Innovations Abound in the Fight Against COVID-19

- FinancialBuzz.com News Commentary

NEW YORK, March 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --  Earlier this week, the World Health Organization (WHO) proclaimed the COVID-19 outbreak a global pandemic. According to WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19 on March 11th 2020, the number of cases, the number of deaths and the number of affected countries is expected to climb even higher in the days ahead. The organization also emphasized that "pandemic" is not a word to use lightly or carelessly. It is a word that, if misused, can cause unreasonable fear, or unjustified acceptance that the fight is over, leading to unnecessary suffering and death. Describing the situation as a pandemic does not change WHO's assessment of the threat posed by this virus – it is the first pandemic that can be controlled. "In an unfolding epidemic, it can be misleading to look at the naïve estimate of deaths so far divided by cases so far," said Christl Donnelly, a disease specialist at Oxford University and Imperial College London, in an article by Reuters. "This is due to the delay from the time it takes for individuals to progress from being diagnosed as cases to dying." As of Thursday afternoon, at least 1,422 people in 45 states and Washington, D.C., have tested positive for coronavirus, according to a New York Times database, and at least 38 patients with the virus had died. U.S. Lithium Corp. (OTC: LITH), Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: INO), Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ: MRNA), Predictive Oncology Inc. (NASDAQ: POAI), Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ: VIR)

It was unclear how, if at all, the COVID-19 outbreak would impact the cannabis market. Now the potential impact is clearer; first, due to the stock markets around the world being rattled, it became difficult for cannabis companies to raise money from investors in an already-tight funding environment. Second, according to Marijuana Business Daily, industry analysts estimate that 90%-95% of all components that comprise a cannabis vaporizer are manufactured in factories in Shenzhen, China, and of the remaining 5%-10% of supplies that may be sourced domestically, U.S. manufacturers lack the ability to serve the cannabis market. However, for many companies in this young industry, this recent crisis is an opportunity. Morgan Paxhia, Managing Director of San Francisco-based Poseidon Asset Management, explained that "we're in the middle of this capital crunch – this Darwin phase, we like to call it. And (coronavirus) is only exacerbating the situation, because it's just causing uncertainty, just like it's doing to the broader markets." He added, "A good test of good management is companies that saw this environment unfolding and they changed course, instead of driving the car right off the cliff… Some of the best companies emerge from crises like these."

U.S. Lithium Corp. (OTC: LITH), soon to be renamed BioELife Corp., announced yesterday breaking news that "the Company's chemists and medical advisors have completed their specifications for, and selection of, virus and bacteria protection products including a powerful hand sanitizer fortified with CBD and ultra-protective Nano-Fiber Face Masks. The masks will be manufactured by Respilon, a leading producer of nanofiber products. These products will be part of the Company's BioEDefender product line and are now available for pre-order on the Company's ecommerce site, www.bioelife.net, with expected fulfillment the first week of April.

The core of the masks consists of the latest technology using four layers of protection including a nanofiber membrane, RespiPro, with a 60 nano-meter opening that mechanically captures 99.9% of viruses and bacteria. These masks also contain a revolutionary layer of fabric with accelerated copper dioxide (ACuO) which deactivates viruses and bacteria with a 99.9% efficiency.  This new pathogen-deactivating feature helps reduce the spread of viruses. The masks can be reused for several days and are not considered biohazardous material after use. A second version, the Respiratory Shield, also has a Bacterial and Virus Filtration Efficiency of 99.9% and with same benefits but was engineered for 50 washing cycles. See more including videos at www.respimasks.com. 

The BioEDefense Hand Sanitizer is a proprietary formulation that combines Vitamin E, Aloe, and other nutrients fortified with pure CBD in a blend with a 70% alcohol base.  This exceeds the Center for Disease Control's recommended alcohol potency for viral and bacterial defense and protection. While CBD is not a cure for the Coronavirus, its anti-bacteria, anti-anxiety, anti-inflammatory properties can assist and be very beneficial in the fight against this global pandemic.

Gregory Rotelli, Chairman of the Board and President of BioELife stated, 'We are very proud of our emerging virus and bacteria protection product line which was specifically designed to aid this worldwide crisis. Our Respilon masks are by far the most effective available due to their revolutionary Nano-Fiber Technology and our BioEDefense Sanitizer exceeds The Center for Disease Control (CDC) Guidelines for viral and bacterial defense while being fortified with the beneficial proprieties of CBD.  Most importantly, we are providing these critically important products on our ecommerce site, www.bioelife.net, at an attractive value point compared to less effective options being sold by our competitors at much higher price points.'

