Category: News Commentary

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Xenpozyme™ (olipudase alfa-rpcp) for the treatment of non-central nervous system (non-CNS) manifestations of acid sphingomyelinase deficiency (ASMD) in adult and pediatric patients. Xenpozyme is the first therapy indicated specifically for the treatment of ASMD, and is currently the only approved treatment for this disease.

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Xenpozyme (Olipudase alfa) for intravenous infusion in pediatric and adult patients with Acid Sphingomyelinase Deficiency (ASMD), a rare genetic disease that causes premature death. Xenpozyme is the first approved medication to treat symptoms that are not related to the central nervous system in patients with ASMD.

The more effective the COVID-19 booster, the more likely people are to get it, according to new Cornell research. And they are more likely to accept the booster shot with cash incentives and if it is made by Moderna or Pfizer.

As the Omicron variant of COVID-19 emerged, Cornell researchers conducted the public opinion survey – thought to be one of the first to assess the factors that affect people’s willingness to receive a vaccine booster.

BioNTech SE (Nasdaq: BNTX, “BioNTech”) published an official statment: “BioNTech is aware of reports that Moderna has sued Pfizer and BioNTech, alleging that COMIRNATY® infringes certain Moderna patents. BioNTech’s work is original, and we will vigorously defend against all allegations of patent infringement.

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA), a biotechnology company pioneering messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics and vaccines, today is filing patent infringement lawsuits against Pfizer and BioNTech in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts and the Regional Court of Düsseldorf in Germany.

Novartis today announced its intention to separate Sandoz, its generics and biosimilars division into a new publicly traded standalone company, by way of a 100% spin-off.

The spin-off aims to maximize shareholder value by creating the #1 European generics company(1) and a global leader in biosimilars, allowing Novartis shareholders to participate fully in the potential future upside for both Sandoz and Novartis Innovative Medicines.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden are developing a coronavirus vaccine designed to be less sensitive to mutations and equipped for future strains. The vaccine showed promising results in mice in a newly published study in EMBO Molecular Medicine, and the researchers now hope to be able to take it to safety studies on humans.

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) and BioNTech SE (Nasdaq: BNTX) today announced they have completed a submission to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requesting Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of a booster dose of an Omicron BA.4/BA.5-adapted bivalent COVID-19 vaccine for individuals 12 years of age and older.

A recent report by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found more than 80 percent of urine samples from children and adults in the U.S. contained the herbicide glyphosate. A study by Florida Atlantic University and Nova Southeastern University takes this research one step further and is the first to link the use of the herbicide Roundup®, a widely used weed killer, to convulsions in animals.

Bayer supports the humanitarian non-profit organization “Fondation suisse de déminage” (FSD) in their mission to demine land that was contaminated by mines and unexploded devices since the onset of the war in Ukraine. A donation of 825,000 euros will be dedicated to purchasing a large-size mechanical mine clearance machine.