Solving COVID: May 27, 2020

Our 'Solving COVID' newsletter is a weekly roundup of the latest scientific advancements being made against the coronavirus pandemic. It tracks developments in testing, treating, and vaccinating. To receive the newsletter every week, please enter your email below:
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1.

French study bolsters hopes antibodies protect against COVID-19

Researchers at France's Pasteur Institute and university hospitals in Strasbourg said Tuesday that in a study of 160 doctors and nurses who experienced mild cases of COVID-19, all but one developed antibodies within two weeks that could prevent reinfection. The preliminary findings, not yet peer-reviewed, bolstered hopes that patients who survive the new coronavirus, even if they never got seriously ill, would be protected. Almost all of the volunteers in the study had produced antibodies capable of neutralizing the virus — or preventing it from replicating — within 41 days. Pasteur's Arnaud Fontanet and his colleagues suggested the findings support the use of antibody tests. [Bloomberg]

2.

Human trials begin for Novavax's coronavirus vaccine

Biotechnology company Novavax rolled out its first human trials for its coronavirus vaccine on Tuesday. Novavax already tested its vaccine on animals in low doses and found it successful. The Maryland-based company will inject 131 volunteers in the Australian cities of Melbourne and Brisbane, with results of the clinical trial expected to be made public in July. Phase 1 of the trial is a "randomized, observer-blinded, placebo-controlled trial" that assesses two different dosage sizes of the vaccine among healthy participants age 18 to 59. Novavax is one of several pharmaceutical companies racing to develop coronavirus vaccines, with Pfizer and Moderna launching human trials earlier this month.

3.

AstraZeneca gets orders for COVID-19 vaccine it's developing

Anglo-Swedish drug maker AstraZeneca sealed its first agreements to provide 400 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine it is developing. The company said it had received more than $1 billion from the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority for getting the vaccine produced and delivered starting in the fall. AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot said the investment by the U.S. vaccine agency would help speed up development of the vaccine. The company and other drug makers, including Moderna and Sanofi, are racing to develop vaccines that public health officials say are necessary for removing restrictions imposed to contain the coronavirus pandemic. "We will do everything in our power to make this vaccine quickly and widely available," Soriot said. [The Associated Press]

4.

Experts seek 'technical breakthrough' in scramble for rapid coronavirus tests

Fast, accessible, and reliable testing is key to containing the coronavirus pandemic, and experts are scrambling to develop "next-stage technologies" that could make such rapid tests widely available in the United States. OraSure Technologies says it's hoping to submit an at-home test to the FDA this September. There's also a Shark Tank-esque competition underway launched by the National Institutes of Health seeking to accelerate development of COVID-19 testing technologies, laying out an ambitious goal of making "millions of accurate and easy-to-use tests per week available to all Americans by the end of summer 2020." According to The Wall Street Journal, more than 280 groups have applied for the competition. But it's still an "open question" whether millions of rapid tests can be produced per week by the fall, the Journal notes. Quest Diagnostics' Gary Samuels said that it's "hard to imagine getting to the numbers that people are talking about without some sort of technical breakthrough, and that's what everyone's searching for." [The Wall Street Journal]

5.

CRISPR gene-editing tool could diagnose COVID-19 in 20 minutes

GlaxoSmithKline's consumer division is teaming up with California gene-editing startup Mammoth Biosciences to develop a rapid COVID-19 diagnostic test that could eventually be used at home. The test would use Mammoth's CRISPR gene-editing technology as a diagnostic tool, returning results from a nasal swab within 20 minutes. Eventually, the two companies want to make the tests available for consumers over the counter, but they will start in clinics and hospitals. "Using this CRISPR-based technology, you can actually create accurate tests, giving similar quality to what's in the lab but in a 'decentralized' format," said Mammoth CEO Trevor Martin. The companies expect to seek Food and Drug Administration emergency use authorization by the end of 2020. [Reuters]