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Today's Rundown

Featured Story

AstraZeneca's eagerly awaited COVID-19 vaccine passes large test, but confirmation needed

As Moderna, Pfizer and BioNTech have this month been busy releasing early data out of their COVID-19 vaccine programs, AstraZeneca is now joining the July data drop.

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Top Stories

Pfizer reports strong T-cell response to COVID-19 vaccine

Pfizer and BioNTech have shared (PDF) phase 1/2 data suggesting their COVID-19 vaccine triggers stronger CD8 T-cell responses than Moderna’s rival candidate. Four-fifths of subjects who received BNT162b1 had vaccine-induced CD8 T-cell responses and researchers classed most of the responses as strong.

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The top 10 highest paid biopharma R&D executives in 2019

Given drugmakers’ reliance on their R&D organizations, you might expect the companies with the biggest R&D budgets to match those paying their chief scientists the most. But that theory doesn’t hold up. For starters, Regeneron’s George Yancopoulos who topped this list with $20.7 million, but the company’s research spend didn’t even make it into 2019’s top 10.

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Sponsored: Rise in Targeted Therapies Drives Need for Flexible Small-Volume Manufacturing

Ensuring cohesion between drug substance chemists & drug product formulators is critical to manage risks & maximize rewards of transforming less soluble & bioavailable molecules into effective drugs.

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Synairgen shares soar 300% on COVID-19 treatment, but caveats abound

A U.K. biotech has seen its shares skyrocket on new data from its experimental treatment in hospitalized COVID-19 patients, but it’s too early for game-changer cliches.

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GSK hands CureVac $294M to form mRNA infectious disease pact

GlaxoSmithKline has handed CureVac £234 million ($294 million) to collaborate on the use of mRNA to prevent and treat infectious diseases. The deal, which excludes CureVac’s COVID-19 vaccine, sets GSK up to source up to five clinical-phase mRNA-based vaccines and monoclonal antibodies.

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Ex-Genzyme boss Meeker hops from KSQ to Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

After a game of executive musical chairs, David Meeker, M.D., is taking the helm of obesity-focused Rhythm Pharmaceuticals. He takes over from Hunter Smith, the biotech’s chief financial officer who had been filling in as president and CEO since March after former chief Keith Gottesdiener stepped down.

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What makes cancer patients resistant to immuno-oncology drugs? Protein signals offer a clue

University of Pittsburgh researchers found a correlation between the cell-surface protein LAG-3 and another protein called ADAM-10 that could portend a poor response to PD-1 checkpoint blocking drugs in cancer. They believe their findings could improve ongoing efforts to target LAG-3 in cancer.

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FDA opens door to 'batch testing' for COVID-19 with new green lights for Quest Diagnostics

The FDA authorized its first COVID-19 diagnostic test for use with pools of samples in a move to let laboratories conserve resources by evaluating groups of people at once.

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Resources

Whitepaper: High-Loaded Dosage Forms: Novel Platform Expands Spray-Dried Dispersion Utility

A novel spray-dried dispersion platform has been developed to faciliate high drug load applications

Whitepaper: How to Harness the eISF to Accelerate Clinical Operations

Complimentary Download: How to connect to study sites remotely via the Electronic Investigator Site File (eISF) to streamline clinical operations. Insights from the largest eISF network in the world.

Whitepaper: Learn How to Navigate Pediatric Clinical Trials Under the New RACE Act

Collaboration across the industry will be key to meeting the demands of the RACE Act and ensuring pediatric patients receive the care and treatments they need.

On-Demand Webinar: Fuel gene therapy development and production with modern AAV workflows

On-demand video: fuel gene therapy development and production with modern AAV workflows.

Whitepaper How to Select the Right Data Partner to Benefit Your Business | Buyer's Guide

With today’s rapidly evolving environment, we have created this five-part content series to highlight pressing issues and topics that are more pertinent today than ever before.

eBook: Cambrex eBook - Small molecules: 2020 vision

The industry trend of outsourcing to CDMOs continues. With more services, capabilities, facilities, and employees than ever before, our experts have contributed more articles to our biggest eBook yet.

White Paper: Patient Switching Behaviors Impact on Adherence and Engagement: A Predictive Analytics and Machine Learning Approach to Improving Hub Performance and Patient Outcomes

How predictive analytics and machine learning have the potential to transform healthcare by predicting “Patient Switching Behaviors.”

Whitepaper: You've Decided on a Multiparticulate Dosage Form. Now What?

Wurster processing is a versatile technique for developing and manufacturing multiparticulates for modified release dosage forms. Read this whitepaper to determine whether Wurster processing is the right option for your project.

Webinar: Blockchain Innovations that Connect & Protect Merck's Supply Chain

Get an inside look… Merck shares its next-generation approach to supply chain protection with new digital platforms, including Blockchain.

eBook: SUPERCHARGE INNOVATION: UNLEASH THE FULL FORCE OF LIFE SCIENCES

Built on advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI), data mining, and information integration into various systems at 100% accuracy, the new era of intelligent automation is integral to life sciences for devising new treatments faster and at a lower expense.

Case Study: Establishing Parameters for Success

Learn about a real-world example of how clinical supply management expertise was applied to overcome inventory challenges for a complex, global study.

Fact Sheet: Forecasting to Optimize Clinical Trial Supply Management

Whether a study is simple or highly complex, forecasting and simulation reports serve as data driven communication tools to help minimize risks and keep the study on track. Learn more about forecasting solutions for informed decision making and supporting contingency planning for clinical study.

eBook: Expecting the Unexpected: Strategies for Efficient Clinical Supply Management and Forecasting

Learn how to drive excellence within the forecasting process and utilize forecasting throughout the clinical study to better plan clinical supply budgets and project timelines. Explore how to identify potential supply-related issues before they can negatively impact your study.

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