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Today's Rundown

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Pfizer sees 'mostly mild to moderate' safety profile in phase 3 COVID vaccine study

As Pfizer moves ahead in COVID-19 vaccine research at record speeds, executives on Tuesday detailed a "mostly mild to moderate” safety profile, with rare instances of severe or grade 4 side effects.

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Tech startup develops rapid COVID-19 test to be taken completely at home

Computer vision company Gauss teamed up with biotechnology company Cellex to develop a rapid, at-home and point-of-care COVID-19 antigen test. While there are other at-home COVID-19 diagnostic tests available, the companies say it's the first rapid antigen test that can be performed by people at home without involving a laboratory.

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Lilly says it's 'extremely well-positioned' to supply Olumiant if granted an emergency authorization in COVID-19

By releasing new data on Olumiant in COVID-19 earlier this week, Eli Lilly joined a short list of companies or research groups to post positive data against the deadly virus. A monthslong process and federal partnership led to the data, and, now, Lilly says it's "extremely well-positioned" to supply the drug if granted an emergency use authorization from the FDA.

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BioNTech, CureVac bag $745M in German funding for COVID-19 vaccine hopefuls

Two German biotechs, BioNTech and CureVac, have been at the cutting edge of the hunt for a COVID-19 vaccine—a time consuming and costly process. In order to get both over the finish line, the German government is making a big down payment in both candidates' development.

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Lilly links COVID-19 antibody to reduced hospitalization rate

Eli Lilly has linked its anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody to a lower rate of hospitalization in patients recently diagnosed with mild to moderate cases of COVID-19. However, two of the three doses, including the highest studied in the phase 2 trial, failed to beat placebo in terms of reducing viral load by Day 11. 

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Cerner senior exec: Amazon cloud partnership is driving Cerner's shift to become digital platform company

As part of a new deal with Amazon, Cerner is letting users of Amazon's new Halo fitness tracker share wearable data directly with their providers. It's just one example of how Cerner is expanding beyond its traditional medical records business. Cerner senior executive Dan Devers spoke with Fierce Healthcare about how the Amazon partnership will shape the future of the company.

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Tiny biologic drug to fight COVID-19 shows promise in animal models

A research team led by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine has identified an antibody component that’s 10 times smaller than a full-sized antibody. They constructed a drug with it and found it to be effective in preventing and treating SARS-CoV-2 in rodent models. Its small size might make it amenable to inhaled formulations.

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Healthcare roundup: NIH grants $12M in awards aimed addressing disparities

Follow along with the latest COVID-19 news straight from the Fierce Healthcare team.

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Valneva signs manufacturing partner to produce adjuvant for COVID-19 vaccine

French drugmaker Valneva hasn't captured the global attention of some of its larger counterparts in the race for a COVID-19 vaccine, but a recent billion-dollar deal with the U.K. helped put the company on the map. In a step toward meeting that lofty work order, Valneva has signed on a U.S. manufacturing partner.

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FDA ranks the performance of 58 molecular coronavirus tests from major developers

The FDA outlined the limits of 58 different COVID-19 tests, illustrating their ability to detect smaller amounts of the novel coronavirus.

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Vaccine skepticism rises, with fewer Americans planning immediate COVID-19 vaccination: survey

Vaccine skepticism is rising in the U.S. as political maneuvering and a trial setback make headlines and foster doubt. Only about one-quarter of Americans say they will get a COVID-19 vaccine as soon as it is ready. That's down six points from just one month ago, according to weekly tracking surveys by Engine, a media and marketing services company.

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AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine adverse event has NIH 'very concerned'

Leaders at the National Institutes of Health are “very concerned” about the adverse event that led AstraZeneca to pause its COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial, according to the intramural clinical director at one of its divisions.

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