Sean Whooley

Propeller Health announced that it received FDA 510(k) clearance for connecting patients using its Symbicort Inhaler to its digital health platform. The Madison, Wis.-based company’s digital health platform already connects to inhalers used by asthma and COPD patients, including ones manufactured by Boehringer Ingelheim, GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis and Orion, along with other generic equivalents. Propeller sensors…

Machine-learning-driven drug discovery and development company Insitro announced today that it raised $143 million in an oversubscribed Series B financing round. San Francisco-based Insitro said in a news release that it plans to use the funds to build its foundations of technology and automation, enabling data generation at a larger scale, expanding its capabilities for…

Merck (NYSE:MRK) and IAVI announced today that they are collaborating to develop an investigational vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 for preventing COVID-19. The vaccine candidate is slated to use the recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus (rVSV) technology used as the basis for Merck’s Ervebo Ebola Zaire virus vaccine, which was the first such vaccine to be approved for use…

Octapharma announced today that the FDA approved its investigational new drug (IND) application for a Phase 3 clinical trial for its drug therapy in COVID-19 patients. Octagam 10% [Immune Globulin Intravenous (Human)] therapy will be observed for efficacy and safety in use with COVID-19 patients with severe disease progression, according to a news release. The…

Phlow announced today that it received $354 million in U.S. government funding to manufacture essential medicines at risk of shortage, including those involved in the COVID-19 pandemic response. Richmond, Va.-based Phlow’s manufacturing is being funded by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the office of Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response…

Shortly after touting positive results from its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, Moderna announced the pricing of an offering of 17.6 million shares of its common stock. The Cambridge, Mass.-based clinical-stage biotechnology company announced yesterday that it received positive interim clinical data from trials for its mRNA-1273 vaccine candidate against coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). Get the full story at our sister site,…

Moderna today touted positive interim clinical data from trials for its mRNA-1273 vaccine candidate against coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). The Phase I study, led by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), recorded positive early results from the first eight people tested, each of whom received two…

The National Institutes of Health and its foundation announced that, in collaboration with multiple biopharmaceutical companies and government agencies, they will develop an international strategy for coordinating research responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. The collaboration includes the Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, the Centers for Disease Control…

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) shares dipped today despite first-quarter results that topped the consensus forecast. The New Brunswick, N.J.-based company posted profits of $5.8 billion, or $2.17 per share, on sales of $20.7 billion for the three months ended March 29, 2020, for a 54.6% bottom-line gain on sales growth of 3.3%. Get the full story…

BioSig Technologies (NSDQ:BSGM) announced today that it is beginning a Phase II clinical trial at Mayo Clinic for Vicromax as a treatment for COVID-19. ViralClear Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of BioSig, updated its clinical development program for the Vicromax treatment which is slated to be used in a trial under Dr. Andrew Badley, the professor and chair…

Bausch Health (NYSE:BHC) announced today that it initiated a clinical trial program in Canada to investigate the use of Virazole for treating COVID-19. With today’s announcement, Bausch joins Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) and Care Access Research, which both announced clinical testing of coronavirus therapies last week. Bausch’s Virazole is currently approved in the U.S. and Canada, among other…

General Electric (NYSE:GE) announced that it completed the sale of its BioPharma business to Danaher (NYSE:DHR) for net proceeds totaling approximately $20 billion. Boston-based GE said in a news release that, under the agreeement, it received a total consideration worth $21.4 billion, with $21 billion in cash along with Danaher’s assumption of certain pension liabilities. After accounting…

Synthetic biology company SGI-DNA is touting its efforts to accelerate research in the creation of vaccines for SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing the COVID-19 pandemic. The San Diego-based company said in a news release last month that it built the genes thought to be critical to developing successful vaccines against the virus and made those tools…

Researchers at the University of Bristol (United Kingdom) are touting their use of virtual reality (VR) as a means to design and develop the next generation of drug treatments. In a published work in the journal PLOS ONE, the researchers explained the use of VR in discovering new drugs by finding molecules that bind to…

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) is offering advanced development support to Hologic (NSDQ:HOLX) for a molecular diagnostic test for coronavirus (COVID-19). Marlborough, Mass.-based Hologic’s test is the first coronavirus product selected for development through ASPR’s biomedical advanced R&D authority streamlined selection process (BARDA), which…

Evonetix announced today that it closed a $30 million Series B funding round as it develops technology for enabling gene synthesis on a chip. The Cambridge, U.K.-based synthetic biology company said the funding round, led by new investor Foresite Capital, is slated to fund the company through to the introduction of its desktop DNA platform,…

IBM (NYSE:IBM) announced today that it plans to work with medical institutions and practitioners by offering support in the development of drugs to combat the recent coronavirus outbreak. The company said in a news release that it intends to leverage its IBM clinical development (ICD) system to help accelerate the development of key drugs in…

Bayer (ETR:BAYN) announced that it entered into a definitive agreement to transfer some of its small molecule research unit to Nuvisan for an undisclosed amount. The agreement is slated to lay a foundation for Nuvisan to establish the Berlin-based research unit and support Bayer’s focus on the flexibility and productivity of its research & development operating…

The FDA and U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced today that they signed a joint statement to encourage collaboration in support of a robust marketplace for biological products, including the critical adoption of biosimilars and interchangeable products. The two agencies said the statement sets out to address false or misleading promotion about biosimilars within the…

Vascular Therapies announced that it closed an upsized private funding round worth more than $17 million with contributions from new and existing investors. The Cresskill, N.J.–based clinical-stage biopharma company originally targeted $15 million for the financing, but finished with a total of $17.3 million raised. Get the full story at our sister site, MassDevice.

Bayer (ETR:BAYN) announced that it is entering into a collaboration agreement with artificial intelligence drug discovery company Exscientia to identify and optimize novel lead structures for potential drug candidates in treating cardiovascular and oncological diseases. The agreement, announced earlier this month, is slated to see the companies work together on early research projects combining Exscientia’s proprietary…

Advanced Solutions Life Sciences announced that it won the Frost & Sullivan 2019 Bioprinting Value Leadership Award for demonstrating best-in-class biofabrication, hardware, software and consulting services. Last month’s award highlights global consultancy firm Frost & Sullivan’s view that ASLS develops unique and cost-effective solutions to advance the development of life-saving drugs by way of 3D bioprinting,…

Transdermal drug therapy developer Dyve Biosciences announced that it appointed longtime Pfizer executive Chuck Harbert to the role of chief scientific officer. Harbert spent three decades at Pfizer, serving as the company’s VP of U.S. exploratory development and strategic planning, among other senior positions with Pfizer Central Research. He is the inventor and co-inventor of 35 pharmaceutical…

Dicerna Pharmaceuticals (NSDQ:DRNA) announced today that it closed a discovery & development agreement with Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO) worth at least $175 million to further development of therapies for treating liver-related cardio-metabolic diseases. The two companies announced the agreement on Nov. 18, 2019, outlining the plan to discover and develop the therapies using Dicerna’s GalXC RNAi platform…

Phase 3 cancer immunotherapy company Cel-Sci (NYSE:CVM) announced today that it priced an underwritten public offering of common stock with expected gross proceeds of $5.5 million. Vienna, Va.–based Cel-Sci is offering 606,395 shares of common stock at a price of $9.07 per share to total the $5.5 million before deducting underwriting discounts and other estimated expenses. The…