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Interim results show Oxford COVID-19 vaccine protects against symptomatic disease

First full results from interim analysis confirm that the Oxford COVID-19 vaccine (AZD1222) has an acceptable safety profile and is efficacious against symptomatic COVID-19 disease, with no hospitalizations or severe disease reported in the COVID-19 vaccine group so far.

9 Dec 2020

New 'nanoPCR' technology can accurately diagnose COVID-19 in less than 20 minutes

A "nanoPCR" technology was developed for the point-of-care (POC) diagnosis of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19).

8 Dec 2020

New diagnostic technology accurately tests for anemia, sickle cell disease

Researchers from Case Western Reserve University presented research today in which Hemex Health's Gazelle platform diagnostic technology successfully tested 46 patients with 100% sensitivity and over 92.3% specificity for anemia and with 100% accuracy for hemoglobin variants.

7 Dec 2020

KU Leuven vaccine candidate works against yellow fever and SARS-CoV-2 infection

Virologists at the Rega Institute at KU Leuven (Belgium) have developed a vaccine candidate against Covid-19 based on the yellow fever vaccine, which as a result also works against yellow fever. Results published today in Nature show that the vaccine protects hamsters from infection with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus after a single dose.

1 Dec 2020

New Timestrip indicators to support the use of promising coronavirus vaccines

Timestrip®, the developer of smart indicator technology, has moved fast to develop a range of products that support use of the coronavirus vaccines now promising to become available.

16 Nov 2020

New process helps preserve viral vaccines without refrigeration

Ever receive a vaccination that seemed to burn a lot while it was injected? The vaccine solution likely contained a lot of salt or sugar -; natural preservatives that help keep it stable, in addition to the cold temperature at which it was kept.

12 Nov 2020

EKF launches PrimeStore® MTM pathogenic sample collection and transportation kit

EKF Diagnostics, the global in-vitro diagnostics company, announces that it has launched a PrimeStore® MTM sample collection kit.

From EKF Diagnostics 26 Oct 2020

Biomimetic virus-like particles for safer positive controls in SARS-CoV-2 detection

In an attempt to overcome these issues, a team of researchers from various departments at the University of California San Diego recently proposed using biomimetic virus-like particles (VLPs) as positive controls for assays used in SARS-CoV-2 detection. Their study is published on the preprint server bioRxiv.

23 Oct 2020

Eliminating the Cold Chain with COVID-19 Molecular Transport Media

In this interview, Rebekah Stibbs from EKF Diagnostics talks to News-Medical about eliminating the cold chain with COVID-19 molecular transport media.

From EKF Diagnostics 21 Oct 2020

Study presents new framework to assess urban food waste policies and initiatives

Food waste is one of the most important issues of current food systems: Food and Agriculture Organization has estimated that more than one third of food is either lost or wasted along the entire food supply chain causing significant economic, social and environmental impacts.

20 Oct 2020

Feasibility of using dry reagents LAMP assay for SARS-CoV-2 detection

In a new study published on the preprint server medRxiv, researchers evaluated the suitability of the Loopamp SARS-CoV-2 Detection kit from Eiken Chemica, Japan, for detecting SARS-CoV-2. This is a LAMP method that uses dry reagents for RNA amplification.

5 Oct 2020

Self-collection of blood for COVID-19 antibody testing may be a reliable and easy alternative

Some evidence suggests that IgGs appear at 6-15 days after infection and may persist for months. However, large-scale testing over time is required to understand the immunological response to COVID-19 with greater accuracy. A recent pilot study published on the preprint server medRxiv in September 2020 reports the use of self-collected capillary blood for serology, with highly promising results.

29 Sep 2020

PrimeStore® MTM novel viral transport media successfully evaluated by Public Health England for SARS-CoV-2 inactivation

EKF Diagnostics announces that the novel viral transport media PrimeStore® MTM has been successfully evaluated for effective SARS-CoV-2 inactivation.

From EKF Diagnostics 29 Sep 2020

Pooled saliva testing increases COVID-19 testing capacity

Now, a new study by researchers at Yale School of Medicine and published on the preprint server medRxiv in September 2020 shows that pooled saliva samples can save resources and increase testing capacity, making a significant difference in the management of the pandemic.

7 Sep 2020

Promising new candidate 'virus-like particle' vaccine for COVID-19

Researchers in the UK and Taiwan have demonstrated the potential of a new candidate vaccine against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – the virus responsible for the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

1 Sep 2020

Preclinical studies of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate show positive results

Preclinical studies of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate at the University of Alabama at Birmingham show positive results that appear to distinguish this vaccine candidate from other vaccine candidates that are currently in advanced stages of clinical development, the Maryland-based Altimmune Inc. announced today.

25 Aug 2020

Encouraging results from Phase I NovaVax SARS-CoV-2 nanoparticle vaccine trial

NVX-CoV2373, a recombinant nanoparticle vaccine developed by Novavax and manufactured at Emergent Biosolutions, was found to be well tolerated and immunogenic – inducing T-cell response and neutralization antibodies four-fold higher than the mean observed in hospitalized coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients, shows a recent study available on the medRxiv* preprint server.

9 Aug 2020