Immunoprecise Antibodies Ltd.'s subsidiary, Talem Therapeutics LLC, has shared promising results of a new study conducted by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) showing continued resilience of Polytope TATX-03 in broadly neutralizing SARS-CoV-2 variants, including two omicron sublineages that had not been previously tested.
Invivyd Inc. (formerly Adagio Therapeutics Inc.) has generated multiple next-generation candidate antibodies for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19, including two molecules designated for near-term clinical development in combination as NVD-200.
Hansoh Healthtech Co. Ltd., part of Jiangsu Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd., has acquired exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize an oral SARS-CoV-2 3C-like protease inhibitor from Beijing Huayi Health Drug Discovery Institute, also known as the Global Health Drug Discovery Institute (GHDDI). The deal includes ¥12 million (US$1.8 million) up front and up to ¥1.68 billion in potential milestone payments, plus tiered royalties on net sales.
Cue Health Inc. rolled out a same-day, at-home, test-to-treatment program through its Cue Health app for any patient in the U.S. with a positive result from its COVID-19 test. The service includes a virtual, on-demand visit with a health care professional to discuss the test result; a prescription for medication to treat the virus, if appropriate; and home delivery of the medication, typically within hours of the visit. Medications may also be made available for pickup at a local pharmacy.
Hansoh Healthtech Co. Ltd., part of Jiangsu Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd., has acquired exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize an oral SARS-CoV-2 3C-like protease inhibitor from Beijing Huayi Health Drug Discovery Institute, also known as the Global Health Drug Discovery Institute (GHDDI). The deal includes ¥12 million (US$1.8 million) up front and up to ¥1.68 billion in potential milestone payments, plus tiered royalties on net sales.
The first randomized placebo-controlled trial assessing the effectiveness of the antiviral drug Tpoxx (tecovirimat) in treating monkeypox has begun in the U.K., with the first patients enrolled on Aug. 21.
It’s a step forward and a step back at Pfizer Inc. Even as Pfizer and its partner Biontech SE finished filing an emergency use authorization application with the U.S. FDA seeking to field an updated booster dose of their omicron COVID vaccine, the regulator has made a request of its own, for more data on the company's oral antiviral, Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir + ritonavir), for treating COVID-19. An Aug. 5, 2022, letter from the FDA stipulates post-EUA requirements for Paxlovid, including that Pfizer conduct a trial in patients with a relapse of COVID symptoms, longhand for a “rebound,” after an initial Paxlovid treatment course.
After declarations from the World Health Organization and the U.S. government that monkeypox is a public health emergency, attention is turning to the pharma industry’s response to the disease. Vaccines look likely to play a crucial role in controlling monkeypox – but could antivirals play a significant part as they did in the COVID-19 pandemic?
