Is US facing new COVID-19 nightmare? KP.2 variant pushes hospitalization rates to record levels

Is US facing new COVID-19 nightmare? KP.2 variant pushes hospitalization rates to record levels

The United States is grappling with the most severe COVID-19 surge since 2022, characterised by a sharp increase in hospitalisation rates and intensified viral activity. Recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) highlights a troubling rise in hospitalisation rates, which have surged from one person per 100,000 in May to four […]

Moderna, Merck announce promising results for mRNA-4157 and Keytruda in melanoma

Moderna, Merck announce promising results for mRNA-4157 and Keytruda in melanoma

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ: MRNA) and Merck (NYSE: MRK), also known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today revealed follow-up data from their collaborative Phase 2b KEYNOTE-942/mRNA-4157-P201 study. This clinical trial evaluates mRNA-4157 (V940), an innovative individualized neoantigen therapy (INT), in combination with KEYTRUDA, Merck’s anti-PD-1 therapy, for patients with resected high-risk melanoma (stage […]

Moderna, Merck get FDA breakthrough status for mRNA-4157/V940, KEYTRUDA combo in melanoma

Moderna, Merck get FDA breakthrough status for mRNA-4157/V940, KEYTRUDA combo in melanoma

Moderna and Merck announced that the investigational personalized mRNA cancer vaccine mRNA-4157/V940 in combination with the latter’s lung cancer drug KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) has been given breakthrough therapy designation by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The breakthrough therapy designation for the combination is for its use as adjuvant treatment of high-risk melanoma in patients […]

Moderna to acquire Japanese biotech firm OriCiro Genomics for $85m

Moderna to acquire Japanese biotech firm OriCiro Genomics for $85m

Moderna has agreed to acquire OriCiro Genomics, a Japanese biotech firm involved in developing cell-free synthesis and amplification of plasmid DNAs for applications in gene or cell-based therapies and synthetic biology. The consideration to be paid by the American biotech company for the acquisition is $85 million. Moderna believes that the synthetic biology and enzyme […]

Moderna, Thermo Fisher sign manufacturing agreement for Spikevax vaccine

Moderna, Thermo Fisher sign manufacturing agreement for Spikevax vaccine

Moderna has entered into a 15-year collaboration agreement with Thermo Fisher Scientific to enable dedicated large-scale US manufacturing of Spikevax, the former’s Covid-19 vaccine as well as other investigational messenger RNA (mRNA) medicines in its pipeline. The agreement is said to make use of exclusive commercial fill-finish manufacturing capacity in the US for mRNA vaccines […]

Moderna to build mRNA vaccine manufacturing plant in Victoria

Moderna to build mRNA vaccine manufacturing plant in Victoria

Moderna has signed an agreement in principle with the Government of Australia to build a messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine manufacturing plant in Victoria. According to the US biotech company, the planned framework will lay the foundation to help Australia get direct access to rapid response capabilities to pandemics as well as to gain access to […]

Samsung Biologics to manufacture Moderna’s mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccine

Samsung Biologics to manufacture Moderna’s mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccine

Moderna has signed a manufacturing services and supply agreement with Samsung Biologics under which the latter will undertake large scale, commercial fill-finish manufacturing for the mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccine. According to Samsung Biologics, technology transfer will begin immediately at the company’s facilities in Incheon, South Korea. The South Korean CDMO will use a production line equipped […]