Can kids play sports yet?—and other COVID-19 questions

When WILL we have a vaccine? Should we be concerned about safety given how quickly vaccines have moved through clinical trials? Yesterday, BIO President and CEO Dr. Michelle McMurry-Heath answered some of these questions for MSNBC’s Chuck Todd.

Some schools are trying to restart sports. Is this realistic? “We definitely have to be realistic in terms of working ourselves and our lives around the potential availability of a vaccine,” she said.

But we’re getting there: Two vaccine candidates, from BIO members Moderna and Pfizer, moved to phase 3 trials this week—doing in just seven months what took the polio vaccine four years.

Should we be concerned about the speed? “I do know, as a former FDA official, that absolutely no corners will be cut in the development of vaccines here in the United States,” she continued. 

What about changes to the clinical trial process—like combining phases 2 and 3? “Over the last decade or so we’ve seen a lot of evolution in how clinical trials are performed,” she explained. “Now, our scientists are working hand-in-hand with officials at the FDA to adapt their clinical trial design as new knowledge emerges, and they are pivoting on a dime to respond to needs and to respond to patient reactions. So, I think this is good news that we’re seeing an organic process by the FDA to really make sure we are responding to the needs of the American public.”

Watch:

Get the latest updates on the COVID-19 pipeline.

More Health Care News:

STAT News: How the world made so much progress on a COVID-19 vaccine so fast
“The colossal impact of the coronavirus is motivating the speed, opening a spigot of funding and inspiring research teams around the world to join the hunt. But the astonishing pace of the progress is also a consequence of the virus itself: It is, scientifically speaking, an easier target for potential vaccines than other pathogens, and a prime candidate for cutting-edge vaccine platforms new to scientists’ toolkits.” 

Wired: Anthony Fauci explains why the U.S. still hasn’t beaten COVID
He’s worried about anti-science rhetoric.

BIO member Twist Bioscience Corporation just announced two new SARS-CoV-2 antibody panels for use in research—which could allow drug manufacturers to develop therapeutics and diagnostics much more quickly and with less risk.

Twist Bioscience Corporation is a synthetic biology and genomics company that has developed a “disruptive DNA synthesis platform” to manufacture DNA at the scale needed for drug R&D, biochemicals, agriculture, and more.

The first SARS-CoV-2 antibody panel includes 32 human antibodies that bind with the virus’s spike protein.

And the second includes 48 antibodies that bind to the ACE2 receptor on human cells, which is the receptor that facilitates the entry of the COVID-19 virus into the cells.  

Manufacturing synthetic DNA eliminates the need for researchers to use the live virus, which is faster and less risky all around.

Why it matters: “By leveraging our unique ability to manufacture DNA at scale, we can construct proprietary antibody libraries precisely designed to match sequences that occur in the human body,” said the company. “This precise and rational approach…combined with sophisticated bioinformatics and software expertise expedites antibody discovery by decreasing risk, increasing speed, and lowering the failure rate for antibody therapeutic development.” 

This is another example of the need to support the bioeconomy—and how the biotech industry can ensure scientists have the tools they need to treat and stop this deadly virus.

More Agriculture and Environment News:

The New York Times: How COVID-19 made it easier to talk about climate change
“That’s because the connections between the pandemic and climate crisis are clear, starting with the fact that people of color—Black and Latino folks—are dying at far higher rates from COVID. And there’s already at least one study showing how COVID deaths are correlated with exposure to toxic air pollution,” says Rhiana Gunn-Wright, a climate policy director and architect of the Green New Deal.