COVID-19 testing capacity in hospitals and surgery centers should be doubled before elective surgeries fully resume, a recent survey of 150 U.S. hospitals and surgery centers found.
The survey was conducted April 27-30 by Premier, a group purchasing organization.
Eighty-seven percent of the respondents said their facilities intend
to test any patient admitted for an elective procedure for COVID-19, but
only 27 percent said they were currently able to do so.
According to the survey, hospitals and healthcare facilities need to
expand their current COVID-19 diagnostic testing capacity by at least
211 percent to even partially resume elective procedures and diagnostic
services.
Of the respondents, 81 percent said they intend to screen all
employees for symptoms of COVID-19 before resuming nonemergency
procedures, but only 32 percent said they’d be able to give COVID-19
diagnostic tests to all of their front-line healthcare workers. Only 22
percent said they’re able to test all employees, including food service
workers and janitors.
The survey indicates that shortages of reagents and testing swabs are the main barriers to more widespread testing.
Read the full survey here.
https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/supply-chain/coronavirus-testing-insufficient-to-resume-elective-surgeries-poll-of-hospitals-says.html
Friday, May 8, 2020
Meridian Bioscience Raises Guidance on Strength of COVID-19 Related Products
Meridian Bioscience, Inc. (NASDAQ: VIVO) today announced financial results for the second quarter ended March 31, 2020.
Second Quarter Fiscal 2020 Highlights:
Second Quarter Fiscal 2020 Highlights:
- Consolidated Net Revenue of $57.3 million, up 14% year-over-year
- Life Science segment responded early and swiftly to the COVID-19 pandemic contributing to a record $22.4 million in revenues, up 33% year-over-year
- Diagnostics segment delivered over $34.9 million in revenue, the fifth consecutive quarter above $33 million and year-over-year growth for the first time in five quarters
- During the quarter, the Curian® analyzer and HpSA® assay received FDA clearance, the first internally developed new product in several years and the first of several in development
Jack Kenny, Chief Executive Officer, commented: “We
had an extraordinary quarter on many fronts, led by our Life Science
team’s rapid response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our raw materials were
included in millions of molecular tests globally and soon will be in
millions more rapid antibody tests. Our Diagnostics segment delivered
growth, soon to be supplemented with the contribution from our new
Curian analyzer and assay. Our strategic initiatives are setting the
foundation for growth, and I am excited about what’s to come.”
Bryan Baldasare, Chief Financial Officer, commented:
“Despite the turmoil of the COVID-19 pandemic, our financial position
remains strong. Demand for our Life Science products is unprecedented.
We have confidence in the direction of the business and are raising our
guidance for the year.”
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/05/08/2030293/0/en/Meridian-Bioscience-Reports-Second-Quarter-2020-Operating-Results-Raises-Guidance-on-Strength-of-COVID-19-Related-Products.html
Protagonist Therapeutics extends cash runway on focused plan for lead drug
Thinly traded micro cap Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) is up 16% premarket on light volume on the heels of its announcement that it has chosen polycythemia vera,
a type of blood cancer in which the bone marrow produces too many red
blood cells, as the first indication for lead candidate PTG-300.
PTG-300
is a mimetic (“imitates” the action of) a natural peptide hormone
called hepcidin that regulates iron absorption and utilization in the
body and plays an essential role in the development of red blood cells.
The company says it is focusing its resources on
this indication and has decided to defer the start of a Phase 2 study of
PN-943 in ulcerative colitis which will reduce expenses and extend its
cash runway an additional six months through mid-2022.
https://seekingalpha.com/news/3572151-protagonist-therapeutics-extends-cash-runway-on-focused-plan-for-lead-drugApple reopening some U.S. stores next week
Starting next week, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) will reopen retail stores in Alabama, Alaska, Idaho, and South Carolina.
Apple has 271 stores in the United States, but only six in the reopening states.
The stores will have safety measures in place,
including temperature checks, social distancing requirements, limits on
the number of customers inside, and face masks for employees.
Most Apple stores outside of China have been
closed since March due to the coronavirus pandemic. The tech giant has
recently reopened a few locations in South Korea, Australia, and
Germany.
For now, the retail stores will focus on fixing products rather than pushing the sales of new products like the low-cost iPhone SE or the new MacBook and iPad models.
Despite the closure, Apple’s recent earnings report included record retail sales, bolstered by “off the charts” online sales.
https://seekingalpha.com/news/3572313-apple-reopening-u-s-stores-next-weekCopper takes aim at COVID-19 with virus-killer coatings
At an outer suburban manufacturing plant, engineer Byron Kennedy is
resetting a machine to spray-print a layer of copper on to a door
handle, aiming to use the metal’s antiviral properties to counter the
threat of the COVID-19 pandemic.
