covid-19 Archives - Page 111 of 113 - Medical Design Sourcing

Groups release guidance on medtech reps’ return to hospitals

A handful of medical organizations released guidelines today on the safe return of medtech company representatives to healthcare facilities during the coronavirus pandemic.

The guidance released today by AdvaMed, the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) and the American Hospital Association (AHA) builds on the April 17 joint statement by AHA, AORN, the American College of Surgeons, and the American Society of Anesthesiologists on the resumption of elective surgeries.

Several medical device companies, especially those in orthopedics, have suffered major drops in sales since the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recommended in March that healthcare providers postpone elective procedures until further notice to preserve personal protective equipment. The CMS decision followed one by the American College of Surgeons calling for hospitals to “minimize, postpone or cancel” elective procedures until the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak s…

Moderna prices $1.3 public offering following positive COVID-19 vaccine results

Shortly after touting positive results from its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, Moderna announced the pricing of an offering of 17.6 million shares of its common stock.

The Cambridge, Mass.-based clinical-stage biotechnology company announced yesterday that it received positive interim clinical data from trials for its mRNA-1273 vaccine candidate against coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2).

Get the full story at our sister site, MassDevice.

Moderna prices $1.3b public offering following positive COVID-19 vaccine results

Shortly after touting positive results from its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, Moderna announced the pricing of an offering of 17.6 million shares of its common stock.

The Cambridge, Mass.-based clinical-stage biotechnology company announced yesterday that it received positive interim clinical data from trials for its mRNA-1273 vaccine candidate against coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2).

Moderna’s underwritten public offering, announced late last night, includes the 17.6 million common stock shares priced at $76 per share. The company is also granting underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 2.64 million shares of common stock at the public offering price.

All shares of common stock are being offered by Moderna, with gross proceeds expected to reach approximately $1.34 billion. The company expects the offering to close on or about May 21.

Morgan Stanley is acting as sole book-running manager for the offering.

Medela to produce 10,000 suction pumps for COVID-19 patients

(Image from Medela)

Medela announced today that it will open a new manufacturing line in the U.S. for its Vario 18 AC portable suction pumps, which provide suction and fluid removal during respiratory treatment provided by ventilators.

The company said it will produce 10,000 units beginning in June from its Americas headquarters in McHenry, Ill. to help meet the ongoing needs of hospitals and other healthcare facilities treating COVID-19 patients throughout North America.

Get the full story on our sister site, Medical Design & Outsourcing.

Moderna reports positive early data out of COVID-19 vaccine trial

Moderna today touted positive interim clinical data from trials for its mRNA-1273 vaccine candidate against coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2).

The Phase I study, led by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), recorded positive early results from the first eight people tested, each of whom received two doses of the vaccine candidate beginning in march.

Get the full story at our sister site, Drug Discovery & Development.

Moderna reports positive early data out of COVID-19 vaccine trial

Moderna today touted positive interim clinical data from trials for its mRNA-1273 vaccine candidate against coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2).

The Phase I study, led by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), recorded positive early results from the first eight people tested, each of whom received two doses of the vaccine candidate beginning in march.

Get the full story at our sister site, Drug Discovery & Development.

When it comes to germicidal lights bought online, buyer beware

EE World brought out some testing equipment to evaluate germicidal lights [Image courtesy of EE World]

During the coronavirus pandemic, there’s been a lot of interest in using germicidal lamps to disinfect surfaces rather than hosing everything down with bleach or disinfectant. But there have been reports that a lot of the germicidal lights based on LEDs are actually fake. So we did a little test.

Our WTWH Media sister publication EE World went online and bought two germicidal lights, one based on a conventional low-pressure tube, the other which used LEDs. And we ran our test to see what we really had.

Check it out:

This textile coating could repel viruses like COVID-19

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have developed a washable textile coating that repels viruses.

