Pfizer Inc. maintained sales forecasts for the company’s pandemic products on May 3 after a series of hikes to revenue projections for its COVID-19 vaccine in 2021, in a sign that dizzying growth has slowed.
Merck announced the company’s Q1 2022 results, reporting year-over-year revenue growth of 50 percent from continuing operations, with worldwide sales increasing to $15.9 billion. As anticipated, Merck’s COVID-19 antiviral treatment Lagevrio (molnupiravir) played a role in the company’s robust sales.
The World Health Organization indicated support for Pfizer’s Paxlovid and is also reversing a previous decision on using Gilead Sciences’ antiviral remdesivir, now recommending the medication in cases of mild to moderate COVID-19 severity.
AstraZeneca’s Phase III Provent trial results showed a statistically significant 77 percent decrease in a patient’s likelihood of developing symptomatic COVID-19 when proactively treated with Evusheld. Additionally, results were announced by Clover Biopharmaceuticals for the Phase II/III Spectra global study investigating the efficacy of the SCB-2019 (CpG 1018/Alum) vaccine booster in patients that have previously developed a COVID-19 infection.
ReutersWorldwide demand for Pfizer Inc.’s oral COVID-19 antiviral treatment Paxlovid has been unexpectedly light due to complicated eligibility requirements, reduced testing and potential for drug interactions, a Reuters review of data and interviews with experts found.
The Chinese government halted the recommendation of an herbal supplement used as a traditional Chinese treatment for mild cases of COVID-19.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration extended by three months the regulatory agency’s review of the Biologics License Application (BLA) for Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s REGEN-COV (casirivimab and imdevimab) to treat COVID-19 in non-hospitalized patients and as prophylaxis in certain individuals.
Reuters HealthThe U.S. Food and Drug administration granted priority review to Roche’s Actemra/RoActemra for the treatment of COVID-19 in hospitalized adults.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic has hit companies unevenly, some biopharma firms that have produced new drugs or vaccines against the disease have shown big spikes in drug sales. BioSpace reviewed five companies that produced non-vaccine treatments for COVID-19.
ReutersGilead Sciences Inc.’s COVID-19 drug remdesivir during 2021 overtook AbbVie Inc.’s 20-year-old arthritis drug Humira as the medicine that U.S. hospitals spent the most on, according to Vizient Inc., a purchasing group used by about half the nation’s hospitals.
