COVID-19 RESOURCE CENTER

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Cuba’s Bet on Home-Grown COVID Vaccines Is Paying Off

When the COVID-19 pandemic began, Cuba decided not to wait on the rest of the world to develop vaccines. The United States’ 60-year-old economic embargo against the country, which prevents US-made products from being exported there, would make it difficult for Cuba to acquire vaccines and therapies, researchers and officials knew. [...]

Published in

Date

Nov 22, 2021

Author(s)

COVID-19, Vaccines, Coronavirus, SARS-CoV-19, Nature

Cuba’s Bet on Home-Grown COVID Vaccines Is Paying Off

Point of Care Testing in Canada – Time for Consensus

Listening to recent discussions in the media on point of care testing (POCT) as a tool to help manage the COVID-19 pandemic one would think that POCT is new to the diagnostic scene. However, nothing could be further from the truth [...]

Date

Sep 23, 2021

Covid-19, PoC, Diagnostics

Point of Care Testing in Canada – Time for Consensus

Target Product Profile Analysis of COVID-19 Vaccines in Phase III Clinical Trials and Beyond: An Early 2021 Perspective

The coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), has infected more than 100 million people globally and caused over 2.5 million deaths in just over one year since its discovery in Wuhan, China in December 2019. The pandemic has evoked widespread collateral damage to societies and economies, and has destabilized mental health and well-being. Early in 2020, unprecedented efforts went into the development of vaccines that generate effective antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Teams developing twelve candidate vaccines, based on four platforms (messenger RNA, non-replicating viral vector, protein/virus-like particle, and inactivated virus) had initiated or announced the Phase III clinical trial stage by early November 2020, with several having received emergency use authorization in less than a year. [...]

Published in

Date

Mar 05, 2021

COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; vaccine; target product profile; immune response; coronavirus; clinical trial; public health

Target Product Profile Analysis of COVID-19 Vaccines in Phase III Clinical Trials and Beyond: An Early 2021 Perspective

Wanted: Investors to Fund B.C.’s Second Life Sciences Renaissance

Twenty years ago, our province had several multibillion-dollar biotechnology companies that had developed some of the most innovative life-saving products globally, including the Taxus stent by Angiotech, Visudyne by QLT and Mozobil by Anormed [...]

Published in

Date

Feb 12, 2021

Author(s)

Business, Biotech, Life Sciences, Investment, British Columbia, Venture Capital, COVID-19

Wanted: Investors to Fund B.C.’s Second Life Sciences Renaissance

COVID-19 Point-of-Care Diagnostics that Satisfy Global Target Product Profiles

COVID-19 pandemic will continue to pose a major public health threat until vaccination-mediated herd immunity is achieved. Most projections predict vaccine will reach a large subset of the population late in 2021 or early 2022. In the meantime, countries are exploring options to remove strict lockdown measures and allow for society and the economy to return to normal function. One possibility is to expand on existing COVID-19 testing strategies by including large-scale rapid point of care diagnostic tests (POCTs). [...]

Published in

Date

Jan 12, 2021

COVID-19; point-of-care diagnostic test, target product profile, clinical performance

COVID-19 Point-of-Care Diagnostics that Satisfy Global Target Product Profiles

A Novel Strategy to Mitigate the Hyperinflammatory Response to COVID-19 by Targeting Leukotrienes

SARS-CoV-2 causing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has wreaked havoc during the global pandemic of 2020 infecting millions and leaving over a half million dead. As a new virus, not previously in the human population, but with similarities to other coronaviruses causing severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (SARS/ARDS), and no known treatments, the race to re-purpose existing drugs and to enlist novel therapeutics is underway. In the half-year since the first cases, we have acquired substantial knowledge of this virus and the clinical course of COVID-19 progression. Results from early clinical trials have revealed two treatments (remdesivir, dexamethasone) that mitigate disease progression but clearly, there is much room for improvement.

Date

Aug 06, 2020

Author(s)

COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, leukotrienes, cytokine storm, coronavirus, inflammatory response, vascular leak, clinical trial

A Novel Strategy to Mitigate the Hyperinflammatory Response to COVID-19 by Targeting Leukotrienes

COVID-19 Serological Tests: How Well Do They Actually Perform?

In only a few months after initial discovery in Wuhan, China, SARS-CoV-2 and the associated coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have become a global pandemic causing significant mortality and morbidity and implementation of strict isolation measures. In the absence of vaccines and effective therapeutics, reliable serological testing must be a key element of public health policy to control further spread of the disease [...]

Date

Jul 04, 2020

COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, diagnostics, serological diagnostic test, performance

COVID-19 Serological Tests: How Well Do They Actually Perform?

A Snapshot of the Global Race for Vaccines Targeting SARS-CoV-2 and the COVID-19 Pandemic

A novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 causing Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has entered the human population and has spread rapidly around the world in the first half of 2020 causing a global pandemic. The virus uses its spike glycoprotein receptor-binding domain to interact with host cell angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) sites to initiate a cascade of events that culminate in severe acute respiratory syndrome in some individuals. In efforts to curtail viral spread [...]

Date

Jun 19, 2020

COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, vaccine, immune response, coronavirus, clinical trial, public health

A Snapshot of the Global Race for Vaccines Targeting SARS-CoV-2 and the COVID-19 Pandemic

Trends in COVID-19 Diagnostic Test Development

The ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak caused by a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) is posing a great threat to global public health and economies. Accurate and rapid detection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and diagnosis of infection status will play a critical role in understanding the disease, selecting appropriate treatments, controlling the spread, and developing informed back-to-work policies.

Date

Jun 11, 2020

COVID-19, novel coronavirus, coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, diagnostics, diagnostic tests, Food and Drug Administration, FDA, European Union, EMA, Health Canada

Trends in COVID-19 Diagnostic Test Development

Why Canada Needs a National Vaccine Strategy

As a country, Canada is doing an admirable job to slow the spread of the new coronavirus based on our existing health care system and available resources at home and abroad. Our frontline healthcare workers are risking their lives daily to help the sick, while policymakers are making tough but necessary calls to close parts of the economy to keep Canadians healthy and safe.

Published in

Date

May 27, 2020

Author(s)

COVID-19, coronavirus, vaccine, strategy, vaccine manufacturing, drug development, Canada, Health Canada

Why Canada Needs a National Vaccine Strategy

Serological Diagnostics Regulatory Pathway - May 4th Update

From March 16th, 2020 to May 4th, 2020 FDA allowed antibody-based tests access to market under two pathways during the emergency declaration: Notification (Policy D) and EUA. FDA indicated that EUA application was appropriate for tests seeking a sole diagnosis claim, while notification was appropriate for tests with a qualitative IgG or IgM claim. However, FDA announced a major policy reversal regarding serological tests.

Date

May 04, 2020

Author(s)

Regulatory, FDA, Emergency Use Authorization, EUA, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, serological diagnostics regulatory pathway, diagnostics, antibody tests

Serological Diagnostics Regulatory Pathway - May 4th Update

FDA’s Emergency Use Authorization: A Rapid & Effective Path to Market for COVID-19 Diagnostic Tests

National Health Authorities regulating in vitro diagnostic tests have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by lowering barriers to market entry in order to increase access to testing. In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has employed the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) pathway to expedite the review of SARS-COV-2 in vitro diagnostic tests. 

Date

Apr 28, 2020

Author(s)

Regulatory, FDA, Emergency Use Authorization, EUA, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Diagnostics, Devices

FDA’s Emergency Use Authorization: A Rapid & Effective Path to Market for COVID-19 Diagnostic Tests
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