AstraZeneca and Amgen said their experimental asthma drug tezepelumab failed to meet the main goal of reducing patients’ dependence on steroids, while keeping the respiratory condition in check in a late-stage trial.

Dr. Reddy’s Canada filed an application for Reeqonus (favipiravir) Tablets for the acute treatment of mild-to-moderate Covid-19 adult patients under Health Canada’s Interim Order Respecting the Importation, Sale and Advertising of Drugs for Use in Relation to Covid-19.

Data-driven marketing products and services communications firm Relevate Health Group announced the completion of a strategic combination with Arteric, a digital marketing agency known for its proprietary machine learning (ML) driven multichannel digital marketing.

France’s Servier bolstered its presence in oncology with the acquisition of the clinical and research-stage oncology business of Agios Pharmaceuticals in a deal worth up to $2 billion.

Countries across the globe shut their borders to Britain on Dec. 21 due to fears about a highly infectious new coronavirus strain, causing travel chaos and raising the prospect of food shortages days before Britain is set to leave the European Union.

The first injections of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine started to be administered on Dec. 21 after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) on Dec. 18.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted to recommend the use of Moderna Inc.’s Covid-19 vaccine on people 18 years of age and older.

U.S. distribution of Moderna Inc’s Covid-19 vaccine began on Dec. 19, with more than 3,700 sites due to start receiving and administering shots as soon as Dec. 21, vastly widening the rollout started by Pfizer Inc.

Shares of Mesoblast Limited were down more than 30% in trading following the company’s disappointing announcement regarding a stem-cell therapy trial in ventilator-dependent patients with Covid-19 patients who have moderate-to-severe acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Merck

San Diego-based Janux Therapeutics forged a strategic collaboration with pharma giant Merck potentially worth more than $1 billion to develop next-generation T cell engager immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer.