The 71st annual American College of Cardiology’s Scientific Session saw several wins – and some “mehs” led by some of biopharma’s largest companies, according to BioSpace.

Light-to-moderate alcohol consumption is linked to a reduced risk of heart attack, stroke and death among those with heart disease, according to a study published in the journal BMC Medicine on July 26.

The United States Food and Drug Administration approved Bayer’s Kerendia (finerenone), a first-in-class nonsteroidal mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist indicated to reduce the risk of sustained eGFR decline, kidney failure, cardiovascular death, non-fatal myocardial infarction and hospitalization for heart failure in adult patients with chronic kidney disease associated with type 2 diabetes.

Idorsia is launching a late-stage trial of the experimental heart-attack drug selatogrel that the Swiss company hopes will become what it describes as akin to an “EpiPen” for people at risk of acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

Speculation regarding poorer outcomes for those with high cholesterol and/or heart disease infected with SARS-CoV-2 are well known. A real-world study published by the FH Foundation confirms Covid-19 increased heart attack rates significantly in patients with these conditions. 

The European Commission granted Amarin Corporation Plc’s fish-oil derived heart drug Vazkepa marketing authorization in the European Union, the drugmaker said on March 30.

A judge in Hawaii ordered Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and Sanofi SA to pay more than $834 million to the state for failing to warn non-white patients properly of health risks from the blood thinner Plavix.

Much of the attention on Pfizer, BioNTech, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca has been on their Covid-19 vaccine efforts, and here is a look at what else is going on with these companies.

Anthos Therapeutics is developing next-generation anticoagulants that do not have the bleeding risks that current blood thinners have.

A roundup of some of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for Covid-19, the illness caused by the virus.