Major Manufacturer Of Testing Swabs To Open Another Factory In Maine

Bangor Daily News: COVID-19 Swab Maker Will Open 2nd New Factory In Pittsfield
The Piscataquis County, Maine, company that’s one of the world’s two largest makers of COVID-19 testing swabs said Monday that it’s opening a second Pittsfield factory with $51.2 million in federal pandemic relief funds. Puritan Medical Products, which is based in Guilford, first expanded into Pittsfield this past summer, when it received a $75.5 million federal contract to boost production of the swabs that have been in short supply throughout the pandemic. (Eichacker, 10/12)

The Hill: Abbott Gets Emergency Authorization For New COVID Antibody Test 
Medical device maker Abbott Labs on Monday said it received emergency authorization for a new COVID-19 blood test that can detect more recent infections. The AdviseDx is a lab-based test that can detect the IgM (Immunoglobulin M) antibody. The IgM antibody is most useful for determining a recent infection, as they become undetectable weeks to months following infection. (Weixel, 10/12)

Reuters: Roche Plans To Sell COVID-19 Antigen Lab Tests By End-2020 
Roche plans to start selling a higher-volume COVID-19 antigen test for laboratories by the end of the year as the Swiss drugmaker expands diagnostics for the pandemic. “These fully automated systems can provide test results in 18 minutes for a single test (excluding time for sample collection, transport, and preparation), with a throughput of up to 300 tests per hour from a single analyser, depending on the analyser,” the group said in a statement. (10/13)

In other pharmaceutical and biotech news —

Stat: How Software Infuses Racism Into U.S. Health Care 
The railroad tracks cut through Weyling White’s boyhood backyard like an invisible fence. He would play there on sweltering afternoons, stacking rocks along the rails under the watch of his grandfather, who established a firm rule: Weyling wasn’t to cross the right of way into the white part of town. The other side had nicer homes and parks, all the medical offices, and the town’s only hospital. As a consequence, White said, his family mostly got by without regular care, relying on home remedies and the healing hands of the Baptist church. (Ross, 10/13)

Stat: Five Takeaways From Investigation Of Bias In Use Of Health Software 
By crunching data on patients, software developers promise to help U.S. hospitals and insurers accomplish a crucial task: identifying those most in need of stepped-up care to manage their chronic illnesses. But a STAT investigation found that these software systems are infusing racism into health care by systematically overlooking obstacles faced by people of color. (Ross, 10/13)

Stat: Selling Stock At A Clip, Top Moderna Doctor Gets $1 Million Richer Each Week
Every Tuesday, Moderna’s top doctor gets about $1 million richer. As the world awaits results from Moderna’s pivotal Covid-19 vaccine study, Chief Medical Officer Tal Zaks has been selling his existing stock like clockwork every week through pre-scheduled trades — earning him more than $50 million since the dawn of the pandemic, according to disclosures made to the Securities and Exchange Commission. (Garde and Feuerstein, 10/13)

Stat: How Would Doctors Navigate Demand For A New, Narrow Alzheimer’s Drug?
For Kristin Davie, it’s a tempting possibility. Her 70-year-old mother has late-stage Alzheimer’s, which likely means she would not get a chance to take an experimental drug for the devastating disease being reviewed next month by a regulatory panel. That’s because the clinical trial data for the medicine, called aducanumab, pertains only to patients in the early stages of the disease. But if regulators approve the experimental Biogen (BIIB) therapy next month, Davie might still pursue the drug for her mother. (Silverman, 10/13)