Author Archives: Denise Bell
BioUtah Mourns Loss of Soft Cell Founder and CEO, John “Brent” Hunt
BioUtah and Utah’s life sciences community mourns the death of one our own, John “Brent” Hunt, age 59. He was founder and CEO of Soft Cell Biological Research (Soft Cell). Soft Cell issued a press release following his passing. According to a report by KSL, he was reported missing on Friday, May 4 after failing […]
LabCorp Expands Access to At-Home COVID-19 Collection Test Kits; Lab Association Pushes for Federal Funding
On May 12, LabCorp announced that its COVID-19 at-home collection test kit is now available to individuals who have symptoms for COVID-19 as well as individuals without symptoms who may have been exposed to the virus. The diagnostic test, which uses a swab, is available through the company’s Pixel by LabCorp™ online platform. Last month, […]
House Democrats Move to Pass $3 Trillion COVID-19 Relief Package
House Democrats have proposed a new $3 trillion relief package, titled the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act, which would increase funding for state and local governments, extend unemployment benefits, and designate special funding for frontline healthcare workers and first responders. Republicans have pushed back over the timing and priorities of the […]
Governor Herbert Says Most of Utah Will Move from “Orange” to “Yellow” This Weekend
Governor Herbert announced at a press conference on Thursday that most of Utah will move from the moderate-risk phase (orange), to low-risk phase (yellow) this weekend. Grand, Summit and Wasatch counties, as well as Salt Lake City and West Valley City, however, will remain under moderate-risk guidelines. Salt Lake City Airport will also remain in […]
NIH Launches Rapid Acceleration Diagnostics (RADx) Initiative
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has launched the Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) initiative, aimed at speeding innovation, development and commercialization of COVID-19 testing technologies. The initiative, which some have dubbed the “Shark Tank” of diagnostics, is supported by $1.5 billion in federal stimulus funds, and includes a call for innovative technologies in which […]
Utah COVID-19 Commercial Rental Assistance Program
Governor Gary Herbert has launched a COVID-19 Commercial Rental Assistance Program which grants $40 million in rental relief to Utah small businesses that have lost revenue as a result of measures taken during the pandemic to minimize the public’s exposure to COVID-19. The program will fund up to a month of rent for affected companies […]
Utah’s Control Medical Technology Gets FDA Clearance for New Mechanical Thrombectomy Platform
Control Medical Technology announced on May 7 that the FDA cleared the company’s Control 7 – 11F Mechanical Thrombectomy platform to remove blood clots from peripheral vessels. The device provides clinicians with a more cost-effective tool to remove blood clots. “This FDA clearance quadruples our product offering and improves our ability to help patients,” said […]
FDA Requires Review of COVID-19 Antibody Tests
To ensure the accuracy of COVID-19 antibody tests and guard against fraudulent testing claims, the FDA recently announced that it would update its March 16, 2020 guidance and start requiring serology test developers to obtain an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA). The agency has also outlined test performance expectations. Manufacturers that have already commercialized product based […]
Senate Democrats Announce Legislation to Federalize Medical Supply Chain
Senate Democrats, led by U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Chris Murphy (D-CT), have announced legislation, The Medical Supply, Transparency and Delivery Act that lays out a framework for federalizing the response to COVID-19, including oversight and transparency related to the supply chain for critical medical supplies and equipment. The bill would require the president to utilize all available authorities under the […]
GAO Report Calls for Federal Action to Better Respond to the Impact of Antibiotic Resistance
The General Accounting Office (GAO) has released a report titled, “Antibiotic Resistance: Additional Federal Actions Needed to Better Determine Magnitude and Reduce Impact”. The report was conducted at the request of of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and House Energy and Commerce Committees. GAO was asked to review federal efforts related to (1) […]
AdvaMed Requests Tariff Exclusions for COVID-19 Related Medical Technology Products
Last week, AdvaMed sent a letter to the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), urging that additional tariff exclusions be granted for medical devices, components and supplies coming from China needed in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. In the letter to USTR, AdvaMed requested tariff exclusions for more than 80 medical product […]
DeGette, Upton Outline Proposed “Cures 2.0”
U.S. Represetatives. Diana DeGette (D-CO) and Fred Upton (R-MI) have announced the concept paper for their bipartisan “Cures 2.0.” The concept paper outlines six key areas of focus for Cures 2.0, which seeks to modernize the delivery of healthcare in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The six areas of focus are: Public Health Caregiver […]
