At 16 weeks, 70 percent of patients with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis receiving the investigational IL-13 inhibitor lebrikizumab combined with standard-of-care topical corticosteroids (TCS) achieved at least 75 percent improvement in overall disease severity (EASI-75*) in the ADhere trial, Eli Lilly and Company announced April 11 at the 4th Annual Revolutionizing Atopic Dermatitis Conference.

Silverback Therapeutics is halting the company’s clinical oncology programs and letting go of about 27% of its workforce as part of a restructuring initiative that would leave Silverback with more cash reserves. 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved AbbVie’s Rinvoq (upadacitinib) for adults with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis who have had an inadequate response or intolerance to one or more tumor necrosis factor blockers. 

The prevailing theory about the Omicron variant is that it is going to rip through the population quickly and possibly burn out, marking the downside of the COVID-19 pandemic. But researchers are expressing concern about a subvariant of Omicron dubbed BA.2 that appears to be tearing through Denmark, just as the first Omicron wave subsided.

AbbVie’s Rinvoq won approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of adult patients with active psoriatic arthritis who have had an inadequate response or demonstrated an intolerance to one or more tumor necrosis factor (TNF) blockers.

Merck is widening the company’s reach into the treatment of autoimmune diseases by investing in Synthekine, a bioresearch company that develops engineered cytokine therapeutics. 

Pfizer BioNTech

According to a Wall Street Journal report, the preferred Covid-19 shot globally is the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

Eli Lilly

Eli Lilly announced the success of the global health care company’s clinical trial on lebrikizumab as a treatment for people diagnosed with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis (AD). 

Burlingame, California-based Humanigen reported positive data from the company’s Phase Ib ZUMA-19 trial of lenzilumab in patients treated with CAR-T in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Lenzilumab is being investigated for the drug compound’s ability to tamp down the hyper-immune response known as a cytokine storm.

Novel coronavirus

According to separate studies, blood type does not affect susceptibility to Covid-19 in U.S. patients and an inhaled steroid commonly used to treat asthma can help keep patients with mild Covid-19 from getting sicker.