About the Company: BioELife Corp. was created by successful pharmaceutical entrepreneurs dedicated to using nature's resources to fight pain and infection while reducing the dependency on opioids and their terrible side effects. The Company is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the emerging Cannabinoid market that is growing at phenomenal rates and is expected to reach $20 Billion over the next five years. The Company has created a 'seed to shelf' value-added product development and marketing organization with direct contracts for raw materials, scientific proprietary formulation, manufacturing, and distribution of medically focused Cannabinoid products."

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: INO) announced this week that it has received a new $5 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to accelerate the testing and scale up of CELLECTRA® 3PSP proprietary smart device for the intradermal delivery of INO-4800, a DNA vaccine for COVID-19. INO-4800 is in preclinical studies and is planned to advance into Phase 1 clinical trials in the U.S. in April with up to $9 million funding from CEPI. INOVIO plans to accelerate the testing and scale up of the CELLECTRA 3PSP devices to support large scale manufacturing of INO-4800 doses by the end of 2020. The next generation CELLECTRA 3PSP device is designed specifically for a COVID-19 type pandemic scenario. It is a small, portable, hand-held, user-friendly device that runs on readily available "AA" batteries. This allows for stockpiling of the device in quantity without maintenance. It is easy to use and is based on our current device with extensive history (over 6,000 administrations) which has received the CE mark and has an acceptable safety profile. The streamlined design also allows it to be readily produced at reduced costs and large scale. Dr. J. Joseph Kim, INOVIO's President & CEO, said, "INOVIO is grateful to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for their continued investment in INOVIO's DNA medicines platform and for their support for DNA vaccines to potentially protect those at risk globally given the current COVID-19 outbreak. Our team of vaccine experts are working around the clock to advance INO-4800 and we look forward to attracting additional partnerships to expedite its development to meet this urgent global health need."

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ: MRNA) announced back in February that it has released the first batch of mRNA-1273, the Company's vaccine against the novel coronavirus, for human use. Vials of mRNA-1273 have been shipped to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to be used in the planned Phase 1 study in the U.S. mRNA-1273 is an mRNA vaccine against the novel coronavirus encoding for a prefusion stabilized form of the Spike (S) protein, which was selected by Moderna in collaboration with investigators at the NIAID Vaccine Research Center (VRC). Manufacture of this batch was funded by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI). "I want to thank the entire Moderna team for their extraordinary effort in responding to this global health emergency with record speed. The collaboration across Moderna, with NIAID, and with CEPI has allowed us to deliver a clinical batch in 42 days from sequence identification," said Juan Andres, Chief Technical Operations and Quality Officer at Moderna. "This would not have been possible without our Norwood manufacturing site, which uses leading-edge technology to enable flexible operations and ensure high quality standards are met for clinical-grade material."

Predictive Oncology Inc. (NASDAQ: POAI) announced yesterday that it will  it will launch a new AI platform for vaccine and drug development targeting Coronaviruses and Acute Respiratory Syndromes (COVID-19, MERS, and SARS) through an operating agreement with Soluble Therapeutics. POAI has also signed a letter of intent with InventaBioTech to acquire Soluble Therapeutics, its assets and its HSCTM Technology. Global health experts are predicting an ever-increasing number of viral outbreaks like COVID-19, POAI is taking proactive measures to be part of the solution by applying artificial intelligence to aid in the development of new drugs and vaccines. Utilizing Soluble Therapeutics' HSCTM technology and its six machines, Soluble's computer system expects to be able to run over 12,000 computer simulations per machine to help generate new diagnostics, vaccines and therapeutics. Soluble's HSCTM technology has demonstrated efficacy with both new and existing vaccine and drug programs, ensuring the best delivery mechanisms to address new pandemics and battle cancers.

Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ: VIR) today announced that it has signed a letter of intent with Biogen Inc. (BIIB) for the development and clinical manufacturing of human monoclonal antibodies for the potential treatment of COVID-19, the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Because of the urgency of the situation, the companies have begun work while a Clinical Development and Manufacturing Agreement is being negotiated. Subject to the completion of a definitive agreement, Biogen would continue cell line development, process development, and clinical manufacturing activities in order to advance the development of Vir's proprietary antibodies. "These exceptional circumstances presented by the threat of COVID-19 require that we work with great urgency in the interest of the public good," said George Scangos, Ph.D., CEO, Vir. "Biogen is one of the global leaders in cell line and process development for advanced biologics; tapping into their capabilities will provide us with a U.S. base for supply and manufacture of antibody therapies." Vir has identified a number of monoclonal antibodies that bind to SARS-CoV-2, which were isolated from individuals who had survived a SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) infection. The company is conducting research to determine if its antibodies, or additional antibodies that it may be able to identify, can be effective as treatment and/or prophylaxis against SARS-CoV-2.

