Recon: Drugmakers tell Congress vaccine supply to increase in March; Pfizer accused of playing hardball in Latin American vaccine negotiations

• J&J ready to ship nearly 4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine in US (Reuters) (Politico)
• Pfizer to ship 13M COVID-19 vaccine doses per week to US by mid-March, says executive (Reuters)
• FDA to allow Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to be stored at standard freezer temps (Reuters) (NYTimes)
• Moderna says FDA gave positive feedback on request to increase Covid vaccine supply in each vial (CNBC)
• AstraZeneca expects US COVID-19 vaccine authorization in April (Reuters)
• White House working to fix federal COVID vaccine tracking system, says official (Reuters)
• Future Vaccines Depend on Test Subjects in Short Supply: Monkeys (NYTimes)
• Pharmacists say 'pooling' Covid vaccines could save thousands of doses (NBC)
• House panel advances Biden's $1.9T COVID-19 aid bill (The Hill)
• California inspectors find ‘deficiencies’ at virus test lab (AP)
• Stephen Hahn makes first post-FDA move, joining board of under-the-radar UPenn spinout (Endpoints)

• ‘Held to ransom’: Pfizer plays hardball in Covid-19 vaccine negotiations with Latin American countries (STAT)
• EU drug watchdog to weigh in on extended use for remdesivir by summer (Reuters) (EMA)
• European Commission President supports donating vaccines to health care workers in Africa (Reuters)
• Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine gets nod in South Korea from first of three expert panels (Reuters)
• China's Clover raises $230 million, plans vaccines for COVID-19 variants (Reuters)
• India sends first vaccine doses to Africa under WHO's COVAX programme (Reuters)
• New pledges boost COVAX, but critics say more is needed to ensure global vaccine access (STAT)
• Guinea starts Ebola vaccine campaign as cases emerge (Reuters)
• How vaccine laggard CureVac hopes to come out on top (FT)
• Genomic sequencing head calls for ‘Bio Force’ to detect virus threats (FT)
• Manufacturers of COVID-19 vaccines typically start delivering in under six months after tech transfer (KEI)

• Rheumatoid Arthritis Drug Shows Promise in Fighting Covid-19 (WSJ)
• Public stakeholder meeting: approval, safety monitoring and impact of COVID-19 vaccines in the EU (EMA)
• UNICEF sends syringes to Maldives, Ivory Coast, for COVAX vaccine rollout (Reuters)
• South Africa says J&J, Pfizer, Moderna vaccines those for 'immediate use' (Reuters)
• World Bank threatens to cut Lebanon's vaccine aid over line-jumping (Reuters)
• French researchers trial more accurate fast COVID-19 test (Reuters)
• BD to develop smartphone-powered home COVID-19 test with Scanwell Health (Fierce)
• NeuroRx chief lines up Hail Mary for once-rejected Covid-19 drug (Endpoints)

• PDUFA VII Could Expand US Real-Time Review Beyond Oncology (Pink Sheet)
• Access to heart drugs improves in middle-income countries, but still lags compared to wealthy nations (STAT)
• Biopharma's success rate in bringing drugs to market has long been abysmal. Can new tools help rewrite that troubled past? (Endpoints)
• ‘Following the Amazon playbook’: As digital pharmacy grows more crowded, startups scramble to stand out (STAT)
• Catalent uncorks play in plasmid DNA with buyout of Belgian neighbor Delphi, Maryland expansion launch (Endpoints)
• Bristol Myers scales up cell therapy production with liso-cel nod in hand and another approval maybe on the way (Endpoints)
• Beam turns its soaring valuation into new assets, buying out an under-the-radar spinout and their gene delivery tech (Endpoints)
• Regeneron wins FDA OK in lung cancer for immunotherapy rival to Merck's Keytruda (BioPharmaDive)
• Novartis may lay off 170 in India due to COVID (Times of India)
• Seagen's breast cancer drug TUKYSA gets UK approval (Pharmafile)
• Otonomy’s Otividex Fails Again In Phase III Meniere’s Study (Scrip)
• Dynavax's hepatitis B vaccine gets EU approval (Pharmafile)
• Jim Mullen won a $20M option package when he switched from chairman to the CEO job at Editas — and it's all tied to performance (Endpoints)
• Intercept shakeup continues as CMO, former NASH chief resigns. Is the NASH biotech abandoning its flagship disease? (Endpoints)
• UK sees a 20% growth in the number of advanced therapy trials, report finds (PharmaTimes)
• USFDA rules against Sun Pharma Advanced Research Co's appeal regarding cancer drug application (Economic Times)
• Indian pharmaceutical firms go local for APIs, seeking to end reliance on China (Economic Times)
• Merck KGaA offloads clinical-phase cancer drugs to Day One (Fierce)
• Intercept loses chief medical officer months after CEO stepped down (Fierce)

• Hillrom patient lift tied to 2 deaths, designated as Class I recall (MedtechDive)
• Chosen wisely: Grail, Quest team up on cancer blood test (Fierce)
• Toronto-based researchers measuring whether Apple Watch can spot early signs of worsening heart failure (mobihealthnews)
• Brainlab Receives FDA Clearance For Imaging Robot, Alignment Module For Spine (MedtechInsight)

• Becerra to highlight family's health struggles at confirmation hearing (Politico)
• NY AG Opioid Trial Gets March Start After COVID-19 Delays (Law360)
• Allergan Patents Spared From PTAB Review In Settlement (Law360)
• Walmart Says DOJ's 'Sensationalist' Opioid Suit Rings Hollow (Law360)