The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Genentech’s Actemra (tocilizumab) for slowing the rate of decline in pulmonary function in adults with systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD).
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. paused enrollment in a late-stage study testing the company’s rare blood-disorder drug in adults with severe Covid-19 requiring mechanical ventilation.
Shares of Mesoblast Limited were down more than 30% in trading following the company’s disappointing announcement regarding a stem-cell therapy trial in ventilator-dependent patients with Covid-19 patients who have moderate-to-severe acute respiratory distress syndrome.
Novartis said a late-stage clinical trial of ruxolitinib on top of standard therapy showed no significant reduction in severe complications of Covid-19, including death, respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation or admission to the intensive care unit.
Gilead’s remdesivir should not be used for patients hospitalized with Covid-19, regardless of how ill they are, as there is no evidence the drug improves survival or reduces the need for ventilation, a World Health Organization panel said.
Novartis’ IL-1β inhibitor Ilaris (canakinumab) came up short in a Phase III Covid-19 study, the company reported, following an interim analysis of data.
Treating critically ill Covid-19 patients with corticosteroid drugs reduces the risk of death by 20 percent, an analysis of seven international trials found, prompting the World Health Organization to update its advice on treatment.
Gilead Sciences reported additional data from the company’s Phase III SIMPLE-Severe trial and a real-world retrospective group of patients with severe COVID-19.
AstraZeneca’s cancer drug Calquence has shown initial signs of helping hospitalized COVID-19 patients get through the worst of the disease, as researchers scramble to repurpose existing treatments to help fight the deadly infection.
The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) said data from the company’s trial of Gilead Sciences Inc.’s remdesivir show that the drug offers the most benefit for COVID-19 patients who need extra oxygen but do not require mechanical ventilation.
