Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Merck's Anti-Viral Covid Pill Works, But Only In Early Stages
Stat: Merck To Continue Tests Of Covid Pill, But Stop Trial In Hospitalized Patients
Merck said Thursday that it has seen “encouraging” results in a clinical trial of an antiviral pill to treat Covid-19 early in the disease’s course, but the pill failed to help hospitalized patients and must be used very early in the disease. At the same time, the company said it will stop efforts to develop a second medicine for patients who have already been hospitalized with the disease. (Herper, 4/15)
Bloomberg: Merck Setback Limits Study of Covid Pill to Milder Disease
The drugmaker is also scrapping a therapy, MK-7110, that it acquired in a $425 million deal less than five months ago, marking another setback in its hunt to curb the pandemic after shutting down its vaccine program in January. It plans to focus on developing molnupiravir as an outpatient treatment, where there are few medicines available, after it showed signs of helping control the virus. (Griffin and Koons, 4/15)
In other covid research news —
CIDRAP: P1 COVID-19 Variant More Transmissible, May Evade Cross-Immunity
The P1 SARS-CoV-2 variant, which was first identified in Brazil, may be more than twice as transmissible as non-P.1 lineages, and it may lower protective immunity from non-P1 variants 21% to 46%, according to a study published yesterday in Science. From November 2020 to January 2021, the researchers conducted genomic sequencing on 184 COVID-19 samples collected from the city of Manaus in Brazil's Amazonas state, which has experienced two major COVID-19 surges. Phylogenetic analysis showed that P1 and another lineage, P2, were descendants of lineage B1128, and that P1 probably diverged around Nov 15 after a period of faster molecular evolution. This was 3 to 4 weeks before Manaus, home to 2.2 million people, saw a COVID resurgence. (4/15)
CIDRAP: Dogs Able To Sniff Out COVID-Positive Urine, Saliva In Pilot Study
Nine dogs were able to sniff out COVID-positive urine and saliva samples in a proof-of-concept study published yesterday in PLOS One, but the researchers note that a lack of sample diversity made it difficult to tell how generalizable the training was. Training was conducted with a scent wheel that had various scents at the end of the spokes. First the dogs were trained to detect a distinctive scent with a universal detection compound. Then they moved onto COVID-positive and -negative urine samples, all treated so the virus was inactivated, and lastly, treated saliva samples. (4/15)
The Baltimore Sun: ‘It Puts People’s Minds At Ease’: UMBC Using Maryland-Made COVID-Detection Device In Labs, Classrooms, Dorms
After a visitor to the University of Maryland, Baltimore County’s Performing Arts & Humanities Concert Hall tested positive for COVID-19 last week, Mike Pound wheeled a lab cart carrying a printer-sized device with a large megaphone-like attachment into the room. The BioFlash, a Maryland-made technology, sucked in an air sample, which passed over a compact disc-like biosensor containing a COVID-19 antibody. In a matter of minutes, a small digital panel on the side read: “Test complete — No agents detected.” The room was cleared for class to take place the next day. (Campbell, 4/16)
Stat: Some Experts Fear Next-Generation Covid Vaccines May Be Worse
With Covid-19 vaccines, the world hopes to beat back the virus that causes the disease. But some scientists are increasingly concerned that, because of a quirk of our own biology, future iterations of the vaccines might not always be quite as effective as they are today. The concerns stem from a phenomenon that is known as imprinting, sometimes called original antigenic sin, which is believed to affect how we respond to some pathogens. (Branswell, 4/16)
KHN: Mysterious Ailment, Mysterious Relief: Vaccines Help Some Covid Long Haulers
An estimated 10% to 30% of people who get covid-19 suffer from lingering symptoms of the disease, or what’s known as “long covid.” Judy Dodd, who lives in New York City, is one of them. She spent nearly a year plagued by headaches, shortness of breath, extreme fatigue and problems with her sense of smell, among other symptoms. (Stone, 4/16)
