• Pfizer and BioNTech to jointly develop COVID-19 vaccine, initially in the United States and Europe, and scale-up manufacturing capacity to support global supply
• Potential to supply millions of vaccine doses by the end of 2020 subject to technical success of the development program and approval by regulatory authorities, and then rapidly scale up capacity to produce hundreds of millions of doses in 2021
• BioNTech will contribute multiple mRNA vaccine candidates as part of its BNT162 COVID-19 vaccine program, which are expected to enter human testing in April 2020
• Pfizer will contribute its leading global vaccine clinical research and development, regulatory, manufacturing and distribution infrastructure and capabilities
• BioNTech will receive an upfront payment of $185 million, including an equity investment of approximately $113 million, and be eligible to receive future milestone payments of up to $563 million for a potential total consideration of $748 million

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• • Anti-viral compounds show activity against SARS-CoV-2 in preclinical screening
  • Pfizer and BioNTech enter into collaboration agreement to co-develop potential COVID-19 vaccine Company shares additional data and analysis of azithromycin
  • Launch of two new studies to provide insights on the interaction between S. pneumoniae and SARS-CoV-2
  • Pfizer explores studies of JAK inhibitor tofacitinib in patients with COVID-19-related pneumonia

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Over 250 Kauffman Fellows and VCs from all continents held a two day Zoom Conference last week to examine the effect of COVID on investment practices.  The Kauffman Fellows Program is a network of over 500 VCs and entrepreneurs.  Our Dr. Patricia Beckmann, a Kauffman Fellow, participated in the brainstorming session to encourage sharing and best practices. Continue reading→

 Circulaire® II High-Efficiency Drug Delivery System from Westmed optimizes medication delivery, while  reducing caregiver exposure to pathogens like the coronavirus.Continue reading→

Humabiologics, a regenerative medicine startup company founded by scientists and tissue industry experts to address the gap between the gift of donated human tissues and researchers is a member of the 2020 Flinn Foundation Bioscience Entrepreneurship Program co-hort and now part of a statewide community of Flinn Biopreneurs.Continue reading→

There is a lot of anxiety as the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to spread across the globe, especially for parents-to-be who are concerned about how the virus will impact their pregnancy. Jordan Perlow, MD, a clinical professor in the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix, discusses what pregnant women need to know about the virus. Continue reading→

Partnership brings together world-leading plasma companies to focus on developing and delivering a hyperimmune immunoglobulin in the global fight against COVID-19 Continue reading→

New CDC guidelines recommend widespread community maskingContinue reading→

Due to the predicted dire ventilator shortage, Prisma Health received an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the device in response to the urgency for more ventilators as a result of the pandemic.

Using 3D printing manufacturing technology, Ethicon will manufacture and distribute the VESper Ventilator Expansion Splitter at no cost to healthcare providers in the United States under the EUA during the current COVID-19 pandemic. The initial distribution of the device will be limited to the United States as Prisma Health and Ethicon are developing strategies to navigate various regulatory pathways and fulfill orders worldwide.
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ASU’s Biodesign Institute will utilize Piper Trust support to increase its capacity for automated, rapid diagnostic testing to mitigate the viral spread and potential reoccurrence of COVID-19.

“Now is the time for those who can — individuals and public- and private-sector organizations — to step in quickly and support our nonprofits,” said Mary Jane Rynd, president and CEO of Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust. “They are serving on the frontlines and are essential to our economic vitality.”
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