On the heels of Pfizer’s $1.95 billion COVID-19 vaccine deal with the U.S. government, one analyst says the drugmaker could earn many more billions in revenue on its potential vaccine—if the program succeeds. At $1.95 billion for 100 million doses, Pfizer’s deal sets a price-per-dose of $19.50, which Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Sam Fazeli sees as […]
Novartis’ generic hydroxychloroquine may have little use in COVID-19, but the Swiss pharma still wants to contribute its low-cost drugs in some way in the current fight. Novartis’ Sandoz unit will offer 15 generic and over-the-counter medicines at zero profit to developing countries during the pandemic, the company said Thursday. The portfolio covers widely used antibiotics and […]
As of July 12, the number of new cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. has surpassed 60,000 for the fifth day in a row. Unfortunately, this rise cannot be attributed to increases in testing. For most of last week, nearly 1,000 Americans died each day due to COVID-19, representing a 300% increase from the death […]
Gilead will increase the number of doses of remdesivir it’s donating to the federal government in the next six weeks, STAT reported. The drugmaker had planned to donate 607,000 vials of remdesivir — the drug that received FDA emergency approval for use in treating COVID-19 patients after it was shown to shorten recovery time in patients with the virus […]
Within a week of the Food and Drug Administration’s authorization of remdesivir as a COVID-19 treatment, clinicians are pushing the Trump administration to clarify how it is selecting which hospitals get access to the drug. Shares of Gilead Sciences Inc. GILD, +0.18%, which developed remdesivir, edged up 0.2% in Thursday trades and are up 19.4% in 2020. MORE…
As COVID-19 ravages across the globe, Regeneron has responded with its own two-pronged approach against the disease. After early results in China showed inhibiting IL-6 could manage a potentially deadly immune overreaction in serious COVID-19 patients, Regeneron and partner Sanofi started a phase 2/3 trial of their rheumatoid arthritis therapy Kevzara, following a similar move […]
The COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing societal countermeasures are upending operations in many sectors—and biopharma isn’t immune. The current lockdown is not only hurting clinical trial enrollment but also delaying regulatory timelines for drugs nearing a decision. And with tried-and-true, in-person marketing techniques no longer allowed, new launches may also feel the pain—or hold off altogether. Consider Bristol […]
After The Wall Street Journal first broke the news this week, Amgen and new partner Adaptive Biotechnologies have confirmed they are the latest pharma-biotech duo joining forces against the pandemic. The pair, which said it will “start work immediately,” will develop fully human neutralizing antibodies targeting the COVID-19-causing virus, SARS-CoV-2, to potentially prevent or treat […]
Sanofi and Regeneron have hustled up a second pivotal trial for their IL-6 drug Kevzara as a potential therapy for severe cases of Covid-19. The partners swiftly assembled a study drawing patients from Italy, Spain, Germany, France, Canada and Russia, planning to sign up 300 patients in a Phase II to test a low and […]
Novartis and a consortium of life sciences companies have collaborated with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) to advance the development, manufacture and delivery of vaccines, diagnostics and treatments for COVID-19, the disease resulted due to the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Novartis, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eisai, Eli Lilly, Gilead, GSK, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Pfizer, […]