Covid-19 Archives

News and Trends 16 Jul 2020

European Biotech Stocks Shine Amid 2020 Market Slump

As the Covid-19 pandemic leads us to the worst financial crisis in decades, normally volatile biotech stocks are outperforming most other sectors of the economy. Experts say this trend is likely to continue. Financial markets are in flux and according to a recent study by the Boston Consulting Group, the global economic slump caused by […]

July 16, 2020 - 4 minutesmins - By Victor Kotsev

News and Trends 8 Jul 2020

Osivax Raises €32M to Develop Universal Coronavirus and Influenza Vaccines

Osivax, a Lyon-based biotechnology company, secured €17.5M from the European Innovation Council and €15.1M from Bpifrance. The funding will be used to develop vaccines that protect from all current – and even future – flu and coronavirus outbreaks. Most current vaccines have a specific target protein they work against. They train the immune system to […]

July 8, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Kostas Vavitsas

News and Trends 8 Jul 2020

Remdesivir Becomes the First Covid-19 Treatment Approved in Europe

Remdesivir has received a one-year conditional marketing authorization from the European Commission due to the urgency of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has infected at least 2.5 million people in Europe, and killed more than 500,000. The intravenous drug, manufactured by US pharma company Gilead Sciences, is intended for adults and children over the age of […]

July 8, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Victor Kotsev

News and Trends 3 Jul 2020

Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 Vaccine Shows Phase I Promise

A vaccine made out of messenger RNA (mRNA), developed by the US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech, has produced antibodies against the Covid-19 pathogen in healthy volunteers. The results come from an interim analysis of an ongoing phase I clinical trial in 45 participants. So far, all test subjects who received two […]

July 3, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Victor Kotsev

News and Trends 18 Jun 2020

Belgian mRNA Vaccine for Covid-19 Receives €34M Series B Boost

Belgian biotech eTheRNA has secured €34M in Series B funding to progress to the clinic its Covid-19 vaccine candidate and cancer immunotherapies made from messenger RNA. The company’s five existing investors contributed to the round, including Dutch VC firm LSP, and the Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund, based in Germany. Four new investors also contributed — […]

June 18, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Helen Albert

universal cancer vaccine mrna biontech personalized medicine

News and Trends 17 Jun 2020

German Government Invests €300M in mRNA Biotech CureVac

The Federal Republic of Germany will invest €300M in CureVac, the homegrown biotech that is developing a vaccine for Covid-19 using messenger RNA technology. The unusually large investment will be made through the state-owned bank Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau, which will gain a 23% stake in the company. “CureVac retains complete operational and strategic independence,” Franz-Werner […]

June 17, 2020 - 4 minutesmins - By Helen Albert

In Depth 17 Jun 2020

How is European Biotech Rising to the Covid-19 Testing Challenge?

Diagnostics have been thrown into the spotlight in the Covid-19 pandemic because of their instrumental role in preventing further infections. However, developing a test for Covid-19 isn’t an easy task. What exactly is needed to make a good Covid-19 test, and how are European biotech companies working to fill this need? While the development of […]

June 17, 2020 - 10 minutesmins - By Mark Livingstone

In Depth 18 May 2020

Will Covid-19 Change the Face of Vaccine Development?

The unprecedented scale of the current Covid-19 pandemic has led to a vaccine ‘race’ the like of which has never been seen before. This may change the face of vaccine development forever. Since the English physician Edward Jenner invented the first smallpox vaccine in 1796, vaccines have resulted in dramatic reductions in deaths from previously […]

May 18, 2020 - 13 minutesmins - By Helen Albert

Innovative Medicines Initiative Covid 19

News and Trends 14 May 2020

EU Initiative Pumps up Funding for Covid-19 Research to €117M

The funding will go towards eight research projects that have been selected out of 144 proposals received by the EU’s Innovative Medicines Initiative. In March, the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) opened a fast-track call for proposals on diagnostics and treatments for the coronavirus outbreak. Due to the large number of high-quality proposals received, the IMI […]

May 14, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández

News and Trends 7 May 2020

EU Pitches Into €7.4B Fund Supporting Covid-19 Treatments & Vaccines

The European Commission and global donors have pledged €7.4 billion to a fund aimed at ensuring collaborative development and universal deployment of diagnostics, treatments, and vaccines for Covid-19. The Coronavirus Global Response pledging event is the beginning of a global fundraising marathon organized by the European Union and G20 nations in response to a World […]

May 7, 2020 - 4 minutesmins - By David Kirk

Expert Advice 4 May 2020

How Are Biotech VC Investments Changing with Covid-19?

Covid-19 has been dominating the news for weeks on end, but what impact is the current pandemic having on biotech VC investments? Some key figures working in the field in Europe discussed their recent experiences, as well as advice for startups navigating this new funding challenge. The coronavirus pandemic has impacted us all in ways […]

May 4, 2020 - 8 minutesmins - By Helen Albert

BioNTech Production scaled e1584385495951

News and Trends 29 Apr 2020

Update: BioNTech and Pfizer’s mRNA Vaccine for Covid-19 Tested in Humans

Update (29/04/2020): A vaccine developed by the German company BioNTech and its big pharma partner Pfizer has become the first European mRNA vaccine for Covid-19 to enter human testing in a phase I/II trial. Since dosing began last week, twelve volunteers in Germany have been given the vaccine. The first part of the trial — […]

April 29, 2020 - 5 minutesmins - By Helen Albert

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