The complete relegation of conferences to cyberspace that began with one HIV conference, CROI 2020, ended with another, the 2021 IAS meeting. Though the conference was still largely virtual, there was also an in-person component held in Berlin.
DUBLIN – Poolbeg Pharma plc raised £25 million (US$35 million) in an IPO on London’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM) to pursue development of antiviral drugs. The company priced the offering at 10 pence per share, which implies a valuation of £50 million. Shares are due to commence trading on Monday, July 19.
Aicuris Anti-Infective Cures AG is beginning the pivotal phase III part of its trial of pritelivir for herpes simplex virus infection after an encouraging midstage readout.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria signed a cooperation and financing agreement to implement 10 initiatives in 2021 through 2023 aimed at addressing persistent challenges impeding global progress against the three diseases and protecting hard-won gains from new pandemics like COVID-19.
Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp. released results from a phase III trial of its enterovirus 71 (EV71) vaccine that showed efficacy of 100% against a virus that causes hand, foot and mouth disease and continues to emerge on a regular basis across Asia.
It has been a bumpy rollercoaster ride for many biopharma companies throughout the pandemic, but overall, the 17 firms that make up BioWorld’s Infectious Disease Index are coming out ahead this year with stocks up by 44.8%.
Viiv Healthcare Group has continued its quest for patient-friendly long-acting HIV drugs, signing a potential $740 million deal with Halozyme Therapeutics Inc. to develop injections that could be dosed more than six months apart.
New phase III data on Novan Inc.'s molluscum contagiosum candidate showed it cleared all lesions associated with the highly contagious viral skin infection in 32.4% of trial participants who received it vs. 19.7% provided a placebo. Paired with what company President and CEO Paula Brown Stafford called "strong safety," the result gives the company's team confidence as it moves toward an NDA submission for the topical antiviral, SB-206, she said.
Following years of testing against a lengthy roster of viral foes, Chimerix Inc.'s Tembexa (brincidofovir) has finally won FDA approval as a medical countermeasure against smallpox.
Micurx Pharmaceuticals Inc. has won marketing approval from China's NMPA for its lead antibacterial, contezolid, for treating adults with complicated skin and soft tissue infection (cSSTI), marking the first NDA for the Shanghai drugmaker. Set to be marketed as Youxitai in China, Micurx discovered the new-generation oral oxazolidinone antibiotic, developing it over 12 years. It’s designed to treat multidrug-resistant gram-positive bacteria such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and vancomycin-resistant Enterococci.
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