Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Early Success Of Pill That Fights Covid Sparks Excitement
The Wall Street Journal: Covid-19 Pill Shows Promise In Preliminary Testing
An experimental Covid-19 drug that promises to be a kind of Tamiflu for the pandemic had positive results in a preliminary study, one of the drug’s developers said. The pill, which is being developed by Ridgeback Biotherapeutics LP and Merck & Co., significantly reduced infectious virus in subjects in a mid-stage study after five days of treatment, Ridgeback is reporting at a virtual meeting of infectious-disease scientists Saturday. ... The experimental drug, named molnupiravir, could fill an important role by also helping people who are sick but still at home, serving the same kind of role performed by Tamiflu for the flu, some infectious-disease experts say. (McKay, 3/6)
Fox News: COVID-19 Pill Effective In Preliminary Testing May Be 'Holy Grail' Of Pandemic, Dr. Marc Siegel Says
A new possible medication to treat coronavirus-positive patients could be enough to turn the pandemic on its head, Fox News medical contributor Dr. Marc Siegel revealed Sunday on "Fox & Friends Weekend." First-stage testing of the experimental COVID-19 pill called Molnupiravir, by Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, showed promising signs of effectiveness in reducing the virus in patients. "It may be the holy grail on this because it was just studied in phase two trials and it literally stopped the virus in its tracks," he explained. "And there wasn't any virus found in the patients that were studied." (Stabile, 3/7)
Also —
CIDRAP: Nearly A Quarter Of Kids With COVID Or MIS-C Had Neurologic Involvement
Among US children and teens hospitalized with COVID-19 or its related multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), 22% had neurologic conditions, most of them transient but 12% of them life-threatening or fatal, according to a study today in JAMA Neurology. A team led by researchers at Boston Children's Hospital studied 1,695 patients with COVID-19 younger than 21 years admitted to 61 hospitals, 616 (36%) of whom also had MIS-C, from Mar 15 to Dec 15, 2020. Neurologic involvement was identified in 365 (22%) of patients from 52 hospitals. (3/5)
Stat: CytoDyn's Data-Mining Of Study Ends In Failure For Its Covid Treatment
Results from a late-stage clinical trial released late Friday by the drug maker CytoDyn showed its experimental antibody leronlimab failed to improve the survival of patients hospitalized with severe, life-threatening cases of Covid-19. Instead of acknowledging the negative outcome of the Phase 3 clinical trial, however, CytoDyn issued two statements over the weekend claiming results spun from a small slice of patients were positive and warranted approval as a treatment for Covid-19. (Feuerstein, 3/7)
Axios: COVID-19 Drives Smell Loss Awareness, Research
The pandemic has thrust a relatively unknown ailment, anosmia — or smell loss — into the international spotlight. Researchers hope smell testing becomes as standard as the annual flu shot, helping to detect early signs of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. (Malcolm, 3/6)
Axios: Why We Need To Know COVID's Origins
Geopolitical tensions are foiling efforts to get to the bottom of how COVID-19 originated. Insights into how COVID-19 began can help us prevent future pandemics — especially if it involved any kind of leak or accident at a virology lab. (Walsh, 3/6)