Textiles and materials used in personal protective equipment can absorb and carry viruses and bacteria and spread diseases without the healthcare worker knowing. Because PPEs are in short supply during the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers are finding ways to provide better protection while allowing for the safe reuse of the protective equipment, according to the LAMP Lab researchers at the university.

“Recently there’s been a focus on blood-repellent surfaces, and we were interested in achieving this with mechanical durability,” lead author of the study Anthony Galante said in a news release. “We want to push the boundary on what is possible with these types of surfaces, and especially given the current pandemic, we knew it’d be important to test against viruses.”

The coating is made to withstand ultrasonic washing, scru…

Report: 3M settles respirator price-gouging case

N95 respirator [Image from the FDA]

3M (NYSE:MMM) has settled one of several price-gouging lawsuits it filed recently over its N95 respirators, according to a report by Law360.

The lawsuit, filed April 30 in federal court in Tallahassee, Fla., had accused Atlanta, Ga.-based 1 Ignite Capital LLC, Institutional Financial Sales LLC, and Auta Lopes of attempting to sell 10 million N95 respirators to the Florida Division of Emergency Management at nearly 460% over list prices, and for falsely claiming that they were working with 3M.

In a filing on Friday, Maplewood, Minn.-based 3M said it had reached a settlement with the company to end the lawsuit, Law360 reported. Terms were not disclosed.

The company filed a total of 10 such lawsuits in April and said it will donate any damages recovered to COVID-19-related nonprofit organizations.

3M did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Fri…

FDA authorizes at-home COVID-19 test kit

(Image from Unsplash)

The FDA announced that it issued emergency use authorization for Everlywell’s at-home sample collection kit for COVID-19 diagnostic testing.

Everlywell’s kit has authorization for use by individuals at home who have been screened using an online questionnaire that is reviewed by a healthcare provider. The collection kit can then be sent to specified laboratories for COVID-19 testing.

The FDA also authorized two COVID-19 diagnostic tests (under two separate EUAs) for use with samples collected using the Everlywell COVID-19 home collection kit. The administration is open to authorizing additional tests should data be submitted that demonstrates the accuracy of the test when used with Everlywell’s kit.

Using the Everlywell kit that contains nasal swabs, a sample is collected from inside the patient’s nose and used with a tube filled with saline to tran…

Medtech 100 roundup: Stocks dip slightly after strong start to month

Medtech stocks ticked down over the course of last week as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to bear economic ramifications.

MassDevice’s MedTech 100 Index — which includes stocks of the world’s largest medical device companies — sat at 82.4 points at the end of last week (May 15). That total represents a -1.9% decline from the 83.98-point total at the same time a week prior (May 8).

The lowest point during the pandemic remains at 62.13 on March 23. Since then, medtech stocks have experienced 32.6% growth in total. However, they are still down -10.7% since the index’s pre-pandemic crash high point of 92.32 on Feb. 19.

Compared to the S&P 500 Index, which experienced a -2.2% increase from May 8 to May 15, the medtech index took a similarly small dip. The Dow Jones Index suffered even more with a -2.6% decline over the same period of time.

More often than not, recent earnings reports are revealing negative results in large part due to COVID-19. E…

Small study yields ‘really good news’ for COVID-19 vaccine odds

Alba Grifoni, a postdoctoral researcher in the Sette lab and study first co-author, tests the T cell response in blood samples collected from individuals who have recovered from COVID-19. (Image from the La Jolla Institute of Immunology)

Scientists at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology have documented a robust antiviral immune response to SARS-CoV-2 in a group of 20 adults who had recovered from COVID-19.

Their work, published in today’s online edition of Cell, show that the body’s immune system is able to recognize SARS-CoV-2 in many ways, dispelling fears that the virus may elude ongoing efforts to create an effective vaccine.

The collaboration between the labs of Alessandro Sette and Shane Crotty, both professors at the institute’s Center for Infectious Disease and Vaccine Research, offers some good news for vaccine developers and is providing the first cellular immunology data to help guide soc…