Subscribe Now! Watch us report LIVE https://www.youtube.com/FinancialBuzzMedia

Follow us on Twitter for real time Financial News Updates: https://twitter.com/financialbuzz

Follow and talk to us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/financialbuzz

Facebook Like Us to receive live feeds: https://www.facebook.com/Financialbuzz/

About FinancialBuzz.com 

FinancialBuzz.com, a leading financial news informational web portal designed to provide the latest trends in Market News, Investing News, Personal Finance, Politics, Entertainment, in-depth broadcasts on Stock News, Market Analysis and Company Interviews. A pioneer in the financially driven digital space, video production and integration of social media, FinancialBuzz.com creates 100% unique original content. FinancialBuzz.com also provides financial news PR dissemination, branding, marketing and advertising for third parties for corporate news and original content through our unique media platform that includes Newswire Delivery, Digital Advertising, Social Media Relations, Video Production, Broadcasting, and Financial Publications.

Please Note: FinancialBuzz.com is not a financial advisory or advisor, investment advisor or broker-dealer and do not undertake any activities that would require such registration. The information provided on http://www.FinancialBuzz.com (the "site") is either original financial news or paid advertisements provided [exclusively] by our affiliates (sponsored content), FinancialBuzz.com, a financial news media and marketing firm enters into media buys or service agreements with the companies which are the subject to the articles posted on the Site or other editorials for advertising such companies. FinancialBuzz.com has not been compensated directly by any of the companies mentioned here in this editorial. We are not an independent news media provider and therefore do not represent or warrant that the information posted on the Site is accurate, unbiased or complete. FinancialBuzz.com receives fees for producing and presenting high quality and sophisticated content on FinancialBuzz.com along with other financial news PR media services. FinancialBuzz.com does not offer any personal opinions or bias commentary as we purely incorporate public market information along with financial and corporate news. FinancialBuzz.com only aggregates or regurgitates financial or corporate news through our unique financial newswire and media platform. For this release, FinancialBuzz.com has been compensated five thousand dollars for financial and corporate news dissemination by U.S Lithium Corp. Our fees may be either a flat cash sum or negotiated number of securities of the companies featured on this editorial or site, or a combination thereof. The securities are commonly paid in segments, of which a portion is received upon engagement and the balance is paid on or near the conclusion of the engagement. FinancialBuzz.com will always disclose any compensation in securities or cash payments for financial news PR advertising. FinancialBuzz.com does not undertake to update any of the information on the editorial or Site or continue to post information about any companies the information contained herein is not intended to be used as the basis for investment decisions and should not be considered as investment advice or a recommendation. The information contained herein is not an offer or solicitation to buy, hold or sell any security. FinancialBuzz.com, members and affiliates are not responsible for any gains or losses that result from the opinions expressed on this editorial or Site, company profiles, quotations or in other materials or presentations that it publishes electronically or in print. Investors accept full responsibility for any and all of their investment decisions based on their own independent research and evaluation of their own investment goals, risk tolerance, and financial condition. FinancialBuzz.com. By accessing this editorial and website and any pages thereof, you agree to be bound by the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, as may be amended from time to time. None of the content issued by FinancialBuzz.com constitutes a recommendation for any investor to purchase, hold or sell any particular security, pursue a particular investment strategy or that any security is suitable for any investor. This publication is provided by FinancialBuzz.com. Each investor is solely responsible for determining whether a particular security or investment strategy is suitable based on their objectives, other securities holdings, financial situation needs, and tax status. You agree to consult with your investment advisor, tax and legal consultant before making any investment decisions. We make no representations as to the completeness, accuracy or timeless of the material provided. All materials are subject to change without notice. Information is obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but its accuracy and completeness are not guaranteed. For our full disclaimer, disclosure and Terms of Use, please visit: http://www.FinancialBuzz.com .

Media Contact:
info@financialbuzz.com
+1-877-601-1879
www.FinancialBuzz.com

SOURCE FinancialBuzz.com