RepliCel Life Sciences Inc (TSXV:RP)
RepliCel is a regenerative medicine company developing autologous cell therapies that address diseases caused by a deficit of healthy cells required for normal healing and function.
In an interview with CNBC, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN +4.1%) CEO Leonard Schleifer said that the company should have its coronavirus treatment ready for human testing by August. It expects to be producing 200K prophylactic doses by then.
Over the next few weeks, company scientists will screen a range of antibodies to identify the best ones to block the virus.
He also said that it is “committed” to an affordable product for patients.
The FDA has signed off in Moderna’s (MRNA -2.3%) IND for mRNA-1273, its vaccine candidate against SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus causing the current outbreak.
The first batch of product has been shipped to and received by the NIH for use in a Phase 1 study.
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY) and Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) have expanded their collaboration to include RNAi therapeutics to potentially treat SARS-CoV-2 infection, the coronavirus causing the current outbreak, COVID-19.
Vir will lead development while Alnylam will retain an option for 50/50 participation.
Alnylam says it has designed and synthesized over 350 siRNAs targeting all available SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 genomes.
The companies are also collaborating on a treatment of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection called VIR-2218 (ALN-HBV02), currently in Phase 1/2 development.
Vir is up 15% premarket on modest volume.
With about 40 employees working on the project, Takeda Pharmaceutical (NYSE:TAK) is joining Gilead Sciences and AbbVie as the latest drugmaker to work on developing a coronavirus vaccine.
The experimental drug would be derived from the blood of coronavirus patients who have recovered from the respiratory disease.
“While we don’t know for sure that it will work, we think it’s definitely a relevant asset that could be of help here,” said Dr. Rajeev Venkayya, president of Takeda’s vaccines business.
Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) agrees to acquire privately-held Exocad Global Holdings for €376M ($418.7M) in cash.
Exocad sells computer aided design and manufacturing software to dental labs and dental practices in more than 150 countries.
Align Tech says Exocad broadens its digital platform “by addressing restorative needs in our end-to-end digital platform that facilitate ortho-restorative and comprehensive dentistry and accelerates adoption of Invisalign treatment among the more than 300 million potential patients worldwide.”
