Pharma mobilizes to combat the coronavirus

ABSTRACT

The World Health Organization has declared the fast-moving coronavirus outbreak in China a “public health emergency of international concern,” a measure that can spur coordinated global efforts to combat it. With infections steadily rising, major drug companies are mobilizing to develop diagnostics, vaccines, and possible treatments for the virus, 2019-nCoV. According to WHO, as of Jan. 30 more than 7,800 people worldwide are confirmed to have been infected by the virus, and another 12,000-plus cases are suspected. Almost all of the cases are in China, where 170 people have died. Although smaller biotech firms were among the first to publicly respond to the outbreak, big pharma firms say they have been quietly working on tests and treatments for several weeks. Roche has sent the first commercial diagnostic to China, and Johnson & Johnson says it is using the same technologies deployed for the rapid development of an Ebola vaccine to(..)