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.
Heat Biologics announced that a new development is underway in the company’s partnership with subsidiary Scorpion Biological Services.
ReutersJohnson & Johnson agreed to pay $99 million to settle claims by West Virginia that it helped fuel an opioid addiction crisis in the state, removing the company from an ongoing trial that began earlier in April.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a draft guidance that, when finalized, will outline the agency’s approach to evaluating the public health importance of food allergens that are not one of the major nine food allergens identified by law in the United States (non-listed food allergens).
ReutersA second Global COVID-19 Summit will be held virtually during May for countries to discuss efforts to end the pandemic and prepare for future health threats, according to a joint statement on April 18.
The FDA issued new guidance, titled “Diversity Plans to Improve Enrollment of Participants from Underrepresented Racial and Ethnic Subgroups in Clinical Trials,” that calls for companies to submit a Race and Ethnicity Diversity Plan to include more underrepresented minority populations in the United States.
ReutersThe head of the World Trade Organization told Reuters on April 14 that negotiations on an intellectual property deal for COVID-19 vaccines were ongoing between the four parties, saying they were seeking to agree on the proposal’s final terms.
Global COVID-19 cases surpassed 500 million on April 14, according to a Reuters tally, as the highly contagious BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron surges in many countries in Europe and Asia.
The United States on April 13 renewed the COVID-19 public health emergency, allowing millions of Americans to keep getting free tests, vaccines and treatments for at least three more months.
Life expectancy in the United States fell by nearly two years in 2020 to about 77 years amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the sharpest drop compared to 21 other high-income countries, according to a global study.