Novavax has granted Serum Institute rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize its COVID-19 vaccine candidate in selected regions, in another endorsement of the Indian group's capabilities. The agreement, which expands on an earlier association, gives Serum exclusive marketing rights in India until the deal ends and non-exclusive rights for developing countries to the end of the pandemic, with the US firm getting half of net revenue.

Medical device companies – including Sientra, Endologix and Invacare – won loans from the US government’s Paycheck Protection Program, intended to protect jobs during the coronavirus pandemic. In total, nearly 1,400 device makers collected as much as $1.6bn, according to a Medtech Insight analysis of PPP data.

After partnering with Merck KGaA and Cobra Biologics, Oxford University has now tied up with Serum Institute of India to manufacture its COVID-19 vaccine and a marketing pact is likely. With clinical trials of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine underway, Serum intends to set aside other COVID-19 vaccine development plans for the time being.

Japanese ICT giant applies novel advanced computing techniques with a US venture partner to more rapidly identify lead molecules from a huge virtual space.