(Reuters) - Here's what you need to know about the coronavirus right now:
Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) loses challenge to Arbutus patent on vaccine tech
Moderna Inc has lost a bid to invalidate a U.S. patent owned by Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS) known as the '069 patent that poses a potential obstacle to Moderna's efforts to develop next-generation vaccines, including a coronavirus vaccine. The '069 patent relates to lipid nanoparticle (LNP) technology that allows the human body to make its own therapeutic proteins.
LNP technology is crucial to Moderna's vaccine development efforts, and the patent ruling could increase pressure on the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based firm to pay for a license to Arbutus' patent portfolio, said Zachary Silbersher, a patent lawyer in New York not involved in the case.
Silbersher said it was unclear if vaccines being developed by Moderna, including its coronavirus vaccine, infringe the '069 patent and related ones owned by Arbutus. But Moderna's effort to invalidate the patent suggests the company sees it as a potential obstacle, he said.
WHO warns on intense transmission
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization, said on Thursday that reported comments by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo questioning his independence were untrue and would not distract the organisation from fighting the coronavirus.
The WHO director general has come under criticism, especially from U.S. President Donald Trump and Pompeo, who have accused him of being pro-China.
Tedros also said the WHO was seeing intense transmission of the coronavirus in relatively few countries. "Two-thirds of all cases are from 10 countries. Almost half of all cases reported so far are from just three countries," he said, referring to the United States, Brazil and India.
Infections in the United States have rapidly accelerated since the first COVID-19 case was detected on Jan. 21. It took the country 98 days to reach 1 million cases. It took another 43 days to reach 2 million and then 27 days to reach 3 million. It has only taken 16 days to reach 4 million at a rate of 43 new cases a minute.
Roomba and peanut butter clear COVID winners
Consumers sticking close to home due to COVID-19 are reaching for more pantry staples like mayonnaise and peanut butter and are buying Roomba robot vacuum cleaners and computers.
As companies report quarterly earnings and look to the second half of the year, pandemic winners and losers are becoming more apparent. Companies that sell electronics, comfort food and other products for the home are benefiting from quarantines and lockdowns.
By contrast, jeans maker Levi Strauss (NYSE:LEVI) & Co said its executives would continue to work with reduced salaries through the end of August, citing the economic hit from COVID-19. Levis, hurt by store closures, said on July 7 that sales tumbled 62% in the second quarter.
Lockdowns allow scientists to better feel the earth vibrate
COVID-19 lockdowns worldwide led to the longest and most pronounced reduction in human-linked seismic vibrations ever recorded, sharpening scientists' ability to hear earth's natural signals and detect earthquakes, a study found on Thursday.
Vibrations travel through the earth like waves, creating seismic noise from earthquakes, volcanoes, wind and rivers as well as human actions such as travel and industry.
The largest drops in human-induced vibrations were seen in densely populated areas like Singapore and New York City, but drops were also seen in remote areas like Germany's Black Forest and Rundu in Namibia. Barbados, where lockdown coincided with the tourist season, saw a 50% drop in seismic noise.