Recon: AstraZeneca’s COVID vaccine packs a wallop; Merck KGaA, partners link for COVID mAbs

• Facing vaccine doubts, US grapples with building confidence in coronavirus shots (BioPharma Dive)
• FDA shows signs of cold feet over emergency authorization of Covid-19 vaccines (STAT)
• How pandemic fatigue and polarization led to Wisconsin’s massive Covid-19 outbreak (Vox) (NPR)
• Report finds coronavirus pandemic leading to 'unacceptable' shortage of US drug supplies (The Hill)
• Former FDA Commissioner Discusses Updates On COVID-19 Vaccine Research Efforts (NPR)
• BARDA enlists Current Health in COVID-19 monitoring (Outsourcing Pharma)
• Did Trump Confuse the Public Option With ‘Medicare for All’? (KHN)
• A health care debate full of big problems and vague solutions (Politico)

• WHO's Tedros says countries on "dangerous track" in pandemic (Reuters)
• Canada to invest up to C$214 million for research into domestic-made vaccines: PM Trudeau (Reuters)
• UK Authorizes Use Of Unlicensed Flu Vaccine (Pink Sheet) (MHRA)
• New UK Portal Should Streamline Reporting Of Drug Shortages (Pink Sheet)
• African Nations Plan To Roll Out Coronavirus Rapid Testing; African Export Import Bank Readies Fundraising For Vaccines (KFF)
• Gilead shares rise after United States approves remdesivir as COVID-19 drug (Reuters)
• Merck, Pfizer pneumonia vaccines running low in EU as researchers fight COVID-19: report (Fierce Pharma) (Reuters)
• Deaths rattle South Korea's seasonal flu vaccination, but authority presses ahead with free scheme (Fierce Pharma)
• ICR urges change as NICE rejects Keytruda plus chemotherapy (Pharma Times)
• EMA accepts application for ranibizumab biosimilar from Samsung Bioepis (GaBI online)

• Columbia report: US could have avoided 130,000 COVID deaths with better response (The Hill) (NYT) (STAT)
• US reaches second-highest daily total of over 75,000 coronavirus cases (The Hill) (NBC) (NPR)
• Trump Says “We’re Rounding the Turn” the Same Day the U.S. Approaches Record Number of New Coronavirus Cases (Slate)
• Researchers Find Doubts About COVID-19 Vaccine Among People Of Color (NPR)
• Europe warned COVID spreading more quickly, further curbs loom (Reuters)
• Convalescent plasma fails phase 2 in moderate COVID-19 patients (Fierce Biotech)
• Why the approval of remdesivir to treat Covid-19 obscures bigger scientific failures (STAT)
• WHO says it will have advice on remdesivir in three-four weeks (Reuters)
• Germany grapples with coronavirus spike months after it was hailed for good practice (NBC)
• Aspirin could protect patients from severe COVID-19 complications (European Pharmaceutical Review)
• Merck KGaA, IAVI and Serum Institute link up to develop COVID-19 mAbs (PharmaTimes)
• SARS-CoV-2 antibodies detectable up to seven months post COVID-19 onset, shows new Portuguese study (AAAS)
• Roche Forges Deal With Atea for COVID-19 Antiviral Pill (FDANews) (Roche)
• Why plexiglass alone can’t prevent Covid-19 (Vox)
• AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 Vaccine Delivers Strong Immune Response, Study Confirms (FDANews)

• CRISPR Therapeutics Reports Positive Phase 1 Data for CAR-T Treatment (FDANews)
• Ultragenyx expands into Duchenne gene therapy with Solid Bio deal (BioPharma Dive)
• BMS partners with Sensyne Health for rare blood disease research (Pharma Times)
• Adicet Wins FDA Investigational Drug Clearance for NonHodgkin’s Lymphoma Cell Therapy (FDANews)
• Retrophin buys up Orphan Technologies, spending $90M on rare disease drug (Fierce Biotech) (Endpoints)
• How To Manage Pharmacovigilance Inspections In A Globalized World (Pink Sheet)
• With Disarm deal, Atlas returns to Lilly to take neuro program forward (BIocentury)
• Scientists use gene therapy and a novel light-sensing protein to restore vision in mice (NIH)
• A global sense of urgency: Collaborating to advance the conduct of clinical trials (ACRO)
• Ionis Begins Clinical Trial of ALS Antisense Therapy Designed to Treat Broad ALS Population (Global Genes)
• FDA Issues Grants for Clinical Trial Research for Orphan Diseases (Big Molecule Watch)
• Sirnaomics nabs a major $105M funding round for next stage of its RNA work (Fierce Biotech)
• Bain execs Adam Koppel and Jeffrey Schwartz line up $125M for their first blank check deal as Wall Street continues to embrace biotech (Endpoints)

• FDA highlights the need to address bias in AI (HIMSS)
• Remote Patient Monitoring Sets Up Big Tech to Revolutionize Telemedicine and Healthcare (Health Care Blog)
• Nasal drug delivery technology market to grow at CAGR of 5.1 percent (European Pharmaceutical Review)
• Imaging analysis AI startups announce 510(k)s for prostate cancer, incidental pulmonary embolism algorithms (Mobihealth News)
• Could a language test diagnose Alzheimer's? IBM is laying the groundwork (Fierce Biotech)

• Former Indivior CEO gets 6 months in jail for role in Suboxone marketing scheme (Fierce Pharma) (Endpoints)
• Walmart Sues Feds To Get Ahead Of Possible Opioid Suit (Law360)
• Federal COVID-19 Response Unlawfully Blocks State Public Health Efforts (Harvard Law/Petrie-Flom)
• St. Jude Medical, LLC v. Snyders Heart Valve LLC (Fed. Cir. 2020) (Patent Docs)
• TAVR Pioneer Edwards Lifesciences Wows Analysts with Q3 Results (MD+DI)