Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
New Combination Drugs Prove Successful Against Severe Covid; FDA Approves Quilipta For Migraines
CIDRAP: Two Drug Combos Show Protection Against Severe COVID-19
Two new randomized, controlled trials published yesterday in the Annals of Internal Medicine describe how drug combinations lowered the risk of severe COVID-19, with one detailing use of the antidepressant fluvoxamine plus the corticosteroid budesonide, and the other outlining the monoclonal antibody duo amubarvimab plus romlusevimab. (Van Beusekom, 4/18)
CIDRAP: Early Steroid Use For Severe COVID-19 Tied To Fewer Deaths
JAMA Network Open has published a new US national cohort study demonstrating that early administration of the steroid dexamethasone was associated with significantly reduced odds of mortality or discharge to hospice in those requiring supplemental oxygen or mechanical ventilation and/or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. (Soucheray, 4/18)
FiercePharma: AbbVie's Qulipta Gains Approval To Prevent Chronic Migraines
AbbVie’s Qulipta has gained an edge in the heated migraine market thanks to a new approval to prevent chronic migraines. (Becker, 4/18)
Reuters: US Allows Use Of Gamida's Therapy In Blood Cancer Treatment
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Monday it had approved the use of Gamida Cell Ltd's cell therapy for cutting the risk of infection in patients undergoing treatment for blood cancer, sending the company's shares up 46%. (4/17)
Reuters: US FDA Panel Backs Innoviva's Drug For Multidrug-Resistant Bacterial Infections
A panel of U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisers on Monday unanimously voted in favor of Innoviva Inc's (INVA.O) experimental antibiotic in the treatment of serious bacterial infections, typically associated with hospitalizations, the company said. (Mahobe and Roy, 4/17)
Reuters: US FDA Declines To Approve Eli Lilly's Bowel Disease Drug
Eli Lilly and Co said on Thursday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had declined to approve its drug to treat a type of chronic inflammatory bowel disease in adults. (4/13)
ScienceDaily: Implantable Device Shrinks Pancreatic Tumors: Taming Pancreatic Cancer With Intratumoral Immunotherapy
In a paper recently published in Advanced Science, Houston Methodist Research Institute researchers used an implantable nanofluidic device they invented to deliver CD40 monoclonal antibodies (mAb), a promising immunotherapeutic agent, at a sustained low-dose via the nanofluidic drug-eluting seed (NDES). (Houston Methodist, 4/13)
