Author Archives: Denise Bell
Senate Republicans Release HEALS Act – COVID-19 Stimulus Package
Earlier this week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell released the Republican version of a fourth COVID-19 package (or as some say, a second round of a CARES Act stimulus bill). The bill, titled the Health, Economic Assistance, Liability Protection, and Schools (HEALS) Act is actually a collection of bills. Highlights include another round of $1200 […]
President Trump Signs Drug Pricing Executive Orders, Touts “Most Favored Nation” Pricing
Last Friday, President Trump signed four executive orders aimed at lowering drug prices, including an order that would set up a “most favored nation” (MFN) pricing model for Medicare Part B drugs, effectively imposing foreign price controls on critical medicines for seniors. The goal, Trump said, is to “end global freeloading on the backs of […]
Utah Kidney Diagnostics Company Renalytix AI Announces IPO
Exciting news comes our way this week with the announcement by BioUtah member, Renalytix AI (Renalytix), that the company is going public with a global offering of an aggregate of 11,000,000 new ordinary shares – U.S. IPO priced at $13.50 per ordinary share, and a concurrent private placement in Europe and other countries outside of […]
Pfizer and BionTech Announce Agreement with U.S. Government for Up to 600 million doses of COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate
On July 22, Pfizer and BioNTech announced the execution of an agreement with the HHS and DOD to meet the U.S. government’s Operation Warp Speed program goal to begin delivering 300 million doses of a vaccine for COVID-19 in 2021. Under the agreement, the U.S. government will receive 100 million doses of BNT162, the COVID-19 […]
Utah COVID-19 Relief Programs Go Live
Last week, BioUtah News and Events, reported that a number of new grant programs established by the Utah State Legislature would be soon open for applications through the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED). This week, detailed information on three of the programs, ComRent, Safe In Utah, and Shop In Utah have come online. In […]
White House, GOP Deal on $1T COVID-19 Relief Package Takes Shape
As reported by The Hill, “White House and Senate Republicans on Thursday reached a “fundamental agreement” on a coronavirus package…” Among other items, the agreement includes: Another round of $1200 in direct payments to individuals making up to $75,000 Replacing the current $600 in federal unemployment benefits with a 70% match of a worker’s wages […]
President Trump to Sign Executive Orders to Lower Drug Prices
While the drug pricing issue has been sidelined amid the COVID-19 pandemic, President Trump is now returning to the issue with several executive orders that he is expected to sign today. According to a report by The Hill, Republican lawmakers have been invited to a presidential event on drug pricing today at 3 p.m. at […]
Sens. Warren, Sanders Slam Gilead Deal with Government while New Research Says Americans Don’t Pay Twice for Drugs
This week Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders sent a letter to HHS Secretary Alex Azar seeking an explanation for why the deal with the administration to acquire a large supply of remdesivir in their words “forces U.S. purchasers to pay the highest prices in the world for the drug” The letter requests a response […]
BioUtah Joins ‘InUtah’ Campaign
The recently launched statewide ‘In Utah’ campaign encourages protecting public health and economic reactivation as we continue to navigate COVID-19. BIoUtah has joined the ‘InUtah’ campaign as a partner to help get the word out and promote our own life sciences community. The campaign’s purpose is to educate Utahns on the opportunities and benefits of […]
Initial Data for Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine Shows Promise
On Tuesday, Moderna announced promising results from the Phase 1 study of its vaccine candidate, called mRNA-1273. The study, published in The New England Journal of Medicine showed that all 45 volunteers who received two vaccine doses developed immune responses that were stronger than in patients who have recovered from COVID-19. “These positive Phase 1 […]
New Utah COVID-19 Economic Relief Programs Take Shape
New and improved grant programs, aimed at providing economic support to Utah businesses impacted by COVID-19, are being finalized under the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED). These programs, a result of legislation, HB 5010, which passed the state legislature during a June special session, include a revamped Commercial Rental Assistance Program (ComRent), making it […]
BioFire Respiratory Panel with COVID Target Scores CE Mark
BioMerieux announced that Utah-based BioFire’s Respiratory Panel 2.1 plus, which tests for SARS-CoV-2 and 23 pathogens encompassing 19 viruses, and four bacteria that cause the most frequent respiratory tract infections, has received CE marking. “It’s exciting to see the advances that BioFire is making in COVID-19 and infectious disease diagnostics,” said Kelvyn Cullimore, president and […]
