Emeryville companies continue to play a pivotal role in the fight against the coronavirus. Dynavax, Berkeley Lights and Nanomix are among the local biotech companies that are working on solutions for testing, treatment and development of a vaccine.
Dynavax began its phase 1 clinical trials in July with preliminary safety and immunogenicity results expected in October. Some are expediting their trials by utilizing Berkeley Lights’ patented Beacon System into their workflow.
Meanwhile, Nanomix is one of many U.S. companies vying for FDA Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to deploy new diagnostic tests for COVID-19.
Emeryville Companies Score Federal Coronavirus Contracts
Companies in Emeryville, Berkeley and around the East Bay received millions from the government to help combat the coronavirus pandemic
By Bea Karnes, Patch Staff
Emeryville companies have received millions of dollars from the federal government as it doles out contracts to vendors playing a role in the fight against the coronavirus, data obtained by ProPublica shows.
Berkeley Lights of Emeryville scored its first federal contract, $2.21 million from the National Institutes of Health for laboratory equipment.
East Bay company says partner could start Covid vaccine trial in July
By Ron Leuty
After small but positive results Monday from an early Covid-19 vaccine trial boosted an East Coast company’s stock 20%, an East Bay company said one or more of its partners could start an early-stage trial of another vaccine as soon as July.
Dynavax Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ: DVAX) of Emeryville said it will update investors Tuesday on collaborations around its method for improving the immune system’s response to a vaccine. Following the disclosure in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Monday afternoon, the company’s stock climbed more than 41% in after-hours trading to $6.88 per share.
Read More on SF Business Times (Paywall may Apply) →
ADVERTISEMENT [adrotate group="13"]
East Bay, Peninsula biotech IPOs soar as industry shows off its range
By Ron Leuty
Shares of the Bay Area’s two newest biotech IPOs raced out of the gate Friday as Wall Street continued to cheer on companies with established products as well as those years away from a drug approval.
Research tools company Berkeley Lights Inc. (NASDAQ: BLI) of Emeryville, which had already supersized its initial public offering of 8.1 million shares at $22 each — above a $19-$20 range — saw its newly minted shares climb as much as 210% higher to $68.21 before settling back slightly.
Read More on SF Business Times (Paywall may Apply) →
ADVERTISEMENT [adrotate group="13"]

This COVID-19 Detector Has Berkeley Lab Roots
How an atomically thin device could become a biotech breakthrough
By Theresa Duque
A technology spun from carbon nanotube sensors discovered 20 years ago by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) scientists could one day help health care providers test patients for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.
When Alex Zettl, Marvin Cohen, and their research teams at Berkeley Lab first demonstrated ultrasensitive oxygen sensors devised from carbon nanotubes – hollow carbon wires with walls no thicker than an atom – they envisioned a broad spectrum of applications, such as gas-leak detectors or air- and water-pollution detectors.
Encouraging report. Big fan of our local tbio,tech and Berkeley Lab.