In ways imaginative and pragmatic, Georgia’s university scientists and startup companies have gotten into the fight against COVID-19. Here are some examples of how GRA-backed researchers and entrepreneurs in our state are applying expertise and ingenuity against the coronavirus. An experimental drug developed at Emory University to treat the COVID-19 disease has begun Phase 2 clinical testing…

Philips has won a nod from FDA and a CE mark for a next-generation wireless wearable biosensor to help monitor COVID-19 patients in hospital. The Amsterdam, Netherlands-based company touts its next-generation device as being able to enhance clinical surveillance in its patient deterioration detection solution to help clinicians detect risk so they can intervene earlier…

Last week, High Level, a town of approximately 3,000 in northwest Alberta, Canada, received shipments of coronavirus test kits, manufactured by U.S. company Cepheid and Italy’s DiaSorin, from the province’s public health authority. The kits will enable High Level hospitals to deliver COVID-19 test results in as little as 30 minutes.  Before last week, residents of High…

Amir Nashat has spent nearly two decades building biotechnology companies. The first he worked on, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, pioneered a new way to make genetic medicine. He’s since helped advise and nurture at least 16 others, several of which were acquired for hundreds of millions of dollars. Despite this track record, Nashat, a partner at the…

(Reuters) – U.S. biotech company Novavax Inc has joined the race to test coronavirus vaccine candidates on humans and said it was targeting production of over a billion doses of its vaccine candidate next year. The company, which enrolled its first participants on Monday, said it expected preliminary data on safety and indicators of an…

Nearly a month after federal scientists claimed that an experimental drug had helped patients severely ill with the coronavirus, the research has been published. The drug, remdesivir, was quickly authorized by the Food and Drug Administration for treatment of coronavirus patients, and hospitals rushed to obtain supplies. But until now, researchers and physicians had not…

A group of 77 Nobel laureates has asked for an investigation into the cancellation of a federal grant to EcoHealth Alliance, a group that researches bat coronaviruses in China. The pre-eminent scientists characterized the explanation for the decision by the National Institutes of Health as “preposterous.” The agency said the investigation into the sources of…

This is the third post in our series, Biotechnology: Beyond Imagination, which highlights the technology and scientific advancements of BIO Digital participating companies and BIO member companies. Today we explore Amyris and its innovative approach to hand sanitizer for health care workers on the front lines. Beyond Imagination Member Spotlight: Amyris When it comes to COVID-19, the world…

The most promising Covid-19 treatments and vaccines being explored right now were made possible by a little-known law that encourages licensing agreements between private pharmaceutical companies and government-funded researchers. Treatments such as Gilead’s remdesivir, Ridgeback Biotherapeutics’ EIDD-2801 drug, and Moderna’s vaccine candidate were all achieved through public-private partnerships that didn’t exist before the Bayh-Dole Act…