Coronavirus Breaking News

The U.S. Department of the Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense jointly announced an agreement with Merck to support advanced development and large-scale manufacturing of their investigational therapeutic MK-7110 (CD24Fc) treat hospitalized patients with severe or critical COVID-19.

The U.S. stated they would provide approximately $356 million to Merck to deliver up to 100,000 doses of MK-7110 by June 30, 2021.

The investigational therapeutic is a promising first-in-class fusion protein and immune modulator. Immune modulators have the potential to minimize the damaging effects of an overactive immune response to COVID-19.

New Jersey-based OncoImmune, a recent Merck acquisition, announced on September 24, 2020, positive top-line findings from an interim efficacy analysis of a Phase 3 study evaluating CD24Fc, now known as MK-7110.

There are (8) clinical trials worldwide evaluating if there is a clinical correlation between melatonin and COVID-19. If melatonin actually helps people regain their health, it could be the most readily accessible medicine to counter COVID-19.

Sleep is sometimes likened to a sort of anti-inflammatory cleansing process; it removes waste products that accumulate during a day, says a previous study.

For example, Margarita L. Dubocovich, Ph.D., with the State University of New York at Buffalo, is leading a phase 2 study is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of melatonin in outpatient adult patients suspected to be afflicted with COVID-19. Participants will be enrolled as outpatients within 72 hrs of the onset of COVID-19 symptoms.

This study's estimated Primary Completion Date is March 31, 2021, which means we have a few months to go before learning more about this potential correlation.

A new variant strain of SARS-CoV-2 that contains a series of mutations has been described in the United Kingdom (UK) and has become highly prevalent in London and southeast England, stated the U.S. CDC on December 22, 2020.

At present, the variant is referred to as “SARS-CoV-2 VUI 202012/01” or “B.1.1.7.”

Based on these mutations, this variant strain has been predicted to potentially be more rapidly transmissible than other circulating strains of SARS-CoV-2. Although a variant may predominate in a geographic area, that fact alone does not mean that the variant is more infectious.

The Netherlands, Germany, and Turkey were reported to have banned flights to South Africa on December 21, 2020, after a new genetic mutation of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus was identified as responsible for a recent surge in COVID-19 cases.

South African authorities believe that the 501.V2 strain is not the same as the virus variant recently found in the UK. DW reported South African scientists are studying if the COVID-19 vaccines will protect people against the country's new strain.

Public Health England confirmed late on December 21, 2020, a novel variant has been identified which has spread rapidly within the UK. We have assessed this variant as having substantially increased transmissibility with high confidence.

The Kent cluster, when examined in the national phylogeny, is part of a larger cluster, which is phylogenetically very distinct from the rest of the UK dataset. These cases were concentrated in Kent and NE London, with limited spread into the rest of London, Anglia, and Essex.

Much less is known about the other spike variants present in this cluster, with the exception of D614G which is well characterized and already highly prevalent in the UK. Their significance cannot be judged at present, stated PHE.

Innovation Pharmaceuticals announced that the U.S. FDA had approved the Company’s Investigational New Drug application to proceed with the Phase 2 clinical trial of Brilacidin in hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

Brilacidin’s potent in vitro inhibition of the Washington and Italian strains of SARS-CoV-2 supports its potential to inhibit emerging coronavirus mutations (variants), such as those in the United Kingdom, Denmark, and South Africa.

"Even with vaccines starting to be rolled out, it will be many more months for them to reach the masses and potentially years before vaccines are available worldwide,” commented Leo Ehrlich, CEO at Innovation Pharmaceuticals, in a press statement. “We have great hopes Brilacidin will emerge as a novel therapeutic to help fight the global pandemic.”

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has suspended all international commercial flights for one week amid reports of the appearance of a new mutated strain of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in several European countries, including the United Kingdom, the Saudi Press Agency reported late December 20, 2020.

In addition to the suspension of international travel except for emergency cases, entry to the Kingdom through land and seaports is temporarily suspended for one week, which can be extended for another week.

Furthermore, anyone who has returned to the Kingdom from one of the European countries or any country where the new strain has appeared after 08/12/2020, as determined by the Ministry of Health, must adhere to the following: Home isolation for two weeks, starting from the date of entering the Kingdom; Take a COVID-19 test during the isolation period and retake the test every five days.