MedTech

mRNA vaccine aim to target flu strains & COVID-19

Moderna has begun human trials for an mRNA vaccine called mRNA-1010, that targets multiple influenza strains, the company announced Wednesday.  The American pharmaceutical and biotechnology firm based in Cambridge, aims on the long run for one seasonal shot for flu, COVID-19, respiratory viruses RSV, and HMPV.  The flu shot is designed to target four strains of influenza viruses that circulate seasonally each year, just like the current quadrivalent flu vaccines on the market.   The four virus […]

Pfizer seeks FDA approval for 3rd COVID jab in response to Delta

Pfizer and BioNTech announced on Thursday that they were developing a version of the coronavirus vaccine that targets the Indian Delta variant, which has spread to nearly 100 countries.   The U.S.-based company expects to begin clinical trials of the vaccine in August.  The drug maker is looking to speed up the approval for a third booster dose of its COVID-19 vaccine to target the Delta variant and will request emergency authorization from […]

Apple publishes list of products that can affect pacemakers

People who have a pacemaker or an implantable cardioverter defibrillator should be aware that the magnets used in common tech gadgets may potentially interfere with their medical devices. Accordingly, Apple published a list of its products that might risk tampering with medical devices such as pacemakers and implanted defibrillators. The Big Tech company advised its […]

WHO decision challenges West to recognize Chinese vaccines

The World Health Organization said Thursday that any COVID-19 vaccines it has authorized for emergency use should be recognized by countries as they open up their borders to inoculated travelers. The move could challenge Western countries to broaden their acceptance of two apparently less effective Chinese vaccines, which the U.N. health agency has licensed but […]

MIT, Harvard develop smart face mask to detect COVID-19

Scientists at MIT and Harvard University have created a smart face mask that can detect COVID-19 results of the person wearing it within about 90 minutes. The masks are implanted with tiny, non-reusable sensors that can be attached into other face masks and could also be altered to detect other viruses. The sensors are based […]

Offices after COVID: Wider hallways, fewer desks

The coronavirus already changed the way we work. Now it’s changing the physical space, too. Many companies are making adjustments to their offices to help employees feel safer as they return to in-person work, like improving air circulation systems or moving desks further apart. Others are ditching desks and building more conference rooms to accommodate […]

Vaccine technology transfer center to open in South Africa

The World Health Organization is in talks to create the first-ever technology transfer hub for coronavirus vaccines in South Africa, a move to boost supply to the continent that’s desperately in need of COVID-19 shots, the head of the U.N. agency announced. The new consortium will include drugmakers Biovac and Afrigen Biologics and Vaccines, a […]

Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine shows 94% efficacy in Bahrain

Controversy has been the main headline stuck to Russia’s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine, with many countries either doubting its efficacy levels or brushing it off due to political tensions between western countries and Russia. In parallel, Russia hasn’t done a good job marketing the drug since it was named after the Soviet Union’s and the […]

Orange, AXA acquire majority stake in Moroccan HealthTech company

Orange Middle East and Africa and AXA CIMA entities led by AXA Assurance Maroc announced on Monday a joint agreement to acquire a majority stake in DabaDoc, the Moroccan HealthTech company digitalizing access to healthcare in Africa, alongside the company’s founders. DabaDoc – which was founded by Zineb Drissi-Kaitouni and Driss Drissi-Kaitouni earlier in 2014 […]

WHO grants emergency approval to 2nd Chinese COVID vaccine

The World Health Organization has issued an emergency use listing for the COVID-19 vaccine made by Sinovac for adults 18 and over, the second such authorization it has granted to a Chinese company. In a statement Tuesday, the U.N. health agency said data submitted to its experts showed that two doses of the vaccine prevented […]