Shares of Veru Inc. soared nearly 200 percent after the Florida-based company announced its Phase III COVID-19 antiviral treatment was halted early based on positive efficacy following an Independent Data Monitoring Committee’s recommendation.
Silverback Therapeutics is halting the company’s clinical oncology programs and letting go of about 27% of its workforce as part of a restructuring initiative that would leave Silverback with more cash reserves.
The U.S. health regulator said on March 25 the current authorized dose of GlaxoSmithKline and Vir Biotechnology’s COVID-19 antibody therapy is unlikely to be effective against the Omicron BA.2 variant.
Thirty five generic drugmakers around the world will make cheap versions of Pfizer Inc.’s highly effective COVID-19 oral antiviral Paxlovid to supply the treatment in 95 poorer countries, the U.N.-backed Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) said on March 17.
Pfizer has begun a mid-to-late-stage study of the company’s antiviral COVID-19 pill for non-hospitalized children aged 6-17 years who are at high risk of developing severe illness.
A World Health Organization (WHO) panel on March 2 backed the use of Merck & Co. Inc.’s COVID-19 antiviral pill for high-risk patients.
Top U.S. health officials on March 2 laid out a national blueprint to manage COVID-19 going forward, vowing to prepare for any new variant outbreaks without shutting down schools and businesses and calling for additional funding from Congress.
Pfizer Inc. is expected to provide around 10 million courses of the company’s highly effective COVID-19 antiviral treatment Paxlovid to low-income and middle-income countries during 2022, according to an official with the Global Fund, a healthcare NGO working to buy the pills from the drugmaker.
During his first State of the Union Address, President Biden noted that the pandemic has been a disruptive force on multiple levels, not only for the United States but the entire globe. Among his pledges is a plan to distribute Pfizer’s antiviral drug Paxlovid free of charge to people who test positive.
Drugmaker Shionogi applied for approval to make and sell the company’s oral COVID-19 treatment in Japan, the firm said on February 25.
