After successfully developing vaccines in less than a year after the COVID-19 pandemic started, Moderna and Pfizer now face the unique situation of navigating the end of U.S. government contracts that allowed all Americans to receive their shots for free.
The prices outlined by Pfizer and Moderna for the transition to a long-term business represent a significant jump over the $25-$30 a dose paid under government contracts. And Sanders contends that Moderna’s vaccine can be made for as little as $2.85 a dose.
Most health experts expect COVID-19 inoculations to become a yearly recommendation, much like flu vaccines. For well-insured patients, the shots are likely to be fully covered no matter the price. But Sanders and other lawmakers have focused on uninsured and underinsured patients who may find the vaccines are out of reach. READ MORE
By Kristin Jensen
Source: biopharmadive.com
With a first to market advantage, Ferring’s Rebyota has seen early positive adoption from gastroenterologists and infectious disease specialist in the first month post-launch. As part of their Launch Dynamix™: C.diff service, Spherix reports, while new monthly initiations are modest, a majority of physicians trialing Rebyota report high satisfaction.
Global biopharmaceutical firm UCB has entered an early drug discovery collaboration with Aitia. The collaboration is aimed at discovering and validating new drug targets and drug candidates that are linked to clinical endpoints causally in Huntington’s disease, a debilitating genetic disorder.
Foundry Innovation & Research 1—known by its much catchier acronym, FIRE1—announced Wednesday the close of a $25 million financing round. It was led by a pair of new investors in the company: Andera Partners and Novo Holdings, the holding and investment company that serves as the controlling shareholder for Novo Nordisk and Novozymes.
