COMBATTING CORONA

Coronavirus: 23 New Research Projects to Receive €128 Million in EU Funding

The Commission will support 23 new research projects with €128 million in response to the continuing coronavirus pandemic. The funding under Horizon 2020, the EU's research and innovation programme, is part of the Commission's €1.4 billion pledge to the Coronavirus Global Response initiative.

The Gates Foundation Commits Another $150 Million to Accelerate Covid-19 Vaccines

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has committed another $150 million to accelerate the manufacturing and delivery of up to 100 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines to low- and middle-income countries as early as the first half of 2021.

San Diego Company Converts Shipping Containers into COVID-19 "Quick Labs"

TPT Med Tech will offer rapid COVID-19 and antibody testing in mobile labs across the world.

New COVID-19 Vaccines are Flooding our Feeds, but are any of them Manufacturable at Scale?

We’re bombarded every day with news about the latest miracle vaccine candidate: when it will be available, which vaccines have reached clinical trials, the stock market performance of the manufacturers, and so on.

But four critical questions are not adequately discussed:

Can any of these vaccines be manufactured at scale?
How often do people need to be vaccinated… annually? Every 6 months?
Who gets the first 100 million doses? The first billion?
How do we reliably distribute these doses? Can we?

Israeli-Made Mask 'Offers 60 Hours of Protection from Coronavirus'

The ViriMASK is made by the Oneg HaKarmel company in Tirat Carmel near Haifa, and according to its developers, performs better in many areas than the N95 mask, which is currently considered the best on the market.

Amazon Tribes Turn To Tech To Track COVID-19 Cases In One Latin American Nation

Ecuador’s indigenous groups in the Amazon have launched an information dashboard to monitor the coronavirus and identify contagion hotspots as the disease spreads through the rainforest and threatens ancient cultures, a leading rights group said on Tuesday.

Amazon Rolls out its Robot Delivery Trials to More U.S. States

Amazon's Scout, a completely autonomous robot delivery service that the Seattle firm launched in January 2019, is now undergoing trials in Atlanta, Georgia, and Franklin, Tennessee. Until now, the service had been making deliveries to a small subset of customers in select locations.

Israel Innovation Authority Launches a New Fund to Develop Human Capital in Tech

IIA CEO says Covid-19 employment crisis is an opportunity to train qualified personnel for work in the tech sector.

Malaysia Pushes Tech Hub to Help Economy Ride out Coronavirus Pandemic

Malaysia's technology cluster in Penang is helping drive an economic recovery that could see the country bounce back faster than any of its peers in South-East Asia.

Delhi: 20,000 Tested with Israeli Techs that Can Give Result in 30 Minutes

The trials for validating rapid test kits for COVID-19 developed in Israel reached a milestone on Tuesday with nearly 20,000 people trying them out at six locations across the city.

Israeli Scientists Work with Kando to Pinpoint COVID-19 Outbreaks in the Sewers

Water management technology company Kando Environmental Services Ltd. and researchers from leading Israeli institutions have announced initial findings of a pilot program designed to spot coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreaks in the city of Ashkelon, Israel. By analyzing the wastewater of the 150,000 residents, they demonstrated that Covid-19 hotspots could be detected down to specific streets and neighborhoods.

Scientists are Taking a DIY Coronavirus Vaccine

Nearly 200 covid-19 vaccines are in development and some three dozen are at various stages of human testing. But in what appears to be the first “citizen science” vaccine initiative, Estep and at least 20 other researchers, technologists, or science enthusiasts, many connected to Harvard University and MIT, have volunteered as lab rats for a do-it-yourself inoculation against the coronavirus. They say it’s their only chance to become immune without waiting a year or more for a vaccine to be formally approved.

3 Startups Bringing Tech to the “New Normal” in Latin America

As the world steadily enters the new normal, the use of technology will only increase. Because we must refrain from engaging in physical contact, applications will have to do the heavy-lifting in a lot of activities and across multiple industries.

Cultivating Future Stars: No Funding Shortages for Food Tech and Alternative Protein Start-Ups Despite COVID-19

Start-ups with a focus on technology related to F&B supply chains and alternative protein product development are in the strongest positions to attract investments in the post-COVID-19 era all across the Asia Pacific region and beyond.

Roche & aMoon Joint Venture Looks to Israel's Ecosystem for Next Healthtech Superstars

Swiss pharma & diagnostics company Roche partners with Israeli VC aMoon to bring the next wave of Israeli healthtech innovation to life.

Israel to Test COVID-19 Vaccine on Humans

Human trials on a potential coronavirus vaccine are due to start in Israel, Kan News reported Thursday.
The launch of the vaccine trial comes as Israel has struggled to contain the spread of the coronavirus, with an escalating number of cases in the “second wave.”

100-Plus Israeli Tech Companies Work to Develop Solutions Against Corona

The economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic is being experienced worldwide, and Israel is no exception. Many Israeli startup and tech companies are facing great challenges in their ability to raise funds and access international markets, and will likely continue to face those challenges in the coming year. Yet some companies in Israel are also relying on the innovation and speed that characterizes its private sector in trying to create new opportunities, a senior Israeli investor and business academic has told JNS.

High-level Israeli Delegation in India for Mass Testing of COVID-19 Technology

A high-level interministerial delegation of Israeli experts arrived in New Delhi on Monday to test four new technologies for the rapid diagnosis of coronavirus, the Defense Ministry said.
The delegation, led by Israeli Ambassador to India Ron Malka, includes representatives from the Defense, Foreign and Health ministries, as well as from the Israel Defense Forces and various industries involved in the development of diagnostic solutions.

Coronavirus Vaccine Progress Report

The race is on to develop a vaccine for COVID-19. There are now more than 140 vaccines being tested around the world, according to the World Health Organization.
Australian researchers are leading several major clinical trials that might help bring an end to the deadly disease.

In Japan's Kyoto, Tech Winners Help Bank Weather Coronavirus-Induced Tourism Slump

Bank of Kyoto, a regional lender based in the ancient Japanese city, has a unique buffer against the hit to tourism from the coronavirus - dividends from local high-tech heavyweights.