The companies will work together on research activities through to the selection of a preclinical candidate, after which Roche will handle further development and global commercialization.

The 110,000 ft2 site, which is set to be operational by the second half of 2021, will feature new technology including 2000-L scale bioreactors and additional fill-finish capabilities.

The first public announcement from the Biden-Harris transition team was to name members of a COVID-19 advisory board charged with initiating policies and actions to combat the fast-rising infection rate in the United States

Apeiron Biologics has selected Domainex to advance the development of inhibitors for the E3 ubiquitin ligase Cbl-b.

AstraZeneca has received approval for Calquence (acalabrutinib) to be used as a treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in adults within the European Union (EU).

PhoreMost and Oxford Biomedica have entered into a discovery collaboration for the development of next-generation chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapies.

Analysis from the CPhI Annual Report has revealed that the global contract services sector is benefitting from a switch toward COVID-19 manufacturing and clinical-stage contracts; however, mega-cap pharma innovation is slowing outsourcing.

Vifor Pharma and Angion Biomedica have signed a license agreement that will see the commercialization of late-stage product, ANG-3777.

Optibrium has entered into a cheminformatics collaboration with MSD (known as Merck & Co. in the United States).

Clarity from regulators, prior work on other vaccines, and closer collaboration with contract partners and suppliers have allowed Moderna and J&J to slash timeframes. Moderna may be on track to deliver initial doses to the highest risk patient populations before January 2021.

The program will consist of 10 University of Cambridge researchers and a group of PhD students who will work together to develop AI and machine learning technologies for clinical trials, personalized medicine, and biomedical discovery.

The companies will initially develop and design process technologies, single-use systems, and automation, with plans to eventually focus on an expanding process and digital technologies to optimize a continuous manufacturing process.

ISPE announced its 2020–2021 International Board of Directors during the virtual 2020 ISPE Annual Meeting & Expo on Nov. 6, 2020.

FDA issued emergency use authorization for bamlanivimab for patients at risk for severe COVID-19.

The agreement provides Novo Nordisk with full access to Emisphere’s Eligen SNAC technology, which will boost Novo Nordisk’s portfolio of oral therapeutics.

The vaccine will enter into a Phase III clinical trial in the United States and Mexico by the end of November, which could potentially support global authorization and approval of the vaccine.

Interim efficacy data suggests the Pfizer/BioNTech has an efficacy rate above 90%.

Opposition to IP protection for COVID-19 vaccines, therapies, tests and other technologies may only prevent eradication and treatment of the disease.

Through the acquisition, Merck will gain access to VelosBio’s lead investigational candidate, VLS-101, an antibody-drug conjugate that targets receptor tyrosine kinase-like orphan receptor 1.

The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson has submitted a Type II variation application to EMA for expanded use of the SC formulation of Darzalex.

ProteoNic has licensed its protein expression technology, 2G UNic, to Gilead Sciences.

ACG has acquired a significant stake in IQGEN-X, a Mumbai-based start-up contract research organization (CRO).

Lonza has inaugurated its first ADC payload manufacturing suite at the Visp, Switzerland site.

Samsung Biologics has adopted Solentim’s cell seeding and cell metric platforms at its new R&D center in San Francisco, CA.

Mogrify’s new technology platform, EpiMOGRIFY, can predict cellular switches important for determining cell identity, cell maintenance, directed differentiation, and cell conversion.

With the presentation of research supporting the use of PTA technology, BioSkryb also launched its ResolveDNA platform for commercial use at ASHG 2020, held virtually on Oct. 27–30, 2020.

Sanofi’s Digitally Enabled Integrated Continuous Biomanufacturing Facility in Framingham, MA was named the Overall Award winner at the ISPE virtual annual meeting.

Biopharma can apply new manufacturing practices adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic to enhance bioprocessing.