Rise and shine, another busy day is on the way. We can tell because our official mascot is bounding about the castle at high speed, eager for a stroll about the neighborhood. Happily, Mrs. Pharmalot is pitching in. As for us, we are recovering after a brief trip where we met interesting people and are now recovering with a needed cup or three of stimulation. Our choice this morning is pumpkin spice with a spot of almond milk. Yum. Meanwhile, here is the usual menu of tidbits. We hope you have a smashing day and, as always, do keep in touch. …
The U.S. National Institutes of Health scientists played “a major role” in developing the Moderna (MRNA) Covid-19 vaccine and NIH Director Francis Collins says the agency intends to defend its claim as co-owner of patents on the shot, Reuters writes. Moderna excluded three NIH scientists as co-inventors of a central patent for its vaccine in its application filed in July. Moderna expects 2021 sales of $15 billion to $18 billion from the COVID-19 vaccine — its first and only commercial product — and up to $22 billion next year. Moderna acknowledged that NIH scientists played a “substantial role” in developing the vaccine, but disagrees with NIH patent claims.
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) reached an agreement to make its one-dose Covid-19 vaccine available to an arm of the COVAX facility that is focusing on providing shots to around 167 million displaced people around the world, Pharmaphorum says. The World Health Organization-backed program is already working to deliver vaccines to lower-income countries, but earlier this year set up a new mechanism — called the COVAX Humanitarian Buffer — to deliver jabs to people in conflict zones or other settings that make access via health care systems almost impossible. The buffer has been allocated 5% of all supplies of vaccines to COVAX, and J&J said it will start deliveries of its vaccine within the next few days.
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