His firm Spee3D is better known as a producer of 3D printers for
copper and aluminium, used by customers including the Australian defence
force and U.S. Marines to rapidly print new parts to get broken
equipment back in action without waiting days for spares to arrive.
“Up until the end of last year, our business was building the 3D printers, which were then used to build parts,” Spee3D co-founder Kennedy told Reuters.
“Come 2020, and the epidemic hits. We know about the antimicrobial properties of copper, so we thought ‘Can we do something, can we help out here?’”
Copper’s disinfectant powers have long been known and its antibacterial, antiviral and anti-fungal properties have been supported by scientific studies.
Spee3D commissioned Melbourne laboratory 360biolabs to look at how SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, reacts to copper surfaces.
The results showed that 96% of the virus was killed off in two hours and 99.2% in 5 hours, compared to no change on stainless steel surfaces over the same period, Kennedy said.
This is in line with a U.S.-government funded study bit.ly/2WdhxZR published in March that found SARS-CoV-2 remained viable for up to 4 hours on copper, compared with 2 to 3 days on plastic and stainless steel.
Spee3D then reset some of its machines to be able to coat surfaces such as door handles and push plates, and has already received orders from two Australian government departments to resurface door handles before staff return to work.
The Northern Territory’s Trade, Business and Innovation Department said in a statement it was thrilled to adopt the technology to make its workplace safer.
The firm is also speaking with a big miner and several major door handle manufacturers about additional applications, Kennedy said.
SLOW TAKE-UP
Copper had already been making some inroads into the healthcare
sector after trials in hospitals, including in the U.S. state of
Virginia here(16)30696-4/fulltext, in recent years.
However, attempts by fabricators in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan to sell copper alloy products into the sector resulted in only a modest take-up, partly due to costs, said John Fennell, Chief Executive of the International Copper Association Australia.
“We are seeing outcrops of people adopting this, but not as much as you would have thought,” he said.
COVID-19 looks set to give the metal a boost.
In major copper producer Chile, the country’s mines minister recently touted the use of copper in face masks, such as those produced by a U.S.-Chilean company, while U.S. miner Freeport McMoRan believes the pandemic will shine a light on how copper can help improve public health.
“Copper’s use in health care equipment and facilities and in public places will undoubtedly grow significantly when the cost of copper, which has been a barrier in the past, is measured by the enormous cost to society that is being brought on by this pandemic,” Freeport Chief Executive Richard Adkerson told a briefing last week.
New manufacturing techniques like 3D printing are also a potential game-changer as they can allow ultra-thin coatings to be applied quickly, while still taking advantage of copper’s antimicrobial properties and cutting the amount of metal used, and therefore the cost.
The price of coating a standard office door handle is about
A$50-A$100 ($33-$65), says Kennedy, although costs will fall over time.
Disappointing copper bulls, it’s likely the new coating methods will keep a lid on the amount of metal used in healthcare, said analyst Lachlan Shaw of National Australia Bank in Melbourne.
“I think we can confidently say demand for copper for those uses will go up, quite possibly by a lot. Is that going to shift the dial for global demand? At this stage I doubt it,” he said.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-copper-antimicrobi/copper-takes-aim-at-covid-19-with-virus-killer-coatings-idUSKBN22K0RX
“Up until the end of last year, our business was building the 3D printers, which were then used to build parts,” Spee3D co-founder Kennedy told Reuters.
“Come 2020, and the epidemic hits. We know about the antimicrobial properties of copper, so we thought ‘Can we do something, can we help out here?’”
Copper’s disinfectant powers have long been known and its antibacterial, antiviral and anti-fungal properties have been supported by scientific studies.
Spee3D commissioned Melbourne laboratory 360biolabs to look at how SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, reacts to copper surfaces.
The results showed that 96% of the virus was killed off in two hours and 99.2% in 5 hours, compared to no change on stainless steel surfaces over the same period, Kennedy said.
This is in line with a U.S.-government funded study bit.ly/2WdhxZR published in March that found SARS-CoV-2 remained viable for up to 4 hours on copper, compared with 2 to 3 days on plastic and stainless steel.
Spee3D then reset some of its machines to be able to coat surfaces such as door handles and push plates, and has already received orders from two Australian government departments to resurface door handles before staff return to work.
The Northern Territory’s Trade, Business and Innovation Department said in a statement it was thrilled to adopt the technology to make its workplace safer.
The firm is also speaking with a big miner and several major door handle manufacturers about additional applications, Kennedy said.
SLOW TAKE-UP
However, attempts by fabricators in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan to sell copper alloy products into the sector resulted in only a modest take-up, partly due to costs, said John Fennell, Chief Executive of the International Copper Association Australia.
