Eli Lilly

The U.S. health regulator revised on Jan. 24 the emergency use authorizations for COVID-19 antibody treatments from Regeneron and Eli Lilly to limit their use, as the drugs are unlikely to work against the Omicron coronavirus variant.

At least 1 in 5 Americans have been infected with COVID-19. In other news, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Gilead Sciences’ supplemental New Drug Application for Veklury (remdesivir) for adults and adolescents with COVID-19 who are not hospitalized but are at high risk of progression to severe COVID-19, hospitalization or death.

The U.S. FDA on January 21 expanded the health regulator’s approval for the use of Gilead Sciences’ antiviral drug remdesivir to treat non-hospitalized patients 12 years and older for the treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19 disease with high risk of hospitalization.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and White House chief medical advisor, said they expect the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will authorize the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children under the age of 5 years in the next month.

A protein called CD47 that helps damaged cells avoid destruction by the immune system may be contributing to severe cases of Covid-19, researchers suggested in a report. In other news, Gilead Sciences Inc.’s intravenous antiviral drug remdesivir helped keep high-risk Covid-19 patients out of the hospital in a randomized trial.

Eli Lilly

Eli Lilly and Co. and partner Incyte Corp. said on Aug. 3 additional results from a late-stage study showed their Covid-19 drug baricitinib reduced the risk of death in patients on mechanical ventilation.

The U.S. health regulator expanded the emergency use authorization for Eli Lilly’s baricitinib for Covid-19, saying the arthritis medicine could now be used without taking Gilead’s drug remdesivir along with the product.

Gilead Sciences Inc. said an analysis showed the company’s antiviral remdesivir reduced mortality rates in hospitalized patients with Covid-19 and increased the likelihood of being discharged by day 28 after a five-day course of the treatment.

Russia’s Supreme Court on May 27 rejected a lawsuit from Gilead Sciences that challenged a Russian government decision to let a Russian firm develop and market the anti-Covid-19 drug remdesivir without the U.S. company ‘s consent.

U.S. drugmaker Merck & Co. joined Gilead Sciences Inc. on April 27 in lending support to India as the world’s second-most populous country scrambles to address drug shortages and bring a raging new wave of Covid-19 cases under control.