Fulcrum Therapeutics achieved what the company is calling a clinical first. Data from a Phase IIb study showed that using losmapimod to treat facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) slowed the progression of the disease and demonstrated improved function in patients.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted breakthrough therapy designation to Japanese company Eisai and partner Biogen’s experimental therapy lecanemab for patients with early Alzheimer’s.
In a roundup of scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines, a prostate cancer drug improved Covid-19 survival in a clinical trial and mildly ill young Covid-19 patients reported lasting symptoms in another study.
The successful use of messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines for Covid-19 has led to a flurry of research studies designed to test these candidates in other illnesses. Translate Bio, for instance, launched a Phase I clinical trial with Sanofi’s vaccines global business unit Sanofi Pasteur to evaluate an mRNA-based investigational vaccine for the flu.
The University of Oxford is testing the anti-parasitic drug ivermectin as a possible treatment for Covid-19, as part of a British government-backed study that aims to aid recoveries in non-hospital settings.
Roche presented results from several Phase II and III trials at the 7th Congress of the European Academy of Neurology (EAN) Annual Meeting held virtually June 19-22.
Florida-based Cantex Pharmaceuticals forged a licensing deal with vTv Therapeutics for a drug that had initially been developed as a potential treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. Cantex intends to repurpose the drug for multiple indications in cancer.
U.S. scientists are expanding a government-funded study that aims to directly answer the question of whether Moderna Inc.’s Covid-19 vaccine curbs the spread of SARS-CoV-2.
Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals and Horizon Therapeutics announced a research and development collaboration to advance an RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutic for uncontrolled gout.
Gilead Sciences Inc. said an analysis showed the company’s antiviral remdesivir reduced mortality rates in hospitalized patients with Covid-19 and increased the likelihood of being discharged by day 28 after a five-day course of the treatment.
