In the race to fight SARS-CoV-2: Merck, ISB; ViiV; Genalyte gears up

Merck has collaborated with the Seattle-based Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) to further study novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.

The primary goal of the collaboration will be to investigate the molecular pathway of SARS-CoV-2 and aetiology of COVID-19 with the intent of finding an effective and standard treatment for the disease.

Merck will facilitate the funding, whereas, ISB will be accelerating the research, targeting drugs and molecules, evaluating changes in immune systems post-SARS-CoV-2 evaluating changes in immune systems post-SARS-CoV-2 infection and characterizing neutralizing antibodies in convalescent patients. Merck’s deal with BARDA will also help in providing funds to foster the research pact of the company with ISB.

Initial funding to the collaboration was procured by the Wilke Family Foundation, MJ Murdock Charitable Trust, Swedish Foundation, Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, and Washington State Andy Hill CARE Fund, along with Stanford University, Adaptive Biotechnologies, Bloodworks Northwest, Isoplexis, Metabolon, Nanostring, Olink, Providence Molecular Genomics Laboratory, Scisco Genetics and 10x Genomics.

Genalyte has announced the availability of its rapid diagnostic COVID-19 serology panel on its Maverick platform.

A real-time diagnostics and healthcare analytics company, Genalyte has already received FDA recommendation for its Maverick Diagnostic System.

A real-time diagnostics and healthcare analytics company, Genalyte has already received FDA recommendation for its Maverick Diagnostic System. With the help of the platform, the company plans to launch SARS-CoV-2 Multi-Antigen Serology Panel.

The company has submitted the application for EUA for its panel and intends to make it available as a Laboratory Developed Test (LDT) under FDA’s “Policy for Diagnostic Tests for Coronavirus Disease-2019 during the Public Health Emergency.”

The panel will investigate for IgG and IgM antibodies that are produced in response to SARS-CoV-2 for its diagnosis in human body, duration of their stay and their potential and efficacy in case of reinfection. SARS-CoV-2 Multi-Antigen Serology Panel has the potential to test against 12 unique viral antigens. The panel is able to eliminate false positives, achieving 100 per cent specificity on a cohort of 300 negative patients and will be made available to physician offices and employers interested in testing their at-risk workforce.

ViiV Healthcare jointly with Pfizer and Shionogi Limited has announced the formation of Global HIV and COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund worth £3 Million.

The £3 million fund will help in providing financial aid for the research projects to evaluate the impact of SARS-CoV-2 / COVID-19 on HIV patients and help them cope with the impending challenges due to the pandemic.

The £3 million fund will help in providing financial aid for the research projects to evaluate the impact of SARS-CoV-2 / COVID-19 on HIV patients and help them cope with the impending challenges due to the pandemic.   

The fund will be allocated equally between two programmes -nurturing research and supporting community-based activities – of £1.5 million each and will be available through a request for proposal (RFP) process.

To help improve the management and understanding of COVID-19, the healthcare company has set three priority areas namely epidemiology and real-world data, healthcare systems management initiatives in COVID-19 environments, and biomarkers indicative of disease susceptibility, severity, and progression. Moreover, the company has collaborated with several other institutions and pharma companies to advance the treatment discovery for COVID-19.