A nationwide study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the first to show that immunity against severe COVID-19 disease begins to wane 4 months after receipt of the third dose of an mRNA vaccine (Pfizer or Moderna). Waning immunity was observed during both the Delta and Omicron variant waves in similar fashion to how mRNA vaccine effectiveness wanes after a second dose.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for bebtelovimab, an antibody that demonstrates neutralization against the Omicron variant, Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) announced today.

Uppsala researchers have succeeded in designing a molecule that inhibits the replication of coronaviruses and that has great potential for development into a drug suitable for treating COVID-19. The molecule is effective against both the new variant and previously identified coronaviruses. The article has been published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

The COVID-causing virus SARS-CoV-2 harbors a vulnerable site at the base of its spike protein that is found also on closely related coronaviruses, according to a new study from Scripps Research. The discovery, published in Science Translational Medicine, could inform the design of broad-acting vaccines and antibody therapies capable of stopping future coronavirus pandemics.

Sanofi announced the completion of its acquisition of Amunix Pharmaceuticals, Inc, adding a promising pipeline of T-cell engagers and cytokine therapies. The acquisition also provides access to Amunix Pro-XTEN, XPAT, and XPAC technology to deliver next generation Conditionally Activated Biologics.

Why some patients develop metastases and others do not is largely unclear. Researchers around ISTA professor Daria Siekhaus are now contributing to a better understanding of the process in certain types of cancer. They took a close look at the role of a protein called MFSD1 - the mammalian relative of a protein they had previously identified as affecting cell migration in fruit flies.

A study by Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center researchers published in today's print edition of Molecular Cancer Therapeutics shows that triplatin is effective against triple negative breast cancer, which is the most aggressive form of breast cancer and has few targeted therapies.

Sanofi unveiled a new bold and unifying corporate brand that supports the modernization and transformation the company launched in December 2019.

Over the last 50 years, Sanofi has grown into a diverse, global healthcare leader, with a rich heritage of patient-centric scientific discovery.

Critically ill COVID-19 patients on a mechanical ventilator or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) lived more often when randomized to receive baricitinib. Doctors call this drug 'bari,' and receiving the pill once a day for up to 14 days yielded one of the largest a survival advantages seen yet in the COVID pandemic, according to a study published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine.

Valneva SE (Nasdaq: VALN; Euronext Paris: VLA), a specialty vaccine company, and Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) today reported further positive Phase 2 data for their Lyme disease vaccine candidate, VLA15. Based on these new results, Valneva and Pfizer plan to proceed with a three-dose primary series vaccination schedule in a planned Phase 3 clinical trial.

Scientists from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich, Helmholtz Munich, and Technical University of Munich have shown that the immune system is capable of neutralizing even Omicron after a total of three exposures to the viral spike protein.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, SARS-CoV-2 has continued to evolve, with new variants of concern (VoCs) spreading rapidly.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) and Plexium, Inc. (Plexium) today announced an exclusive, worldwide, multi-year research collaboration and license agreement to identify novel targeted protein degradation therapeutics toward historically challenging drug targets. The multi-year collaboration supports the discovery of novel molecular glue therapeutics leveraging insights from Amgen's expertise in developing multispecific molecules.

The clinical and imaging characteristics of COVID-19 breakthrough infections in fully vaccinated patients tend to be milder than those of partially vaccinated or unvaccinated patients, according to a new multicenter study published in the journal Radiology.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide now exceeds 270 million with an overall mortality rate of approximately 2%.

A powerful class of antibiotics called carbapenems can circumvent antibiotic resistance thanks to a particular chain of atoms in their structure. Now, a team of researchers from Penn State and Johns Hopkins University have imaged an enzyme involved in the creation of this chain to better understand how it forms - and perhaps replicate the process to improve future antibiotics. A paper describing the process appears in the journal Nature.

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) issued a positive opinion recommending the conditional marketing authorization (CMA) of Pfizer's PAXLOVID™ (nirmatrelvir [PF-07321332] tablets and ritonavir tablets) for the treatment of COVID-19 in adults who do not require supplemental oxygen and who are at increased risk for progressing to severe COVID-19.

A team co-led by scientists at Scripps Research has found evidence that a compound contained in the medicinal and culinary herb rosemary could be a two-pronged weapon against the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

The scientists, in experiments described in a paper published January 6, 2022 in the journal Antioxidants, found that the compound, carnosic acid, can block the interaction between the SARS-CoV-2 outer "spike" protein and the receptor protein, ACE2, which the virus uses to gain entry to cells.

A highly mutated version of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, the Omicron variant has been shown to cause breakthrough infections among the vaccinated thanks to its ability to evade the virus-killing neutralizing antibodies that the body makes in response to getting vaccinated.

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a second COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine has been known as the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine; the approved vaccine will be marketed as Spikevax for the prevention of COVID-19 in individuals 18 years of age and older.

The best way to battle the dominant Delta strain is booster vaccines. So far, initial data suggests boosters are likely to help battle Omicron as well. For that and more COVID-19 news, read on.

The 2021 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium is meeting December 7–10 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas, and virtually.