.

☆ A former Harvard chemist just raised $178 million for a biotech startup that plans to treat previously untreatable cancers
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Andrew Dunn | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The biotech FogPharma has raised $178 million in a Series D round. The longtime Harvard chemist Greg Verdine founded Fog to tackle "undruggable" cancers. Fog's drugs, known as polypeptides or short fragments of proteins, blur the line between small molecules and biologics, sharing characteristics of both types of medicines. Verdine calls it "the magic structure" for Fog's drugs. "I thought he'd be able to find things that bind, but I was very skeptical that he could turn them into drugs," Klausner told Insider.

☆ Sanofi, GSK score late win with EU COVID booster approval
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Ludwig Burger | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The shot is based on lab-made viral proteins provided by Sanofi and an adjuvant ingredient from GSK that increases the immune response. Adapting the older protein technology chosen by Sanofi and GSK to a new virus variant requires several months longer than under the mRNA approach, which saw a breakthrough during the pandemic. Work on the shot by Sanofi and GSK, two of the world's largest vaccine makers by sales, was delayed repeatedly. The partners later pivoted to targeting the Beta variant, requiring months in additional development time. While the shot tested at the time was bivalent - meaning it was based both on original Wuhan strain of the virus and Beta - Sanofi and GSK later focused on a monovalent shot based on Beta only.

☆ RSV vaccine for kids: Pfizer shot for pregnant women protects infants from severe illness
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Berkeley-Lovelace-Jr.Jpg | Berkeley Lovelace Jr. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

An experimental RSV vaccine for pregnant women from Pfizer is effective at protecting newborns against severe illness for at least six months, the company said in a press release Tuesday. The vaccine was also about 70% effective against severe infections through the first six months of life. Pfizer said in a statement that it is currently not conducting an RSV vaccine trial in infants. Pfizer's RSV vaccine could be "a major step forward so that we can attack this last really bad communicable disease of the neonatal period," Schaffner said. Aside from pregnant women, Pfizer is testing its vaccine in older adults, who are also at risk for severe RSV infections.

☆ RSV vaccine trial shows promising results, Pfizer says; company will seek FDA approval this year
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Brenda Goodman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Pfizer’s vaccine candidate is administered to pregnant women who then make antibodies that cross the placenta and protect the baby after birth. In March, the FDA designated Pfizer’s RSV vaccine a breakthrough therapy, a status that speeds its review. Pfizer’s vaccine contains the virus’ F-protein, the site that it uses to attach to human cells. Pfizer’s RSV vaccine is bivalent, containing F-proteins from both the A and B subgroups of the RSV virus, which are the two most commonly circulating strains. “Further analysis to better understand safety data from these trials is ongoing,” spokesperson Alison Hunt said in a statement to CNN.

☆ New RSV vaccines may soon put an end to rough seasons
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Brenda Goodman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

The monoclonal antibody, Synagis, is given monthly during RSV season to protect preemies and other high-risk babies. In the failed RSV vaccine trial, the chemical the researchers used to deactivate the virus denatured its proteins – essentially flattening them. Four companies have RSV vaccines for adults in the final phases of human trials: Pfizer and GSK are testing vaccines for pregnant women as well as seniors. Janssen, Pfizer and GSK each appear effective at preventing infections in adults for the first RSV season after the vaccine. The vaccines for pregnant women are meant to get newborns through their first RSV season.

That there is no RSV vaccine for kids is not for lack of interest, experts say. But a trial gone wrong many years ago and a tricky target protein have made developing an RSV vaccine difficult. Researchers’ attempts to develop an RSV vaccine go back decades, according to Dr. Ofer Levy, the director of the Precision Vaccines Program at Boston Children's Hospital. In August, Pfizer announced that its experimental RSV vaccine was nearly 86% effective in preventing severe illness in adults ages 60 and older. GSK, however, said it abandoned its efforts last year to develop a pediatric RSV vaccine, because trials suggested it wasn't effective.

☆ Fact Check-Boston University hybrid COVID virus kills 80% of mice, not people
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The authors then infected different sets of transgenic mice designed to be susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 with one of the three strains: Omicron, the ancestral virus, or the Omi-S hybrid virus (here). In the study, 100% of mice infected with the ancestral virus strain died, while 80% of those infected with Omi-S died, and none of the mice infected with Omicron died. Others shared the claim that the Omi-S had an “80% kill rate,” without specifying whether this referred to mice or humans. The ancestral virus (the viruses as they were when introduced in Europe and the US) in this mouse model kills 100% of the animals. Early in the pandemic, the fatality rate of the ancestral virus for people in a multicountry European analysis was estimated at about 4% (here).

☆ White House Covid czar calls on seniors to get omicron booster now
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Dr. Ashish Jha, head of the White House Covid taskforce, said everyone older than 50 and senior citizens in particular need to get an omicron booster as soon as possible. The elderly have faced the high risk of falling seriously ill with Covid since the beginning of the pandemic. Younger people should also get a booster this fall even though they're at lower risk of getting seriously ill from the virus, Jha said. The FDA and CDC rapidly authorized the omicron shots for children as young as 5 years old last week. But the CDC, in a study published last April, said the risk of myocarditis is higher after a Covid infection.

☆ Pfizer says omicron shots substantially boosted antibodies against BA.5 subvariant in early human data
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech on Thursday said their new omicron boosters substantially increased protective antibodies against the dominant omicron BA.5 subvariant for adults in the first direct human data released to the public on the new shots. The participants who received the first generation vaccine saw a limited increase in antibodies against BA.5, according to the companies. The early data indicate that the safety profile of the new boosters is the same as the original vaccine, the companies said. The first generation shots were developed only against the first strain of the virus. The FDA authorized the omicron shots without direct human data on how they perform against omicron BA.5, which is causing most infections in the U.S. right now.

☆ Scientists Transplant Human Tissue into Rat Brains, Opening Door to New Research
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Daniela Hernandez | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Bioengineered human tissue transplanted into rat brains generated hybrid neural circuits that affected the animals’ behavior, researchers said, expanding a pathway for exploring brain development and the mechanics of some diseases. Neuroscientists at Stanford University transplanted tiny blobs of neural tissue known as organoids into the brains of newborn rats. The human cells grew and made functional connections within the rat brain, generating hybrid neural circuits, the researchers said in a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature.

☆ In a novel experiment, brain-like human tissue implanted in rat brains influenced the rodents' behavior
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Aria Bendix | Aria Bendix Is The Breaking Health Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Their results, published Wednesday in the journal Nature, showed that the brain-like human tissue integrated with the rat tissue, then continued to mature. The researchers injected the human tissue into the rats’ somatosensory cortexes — regions that receive and process sensory information like touch or pain. The researchers also used a puff of air to prod the rats’ whiskers, then observed how the human neurons responded. "We found that human neurons respond very quickly after we stimulated the whiskers. "Human neurons become part of the rat circuitry," Pașca said, adding that the neurons were "sparkling with electrical activity" under a microscope.

☆ Scientists Grow Human Cells in Rat Brains to Study Autism, Schizophrenia
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Daniela Hernandez | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ FDA authorizes Covid omicron booster shots for kids as young as 5 years old
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday authorized Covid booster shots that target the omicron variant for preschoolers through elementary school students. Pfizer's new omicron boosters are now authorized for children ages 5 to 11 and Moderna's shots for kids ages 6 through 17. The new boosters target omicron BA.5 as well as the original strain of Covid that first emerged in Wuhan, China, in 2019. The first generation of Covid shots were developed in 2020 to target the original strain of Covid. More than 11 million Americans ages 12 and older have received the new booster shots so far, according to CDC data.

☆ We went inside the lab at Vertex, a company that dodged the market downturn to become one of the best-performing biotechs of 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Andrew Dunn | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

A mosaic of human cells inside Vertex Pharmaceuticals' cell and gene-therapy laboratory. The four-story, 267,000-square-foot space is home to Vertex's cell and gene-therapy unit, with about 375 people now residing in the modern-industrial building. That has led to going after unrelated diseases like sickle cell, diabetes, muscular dystrophy, kidney disease, and pain. For instance, Vertex's approach to sickle cell is led by its CRISPR gene-editing program. Vertex PharmaceuticalsThe next test of Vertex's strategy will be an experimental treatment called exa-cel, its CRISPR gene-editing program for sickle cell.

☆ 23 Black leaders who are shaping history today
▼ + stars: | 2021-02-01 | by ( Courtney Connley | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +39 min

Following the lead of trailblazers throughout American history, today's Black history-makers are shaping not only today but tomorrow. —Cory StiegRosalind Brewer, 58, Walgreens' next CEO and only Black woman to currently lead a Fortune 500 firmWalgreens' next CEO Rosalind Brewer. When she steps into this new role, she will be the only Black woman currently leading a Fortune 500 firm, and just the third Black woman in history to serve as a Fortune 500 CEO. "When you're a Black woman, you get mistaken a lot," she said during a 2018 speech at her alma mater, Spelman College. —Tom Huddleston Jr.Jason Wright, 38, first Black president of a National Football League teamWashington Football Team president Jason Wright.

Persons: Shirley Chisholm, John Lewis, Maya Angelou, Mary Ellen Pleasant, Kamala Harris, Gene Kim, Harris, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, Shyamala, —, — Cory Stieg Rosalind Brewer, Rosalind Brewer, Ursula Burns, Mary Winston, Brewer, Kimberly, Clark, she's, — Courtney Connley, Kizzmekia, Corbett, Kizzmekia Corbett, Anthony Fauci, Fauci, Dr, — Cory Stieg Victor J, Glover , Jr, Victor Glover, Amanda Gorman, Joe Biden, Gorman, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr, Lady Jill Biden, Robert Frost, Oprah, Angelou, — Jennifer Liu, Amanda Gorman's, Raphael Warnock, Georgia's, Kelly Loeffler, Warnock, Ebenezer Baptist Church —, — Abigail Johnson Hess Rashida Jones, Rashida Jones, Jones, Kristen Welker, Carole Simpson, Nicolle Wallace's, Dorothy Tucker, Brown, — Taylor Locke Sandra Lindsay, Sandra Lindsay, Lindsay, She's, I'm, Jade Scipioni Nicholas Johnson, Princeton's, Nicholas Johnson, Princeton University's, Johnson, William Massey, — Abigail Johnson Hess Cynthia, Cynt, Marshall, Cynthia Marshall, Cynt Marshall, George Floyd, Marshall —, Mark Cuban, Scipioni, Cynthia Marshall's, Dallas Mavericks Cori Bush, Missouri's, Missouri, Cori Bush, Michael Brown, Ferguson, William Lacy Clay Jr, Bush, Essence.com, I've, he's, Louis, Clay, — Jennifer Liu Alicia Boler Davis, Amazon's, Jeff Bezos Alicia Boler Davis, Alicia Boler Davis, Boler Davis, Jeff Bezos, alums, Jennifer Liu, Noah Harris, Harvard Noah Harris, Harvard's, It's, we've, Fentrice Driskell, Du Bois, — Abigail Johnson Hess, Harvard Mellody Hobson, Mellody Hobson, Ariel Investments, Hobson, — Courtney Connley Sydney Barber, Sydney Barber, Barber, Ms, Janie Mines, wasn't, Mines, Jesse Collins, Collins, Indiewire, " Collins, Jennifer Liu Nia DaCosta, Nia DaCosta, Marvel, DaCosta, Nora Ephron, Jordan Peele, Peele, — Tom Huddleston Jr, Aicha Evans, Zoox, Evans, Jason Wright, Wright, He's, Dan Snyder, — Emmie Martin Dana Canedy, Dana Canedy, Simon, Simon & Schuster, Dana Canedy's, Canedy, Denzel Washington, Alicia Adamczyk, Schuster Bozoma Saint John, Saint John, Beyonce, Kanye West, Nicki Minaj, Michael Jackson, — Courtney Connley Cheick Camara, Ermias Tadesse, Cornell University's, Cheick Camara, Ermias Organizations: CNBC, White, South, Latina, Howard University, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc, Democrat, United States Senate, U.S, Walgreens, Fortune, Starbucks, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Xerox, Bed, Sam's, Walmart, Nonwovens, Spelman College, Moderna, National Institute of Allergy, National Urban League, FDA, Vaccine Research, University of North, Space Station, NASA, Capitol, LA, Poet, Harvard, Georgia, Black, Morehouse College cum, Ebenezer Baptist Church, United, MSNBC, University of Missouri's School of Journalism, NBC, ABC News, National Association of Black Journalists, Jewish Medical Center, Northwell, Long, Pfizer, Pew Research Center, Princeton, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, NBA Dallas Mavericks, Dallas Mavericks, NBA, Mavericks, Congress, Senate, Democratic, Green New Deal, General Motors Institute, GM, Amazon, Employees, Amazon's, Ariel Investments, Ariel, Financial Planning's Diversity, Princeton University, JPMorgan, Lucas Family Foundation, Hobson College, Naval, U.S . Naval Academy, U.S . Naval, Naval Academy, Academy, Super, Super Bowl, Jesse Collins Entertainment, ViacomCBS Cable Networks, BET, CMT, Comedy Central, MTV, Paramount Network, VH1, Marvel, Marvel Studios, Marvel Universe, Tribeca, Wall Street, George Washington University, Intel, Financial, Automotive News, National Football League, Washington Football, Washington Football Team, National Football, NFL, Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, Arizona Cardinals, University of Chicago, McKinsey & Company, Washington, Morning, Simon &, New York Times, Jordan, Crown Publishers, New Yorker, Netflix, Saint, Longtime, Endeavor, Uber, Apple, PepsiCo, BlackGen Capital, Cornell, BlackGen Locations: United States, Oakland , California, India, America, White, California, University of North Carolina, Chapel, Los Angeles, Georgia's, Savannah , Georgia, Ebenezer, Long, New York, Queens , New York, Jamaica, Princeton, Montreal, Canada, Spring, Missouri, Louis, St, Detroit, Hattiesburg , Mississippi, Florida, Chicago, U.S, Lake Forest , Illinois, Sydney, mull, Senegal, Zoox, Charlottesville , VA

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