Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
In Final Report, Researchers Confirm That Remdesivir Works On COVID
Time: Study Confirms Remdesivir's Benefits For Coronavirus
In a report published Oct. 8 in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers confirmed the benefits of remdesivir for treating people hospitalized for COVID-19. Remdesivir, an antiviral drug, has emergency use authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating anyone hospitalized for COVID-19. That authorization means that doctors can prescribe the intravenous (IV) drug for people who are infected with SARS-CoV-2 and have been hospitalized. While the drug was initially authorized only for those who needed supplemental oxygen or ventilators to breathe, an expanded EUA from the FDA in late August reflects the growing belief among doctors that treating people who aren’t as sick might provide even more benefit—so now includes people with evidence of respiratory infections but don’t yet need supplemental oxygen or help from a ventilator. (Park, 10/8)
Read the study in the New England Journal of Medicine —
Reuters: Eli Lilly In Deal To Supply COVID-19 Drugs To Low-Income Countries
Eli Lilly and Co LLY.N said on Thursday it had entered into an agreement with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for potential supply of its experimental antibody treatments for COVID-19 to low and middle-income countries. As part of the deal, Lilly said it will make antibody therapies available to lower-income countries prior to April 2021, but did not elaborate on the number of doses. Separately, Fujifilm Holdings Corp 4901.T said its facility in Denmark would manufacture treatments next year. (10/8)
Stat: Study Of Cytokinetics, Amgen Heart Drug Meets Goal — But Still Disappoints
Cytokinetics and Amgen said Thursday that an experimental heart drug reduced the risk of hospitalizations and other treatments for patients with chronic heart failure in a large cardiovascular outcomes clinical trial. But while the study achieved its main goal, the treatment effect was marginal and the drug, called omecamtiv mecarbil, did not help heart failure patients live longer, the companies said. (Feuerstein, 10/8)
In biotech news —
Stat: Celgene Shareholders Are Parsing Blurry Photos In Search Of A Payday
Twice a year, hopeful soccer fans are treated to the transfer window, a period in which teams can buy players from one another. It’s known widely as the sport’s “silly season” because it invites fans to dream of impossible signings and circulate flimsy rumors that Star Brazilian Striker X was spotted at the airport on his way to Woeful English City Y. Most of the time, no such thing happens. On Wednesday, former Celgene shareholders experienced the biotech version of that magical thinking when investors on the Internet passed around blurry photos of what may or may not be FDA inspectors walking into what may or may not be a Celgene manufacturing plant. (Garde, 10/8)