“We are seeing outcrops of people adopting this, but not as much as you would have thought,” he said.
COVID-19 looks set to give the metal a boost.
In major copper producer Chile, the country’s mines minister recently touted the use of copper in face masks, such as those produced by a U.S.-Chilean company, while U.S. miner Freeport McMoRan believes the pandemic will shine a light on how copper can help improve public health.
“Copper’s use in health care equipment and facilities and in public places will undoubtedly grow significantly when the cost of copper, which has been a barrier in the past, is measured by the enormous cost to society that is being brought on by this pandemic,” Freeport Chief Executive Richard Adkerson told a briefing last week.
New manufacturing techniques like 3D printing are also a potential game-changer as they can allow ultra-thin coatings to be applied quickly, while still taking advantage of copper’s antimicrobial properties and cutting the amount of metal used, and therefore the cost.
Disappointing copper bulls, it’s likely the new coating methods will keep a lid on the amount of metal used in healthcare, said analyst Lachlan Shaw of National Australia Bank in Melbourne.
“I think we can confidently say demand for copper for those uses will go up, quite possibly by a lot. Is that going to shift the dial for global demand? At this stage I doubt it,” he said.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-copper-antimicrobi/copper-takes-aim-at-covid-19-with-virus-killer-coatings-idUSKBN22K0RX
NIH begins study of remdesivir with anti-inflammatory drug to treat COVID-19
The National Institutes of Health said on Friday it has started a
clinical study to test a combination of Gilead Sciences Inc’s antiviral
drug remdesivir and anti-inflammatory drug baricitinib in COVID-19
patients.
The trial is currently enrolling adults hospitalized with COVID-19 in the United States and is expected to study the treatment combination in more than 1,000 participants. (bit.ly/2YM0tfp)
Baricitinib, which is marketed under brand name Olumiant by Eli Lilly and Co, was being tested as a potential treatment for hospitalized patients diagnosed with COVID-19.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-remdesivir/nih-begins-study-of-remdesivir-with-anti-inflammatory-drug-to-treat-covid-19-idUSKBN22K2M7
The trial is currently enrolling adults hospitalized with COVID-19 in the United States and is expected to study the treatment combination in more than 1,000 participants. (bit.ly/2YM0tfp)
Baricitinib, which is marketed under brand name Olumiant by Eli Lilly and Co, was being tested as a potential treatment for hospitalized patients diagnosed with COVID-19.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-remdesivir/nih-begins-study-of-remdesivir-with-anti-inflammatory-drug-to-treat-covid-19-idUSKBN22K2M7
Study suggests Abbott COVID-19 antibody test highly likely to give correct result
Abbott Laboratories’ antibody test for the new coronavirus is highly
likely to correctly determine whether people have ever been infected
with the fast-spreading virus, the company said, citing a U.S. study.
Researchers at the University of Washington School of Medicine report in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology (bit.ly/2SKTVcQ) that Abbott’s test had a specificity of 99.9% and a sensitivity of 100%, suggesting very few false positives and no false negatives.
Antibody tests can tell whether a person has ever been infected and are considered crucial in efforts to get Americans back to work safely as the presence of antibodies to the virus indicates possible immunity to future infection.
Abbott’s test was launched last month under the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s relaxed rules for some coronavirus tests, allowing their distribution before regulatory clearance. It has since received emergency use authorization from the FDA.
Abbott has already shipped more than 10 million antibody tests to hospitals and labs.
Roche Holding AG has said its antibody test has a specificity rate of
more than 99.8% and sensitivity rate of 100%, and expects to ramp-up
production to make more than 100 million tests a month by the end of the
year.
Roche’s test has also received emergency use authorization from the FDA.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-abbott/study-suggests-abbott-covid-19-antibody-test-highly-likely-to-give-correct-results-idUSKBN22K24M
Researchers at the University of Washington School of Medicine report in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology (bit.ly/2SKTVcQ) that Abbott’s test had a specificity of 99.9% and a sensitivity of 100%, suggesting very few false positives and no false negatives.
Antibody tests can tell whether a person has ever been infected and are considered crucial in efforts to get Americans back to work safely as the presence of antibodies to the virus indicates possible immunity to future infection.
Abbott’s test was launched last month under the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s relaxed rules for some coronavirus tests, allowing their distribution before regulatory clearance. It has since received emergency use authorization from the FDA.
Abbott has already shipped more than 10 million antibody tests to hospitals and labs.
Roche’s test has also received emergency use authorization from the FDA.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-abbott/study-suggests-abbott-covid-19-antibody-test-highly-likely-to-give-correct-results-idUSKBN22K24M
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)