| The world still waits for an effective coronavirus treatment, as the global case count passes the 1 million mark. Gilead is delivering trial doses for its antiviral remdesivir in the U.K., while its CEO pledges to “work to ensure affordability” if its studies are successful. Elsewhere, Fujifilm is boosting Avigan production, while the White House pressures the FDA to greenlight the flu drug. Meanwhile, repurposing efforts are looking at everything, including stroke drugs and more, as the disease forces biotechs to redirect resources and pause promising studies in other fields. Those stories plus the week’s top reads follow below. | |
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Featured Story | | | Wednesday, April 1, 2020 With Prime Minister Boris Johnson infected and isolated in Downing Street, and other top officials similarly afflicted with COVID-19, the U.K. is joining in the testing for Gilead Sciences' much-hyped antiviral candidate remdesivir. The trial news comes as case counts surge and officials hustle to get hospitals ready for a surge in patients. |
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Top Stories Of The Week Monday, March 30, 2020 Will Gilead Sciences make a fortune out of remdesivir if the antiviral proves itself against the novel coronavirus? CEO Daniel O'Day said the Big Biotech will “work to ensure affordability and access so that remdesivir is available to patients with the greatest need” if it’s approved. But with a large pool of potential patients, there's plenty of room for sales. Monday, March 30, 2020 Moderna has become the latest company to hit pause on clinical trials in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The biotech, which is leading efforts to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, is pausing enrollment in some infectious and rare disease trials while continuing to try to add patients to its cancer studies. Friday, March 27, 2020 As the COVID-19 pandemic swells, experts around the globe are working to determine which existing medicines might help patients experiencing severe illness. Malaria drug chloroquine has gotten a lot of the attention, but now a team suggests a Roche stroke drug is worth exploring. Saturday, March 28, 2020 Abbott is launching a rapid coronavirus test able to deliver positive results in as little as five minutes from a tabletop box the size of a small toaster oven. Wednesday, April 1, 2020 The White House is eyeing Fujifilm's influenza drug Avigan as a potential coronavirus treatment—and it’s pressuring the FDA to green light emergency use during the pandemic. But the drug's side effects have deterred the agency before, and its clinical profile for COVID-19 is far from conclusive. Monday, March 30, 2020 Fujifilm says it is prepared to ramp up production of Avigan for any country that wants to try it as a potential treatment for COVID-19. But even as it has restarted production, the Japanese drugmaker feels compelled to set the record straight about the influenza drug. Sunday, March 29, 2020 Medtronic is back with new data finally demonstrating the effectiveness of its catheter-based ablation procedure aimed at the kidneys to help lower high blood pressure where multiple medications have failed. Monday, March 30, 2020 Several academic institutions and biotech startups are stepping up with ideas of how to take existing research and pivot it towards potential solutions to COVID-19. It may take several months for these efforts to bear fruit, at which point this pandemic may have ended, but the scientists leading the charge believe their discoveries will help fend off future outbreaks. Sunday, March 29, 2020 Pharma TV ad spending returned to typical levels in February after an exceptionally robust January start for the year. February’s top 10 brands spent $149 million down from more than $200 million in January, according to data from real-time TV ad tracker iSpot.tv. And the trend may be here to stay, for now, with the COVID-19 economic downturn. Resources Sponsored by: Altran This whitepaper highlights the challenges of implementing the right digital twin strategy while providing key use cases in the manufacturing domain for which a digital twin is extremely useful and several examples of technology trends that will shape the future. Sponsored by: Clinical Ink Download this free white paper to learn how a BYOD ePRO approach is beneficial to your trial. Sponsored by: Patheon, by Thermo Fisher Scientific Poorly soluble molecules hindering your workflow? Sponsored by: eClinical Solutions Key findings from the 2019 Life Sciences Data & Analytics Survey conducted by the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development will be unveiled during this live webinar led by industry expert and study lead, Ken Getz, Director of Sponsored Programs and Associate Professor. Sponsored by: Catalent Learn how to drive excellence within the forecasting process and utilize forecasting throughout the clinical study to better plan clinical supply budgets and project timelines. Explore how to identify potential supply-related issues before they can negatively impact your study. Sponsored by: Catalent Whether a study is simple or highly complex, forecasting and simulation reports serve as data driven communication tools to help minimize risks and keep the study on track. Learn more about forecasting solutions for informed decision making and supporting contingency planning for clinical study. Sponsored by: Catalent Learn about a real-world example of how clinical supply management expertise was applied to overcome inventory challenges for a complex, global study. Sponsored by: Epsilon Download this e-book to learn 9 ways to enhance the customer experience within healthcare marketing. Sponsored by: Reprints Desk/Research Solutions 3 ways you may be overspending on scientific literature access, and how to fix them. Sponsored by: Catalent This whitepaper discusses the benefits of end-to-end solutions and share case studies on how flexible manufacturing strategies can accommodate the changing landscape of pharmaceutical products and help bring a drug to market. |
