Merck, a leading science and technology company, announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared its investigational new drug application (IND) for M5049 for the treatment of patients with Covid-19 pneumonia. Merck will initiate a Phase II randomized, controlled clinical study evaluating the safety and efficacy of M5049 in this patient population. 
Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) and BioNTech SE (Nasdaq: BNTX) today announced preliminary data from the most advanced of four investigational vaccine candidates from their BNT162 mRNA-based vaccine program, Project Lightspeed, against SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing the current global pandemic. The BNT162 program is evaluating at least four experimental vaccines, each of which represents a unique combination of mRNA format and target antigen. The authors of the new research, from the University of Padova and at Imperial College London, published today in Nature, suggest asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic people are an important factor in the transmission of COVID-19.
GSK's scientific collaboration with Clover Pharmaceuticals to develop an adjuvanted COVID-19 vaccine has entered into human clinical trials. Clover announced the initiation of a Phase 1 clinical study evaluating the company’s COVID-19 S-Trimer vaccine (SCB-2019) in combination with GSKs pandemic adjuvant system. 
Novartis revealed the healthcare and pharma industry has emerged as a desired career destination for tech talent during the COVID-19 pandemic, in the Powerful Pairing research report launched today.
The research - which covered 2,502 tech professionals in the US, UK, Germany, China and India, conducted between May and June 2020 - targeted respondents from a variety of sectors and organizations with the objective to study perception shifts of the industry in the wake of the global COVID-19 pandemic.