Hydroxychloroquine Study Shelved

Detroit Free Press: Henry Ford Study On Hydroxychloroquine For COVID-19 Quietly Shut Down
Promoted in April as the first large-scale drug study on the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine to protect against COVID-19, the Detroit-based clinical trial has quietly been iced. Henry Ford Health System officials told Bridge Michigan they could not find enough participants to continue studying whether the drug could help beat back the deadly pandemic. Hydroxychloroquine — an antimalarial drug that has also proven useful in treating rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and other inflammatory diseases — briefly produced some excitement last spring when it was promoted as a potential game-changer by President Trump. But early optimism gave way to broader medical studies, with the nation’s top health agencies eventually determining it was not effective in treating or preventing the spread of the novel coronavirus. (Erb, 1/11)

CNN: Doctors Test Popular Anti-Depressant To See If It Fights Off Covid-19 
Doctors are running a clinical trial to see if a popular anti-depressant might keep someone from becoming severely ill with Covid-19. The researchers at Washington University of St. Louis are recruiting 1,100 people in the beginning stages of Covid-19 to test out the drug fluvoxamine, also known as Luvox. (Cohen, 1/11)

Stat: Gilead's Remdesivir Sales Are Surging, But Investors Aren't Impressed
A lot more Covid-19 patients in the U.S. are being treated with Gilead Sciences’ remdesivir because of the accelerating case counts. But even with sales of the medicine surging, investors are not impressed. (Feuerstein and Herper, 1/11)

In other pharmaceutical and biotech news —

The Wall Street Journal: Suppliers Of Medical Equipment In Talks To Merge 
Steris PLC is in talks to combine with Cantel Medical Corp. , according to people familiar with the matter, in a deal that would bring together two big providers of sterilization products. The companies are discussing a mostly stock deal that could be completed as soon as Tuesday, assuming talks don’t fall apart, the people said. Cantel has a market value of around $3.5 billion, while Steris’s is around $17.3 billion. (Lombardo, 1/11)

Stat: Tempus Unveils Prototype Cube That Talks Back To Oncologists 
Tempus, a Chicago-based health technology company, wants oncologists to talk to the cube. The cube, in this case, is a device called Tempus One that doctors will be able to put in their lab coat pockets and bring with them as they round at hospitals, asking questions about their patients, the genetic data of tumors, and the availability of clinical trials. Think of it as a tumor science version of Amazon’s Alexa. (Herper, 1/11)

The New York Times: A Colonoscopy Alternative Comes Home 
Most Americans who are due for a colon cancer screening will receive a postcard or a call — or prompting during a doctor’s visit — to remind them that it’s time to schedule a colonoscopy. But at big health care systems like Kaiser Permanente or the federal Veterans Health Administration, the process has changed. Patients who should be screened regularly (age 50 to 75) and who are of average risk, get a letter telling them about a home test kit arriving by mail. (Span, 1/11)

The Wall Street Journal: Bluebird Bio To Spin Off Cancer-Drug Unit 
Bluebird Bio Inc., a biotech pioneer in the field of gene therapies, plans to split itself in two later this year, spinning off its cancer-drug unit into a new, publicly traded company so it can focus on rare diseases. Bluebird Chief Executive Nick Leschly will helm the new cancer company and assume a new position as executive chairman of Bluebird. Andrew Obenshain, currently Bluebird’s president of severe genetic diseases, will become its chief executive, the company said. (Walker, 1/11)

Stat: Vertex Taking More Aggressive M&A Stance To Bolster Its Research Pipeline
Vertex Pharmaceuticals is looking to acquire “mid- and late-stage assets” to bolster its current research pipeline, CEO Reshma Kewalramani said Monday at the virtual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference. The company also sees more growth for its cystic fibrosis drug business. (Feuerstein, 1/11)