Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer began testing multiple versions of an experimental coronavirus vaccine in healthy, young people in the United States this week, a first step toward establishing the safety, dosage, and most promising candidate to take into larger trials that will test effectiveness.
In an unusual trial design that signals the pressing need to find a vaccine against COVID-19, Pfizer is initially testing four versions of the vaccine, side by side. Typically, companies spend years on animal experiments and select a single promising candidate to put into human testing, but the drugmaker decided to create a flexible trial that could rapidly sift out the best option.
Long Island Battles ‘Quarantine 15’ with Town-Wide Diet
A lack of exercise and poor eating habits associated with stay-at-home orders during the coronavirus pandemic are plaguing many residents, with some dubbing the weight gain the “quarantine 15.”Now, one part of Long Island is taking steps to remedy the situation with a town-wide diet.
Suffolk County Health Committee Chair Legislator Dr. William Spencer and Huntington Clerk Andrew Raia joined Huntington Hospital’s Director of Bariatric Surgery Dr. David Buchin Wednesday to unveil the details of the program, aimed to get people healthier so that if they catch the virus, they’ll increase their chances of survival.
Regeneron scales up Manufacturing for Antibody Tests
Regeneron has designed two antibody cocktail therapies by selecting from hundreds of neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 from a mouse model and from humans who have recovered.“We have already begun large-scale manufacturing and anticipate initiating clinical trials with the lead cocktail in June,” CEO Len Schleifer said during the company’s Q1 earnings call .
The therapies were designed based on the same antibody platform behind Regeneron’s Ebola candidate REGN-EB3, which was recently accepted by the FDA for priority review after outperforming Mapp Biopharmaceutical’s ZMapp.