Sinopharm’s biotech unit received approval for clinical trials of mRNA COVID vaccine. The unit, based in the commercial hub of Shanghai, has built a research and development platform, as well as workshops with an annual production capacity of 2 billion doses of mRNA vaccine. (Reuters)
Federal prosecutors said Elizabeth Holmes should be in prison, not at a $13,000-a-month estate. Holmes appealed her conviction two weeks after she was ordered to serve 11 1/4 years in prison for deceiving investors in her blood-testing startup. (Bloomberg)
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wrote in his memoir that former President Donald Trump told him to ‘shut the hell up’ about China in the early stages of the COVID-19 outbreak. Trump told Pompeo that he was “putting us all at risk” by angering Chinese President Xi Jinping, in part because the United States still needed protective health equipment from China. (Semafor)
Researchers detailed how CRISPR is making farmed animals bigger, stronger and healthier. The technology could revolutionize healthcare and is already being explored for lots of genetic diseases. (MIT Technology Review)
A proposal by Moderna to hike COVID-19 vaccine costs to as much as $130 a dose has been called “what corporate greed looks like.” “Does Moderna need the money? No. Over the past two years, the company has made more than $18 billion in profits from its vaccine,” wrote John Nichols. (The Nation)
