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.
Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) says strong demand for its products is creating additional employment opportunities for as many as 2,000 new positions globally, including 800 in the U.S.
Since the emergence of COVID-19 and associated surge of patient hospitalizations, Baxter has seen surging demand for its products, including its PrisMax and Prismaflex blood purification systems, its Mini-Bag Plus drug delivery system; the Spectrum IQ Infusion System and accompanying I.V. administration sets; I.V. solutions; and injectable drugs used in the ICU and across the hospital.
Baxter says all its facilities manufacturing these products are maximizing production levels and continuing to pursue all opportunities to further increase supply.
Privately held Ginkgo Bioworks announces a project with mRNA vaccine developer Moderna (MRNA -2.2%) aimed at optimizing the latter’s processes for making key raw materials for its vaccines, including its COVID-19 candidate.
Ginkgo is contributing its platform infrastructure and know-how to help Moderna to more quickly improve the efficiency of its processes, adding that it has committed to providing $25M in free work to support the effort.
Demonstrating why it has a dominant position in clinical diagnostics, Abbott (NYSE:ABT) has launched its third COVID-19 test, this time a blood test that detects IgG antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 that is performed on automated instruments.
It expects to ship 1M tests this week and 4M in April. It expects to supply enough product to screen as many as 20M samples by June.
Its lab-based molecular test and its rapid point-of-care test, both detecting the virus itself, are already in use.
Shares up 1% premarket on light volume.
Merck (NYSE:MRK) commences the U.S. commercial launch of Ontruzant (trastuzumab-dttb), a biosimilar to Roche’s (OTCQX:RHHBY) breast cancer med Herceptin.
The wholesale acquisition cost (WAC) is ~$1,325 for the 150 mg single-dose vial and ~$3,709 for the 420 mg multiple-dose vial, about a 15% discount from Roche’s product.
The FDA has signed off on a Phase 3 clinical trial evaluating Humanigen’s (OTCQB:HGEN) lenzilumab, its Humaneered anti-human GM-CSF monoclonal antibody, for the prevention of respiratory failure and/or death in hospitalized COVID-19 patients with pneumonia.
The company says it is the only one that it working on preventing cytokine storm via GM-CSF neutralization.
