The Native Antigen Company, part of LGC Clinical Diagnostics and one of the world’s leading suppliers of reagents that enables research into diagnostics and vaccines for emerging and endemic infectious diseases, won ‘The Best COVID-19 Responder’ at OBN 2020 Awards. The award recognises the Company’s outstanding contribution to the fight against COVID-19....

As a project company of Xlife Sciences AG (XLS DE), inflamed pharma GmbH has developed a revolutionary and holistic therapeutic approach to treat both SARS-CoV-2 and flu viruses. The patented active substance ProcCluster(R) reduces the viral load by 90% and acts against infection-related inflammatory processes without developing a resistance. It is already used on humans...

Avacta Group plc the developer of diagnostics and innovative cancer therapies based on its proprietary Affimer^® and pre|CISION™ platforms, is pleased to announce that the MHRA has confirmed registration of Avacta’s AffiDX^® SARS-CoV-2 antigen lateral flow test allowing the Company to place the product on the market in the UK for professional use...

Moderna, Inc., a biotechnology company pioneering messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics and vaccines, has announced that it has entered into an agreement with Thermo Fisher Scientific for fill/finish sterile manufacturing services and supply packaging for Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine. Under the terms of the agreement, Thermo Fisher’s commercial manufacturing site in Greenville, North Carolina will be used for aseptic fill/finish, labeling and packaging...

The very high use of antibiotics in patients hospitalised with COVID-19 is often not necessary, and risks worsening global antimicrobial resistance. New research led by the University of Glasgow as part of the ISARIC (International Severe Acute Respiratory and emerging Infections Consortium) WHO Clinical Characterisation Protocol UK (CCP-UK), found that antibiotic use was very high in hospitalised COVID-19 patients in the UK during the first wave despite confirmed bacterial infection being uncommon....

Malvern Panalytical was delighted to welcome His Royal Highness The Earl of Wessex to its Malvern, Worcestershire, headquarters. Malvern Panalytical was selected for the Royal visit, amongst a small number of other Worcestershire businesses, primarily because of its scientific and technical contribution to the development of medicines and vaccines to treat and prevent COVID-19...

SP Scientific Products (SP) has announced one of the world’s largest simultaneous installations of commercial lyophilizers for use in the production of diagnostic tests. The order, for SP lyophilizers, was made last year by a leading global healthcare company in response to the need for an increase in SARS-CoV-2 testing. With the urgency of the pandemic and requirement for speed, SP was able to complete the delivery of 16 freeze dryers – including manufacturing, testing, and installation - in just four months...

To meet the high demand for lipids, a key component of mRNA-based vaccines and therapeutics, Merck, a leading science and technology company, has launched a new, high-purity synthetic cholesterol product, nine months ahead of schedule. “Tapping into two decades’ experience of developing and manufacturing high-quality lipids, we designed a proprietary process to bring our new SAFC® synthetic cholesterol product to market nearly a year early,” said Andrew Bulpin...

Moderna, a biotechnology company pioneering messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics and vaccines, and Samsung Biologics, a leading global CDMO providing a fully integrated end-to-end contract development and manufacturing service, today announced a Manufacturing Services and Supply Agreement in which Samsung Biologics will provide large scale, commercial fill-finish manufacturing for mRNA-1273, Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine....

Due to the corona crisis hand sanitizer became part of our daily routine.  Alcohol-based hand sanitizers with at least 60 to 95% alcohol is recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO), with the main components being ethanol, isopropyl alcohol (IPA) and/or n-propanol. To determine the effectiveness and impurities of the hand sanitizer a GC analysis can be performed. This analysis faces many challenges since hand sanitizer is made in a water matrix, which is a difficult matrix for Gas Chromatography....

A team of international scientists have identified key cellular factors that are crucial for the infection of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The study – led by the Universities of Glasgow and Oxford and the Rosalind Franklin Institute and published in Molecular Cell – provides crucial new insights into the SARS-CoV-2 life cycle, revealing new pathways to target the virus within host cells and leading the way for potential new treatment options as we move into the next phase of the pandemic....

AMSBIO has launched two new biotinylated formats of the 10E4 Heparan Sulfate antibody (high and low biotin) along with a starter pack to allow scientists to test both formats at a reduced cost. Heparan Sulfate (HS) is a highly sulfated linear polysaccharide that is attached to a core protein to form HS Proteoglycans on the cell membrane or in the extracellular matrix....

Analytik reports how its Microfluidizer^® processors are enabling researchers develop a range of therapeutic formulations including vaccine adjuvants, liposomes and lipid nanoparticles. By reducing particle size uniformly, Microfluidizers from Analytik are helping a growing number of pharmaceutical companies and Contact Development and Manufacturing Organisations (CDMOs) improve the efficacy, bioavailability, stability and process efficiency of their drugs....

Look at every stage of the development of COVID-19 vaccines and you will find a commonality — automation. From genome sequencing to clinical trials and mass production, the development speed was made possible using highly repeatable automated processes. Here Matthew Dean, sales engineer for medical applications at precision motor and drives specialist maxon UK and Ireland, discusses how improvements in motors and drive systems have enabled the development of the automated technology needed to address today’s challenges....

Over the past 20 years, Worldwide Glass Resources^® has emerged as a leader in custom vial design, engineering and manufacturing for global Distributors, OEM’s, Diagnostic and Packaging Companies. From personalized custom barcoded high recovery vials for Pharmaceutical Purification and Compound Libraries to custom vials for Covid Kits, our in-house engineering and production teams are ready to assist with your next vial project....

Avacta Group plc., the developer of diagnostics and innovative cancer therapies based on its proprietary Affimer® and pre|CISION™ platforms, is pleased to announce positive data from the clinical validation of its AffiDX® SARS-CoV-2 antigen lateral flow test. Data from the clinical study conducted in Europe on 98 positive COVID-19 samples demonstrate excellent performance in identifying the SARS-CoV-2 virus across a broad range of viral loads....

Ziath offer a complete OEM design, development and supply service based upon its extensive experience of creating high performance 2D barcoded tube scanners and rack readers for biobanking, compound library, pathology and COVID-19 sample management applications. Over the last 15 years - Ziath has established itself as a leading international manufacturer and supplier of instruments for tracking samples through a laboratory work flow using 2D-barcodes....

New ideas to help tackle COVID-19 or prepare for future viral outbreaks are set to get a major boost, thanks to a new service from the medical research charity LifeArc. LifeArc has over 25 years’ expertise in translating science into new healthcare treatments or diagnostics for patients. The charity’s new service, ‘Advise & Connect’, creates a simple and accessible route through which any researcher with an eligible project can access LifeArc’s expertise for free....

LAUDA DR. R. WOBSER GMBH & CO. KG, LAUDA, the world market leader for constant temperature equipment and systems, has secured a major order for Variocool process thermostats. The German subsidiary of a major global US company in the biopharmaceutical sector has ordered a total of 76 devices, including accessories, for integration in their systems for producing the Covid-19 vaccine. The different models have a cooling capacity of between 2 and 10 kW....