August 2020
After the end of the Brexit transition period, EU rules on clinical trials will no longer, by default, apply to the UK. This article from law firm Mishcon de Reya LLP analyses the effect of Brexit on the life sciences industry, not least the changes that will occur to the conduct of clinical trials both in the EU and UK: mishcon.com/news/clinical-trials-after-the-end-of-the-brexit-transition-period. USA registration will also be affected: fda.gov/about-fda/office-global-operations/europe-office
The Global Analytical Laboratory Services Market is expected to grow from USD 652.14 Million in 2019 to USD 1,281.00 Million by the end of 2025 at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 11.90%:
Globally, clinical trials have rebounded after the COVID-19 crash, but - asks Eli Cahan, an intern on the News staff of the journal Science - can enrollment gains continue?
The UK government is streaming an additional £100 million into ensuring that any COVID-19 vaccine making it to the finish line can be produced at scale in the UK. The investment will fund a state-of-the-art Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult Manufacturing Innovation Centre in Braintree, Essex:
Entries are invited for the 2020 Clinical Trials Arena Excellence Awards, celebrating and recognising the achievements of the individuals and companies in clinical trials. Entries are free and the deadline for submissions is Friday 4 September 2020. Winners will be announced on Thursday 3 December 2020:
Testing the quality of vaccines by using laboratory animals has to change, according to researchers from Leiden University and the vaccinological institute Intravacc:
Scientific testing on animals has fallen to its lowest level in England, Scotland and Wales since 2007, Home Office official figures show. 3.4 million scientific testing procedures were carried out on live animals in Britain in 2019r, a fall of 3% from 2018:
annual-statistics-scientific-procedures-living-animals-2019.pdf
In the United States the Department of Energy’s (DOE) 17 national laboratories are mobilising on a national scale to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, launching the National Virtual Biotechnology Laboratory (NVBL): newswise.com
The University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine is running two clinical trials to test infusing blood plasma from recovered/convalescent patients into sick patients as a treatment for COVID-19, and will - unusually - include pregnant women:
Novartis has launched a not-for-profit portfolio of COVID-19 treatments. The company’s Sandoz division is offering 15 generic and OTC medicines to be sold at zero profit to low-and middle-income countries to treat the virus until a vaccine or curative treatment is available:
