Paxlovid, a Pfizer antiviral awarded FDA emergency authorization in 2021 for treating Covid-19, is now approved for treating adults. Results from a pivotal clinical trial showed that Paxlovid led to an 86% reduction in Covid-19-related hospitalization or death from any cause compared to a placebo.
Xofluza, a flu antiviral drug developed by Roche and Shionogi, is now approved in Europe for children age 1 and older. The European Commission decision expands the patient population for the drug, which was previously approved for treating adolescents and adults.
As technology advances, AI-powered tools will increasingly reduce the administrative burdens on healthcare providers.
A Merck HIV drug placed under multiple full and partial clinical holds last year is now clear to resume testing. As part of a modified plan, Merck will test a lower dose of its experimental drug, islatravir. The pharma giant is also dropping tests of the drug for HIV prevention.
An antiviral that Enanta Pharmaceuticals is developing for respiratory syncytial virus infection failed to beat a placebo in its first Phase 2 test. But the biotech notes that these study participants weren’t very sick and may have recovered on their own, so it’s now pinning its hopes on ongoing studies in higher-risk groups, such as transplant patients.
Chimerix is selling global rights to smallpox drug Tembexa, the biotech’s only FDA-approved product, as a way to fund clinical development of a therapy in pivotal testing for a rare type of brain cancer. The deal marks Chimerix’s nearly complete departure from the antiviral work that defined the company for most of its history.
Leyden Labs is developing nasal spray medicines to prevent respiratory viral infections. The company’s Series B round of funding follows a licensing deal that gives the biotech rights to a Janssen antibody designed to address the two types of influenza that cause seasonal flu.
Executives from Imagine360, Verily, BrightInsight, Lantern, and Rhapsody shared their approaches to reducing healthcare costs and facilitating digital transformation.
Takeda Pharmaceutical won FDA approval for Livtencity, an antiviral developed to treat cytomegalovirus infection in transplant patients. The agency also approved an Aadi Biosciences drug, making it the first therapy authorized for treating a rare type of soft-tissue cancer.
Not quite a cure for the common cold, but close - PrEP Biopharm, a J&J licensee, is raising $25M for a nasal spray that it says can stop a cold in its tracks, preventing symptoms from materializing.
Fujifilm has made an offer to the World Health Organization to distribute a stockpile of anti-influenza meds that could treat up to 20,000 individuals with Ebola. A new New Yorker article outlines why – how digital imaging behemoth Fujifilm is playing what could be an important role in the treatment of Ebola. Five years ago, it […]
San Diego startup Hera Therapeutics is developing a topical antiviral drug that attacks human papillomavirus – and early studies are showing it can successfully combat three strains, including two that cause 70 percent of all cervical cancer. The drug candidate, HTI-1968, blocked the replication of HPV-16, HPV-18 and HPV-11 cells, according to the NIAID-sponsored study. The work […]
The future looks bright for the integrated specialty pharmacy model – for health systems, providers, and most importantly, for patients.