LONDON – The World Health Organization (WHO) has officially declared COVID-19 a pandemic, but is pushing back strongly against countries giving up on stringent control measures.

HONG KONG – Cadila Healthcare Ltd. (Zydus Cadila) has won approval for its saroglitazar to be used as the treatment of non-cirrhotic nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) in India. The green light from the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) makes saroglitazar the first drug in the world approved for this indication.

The Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) and CMS both posted their final rules for electronic health records (EHRs), and analysts with Cowen Washington Research Group said both rules essentially replicate the draft versions. The provisions dealing with data blocking and interoperability are expected to benefit developers of HER systems in the near term, and telehealth should also benefit, albeit over a longer scale of time.

Despite the growing concerns about the potential for the community spread of COVID-19 in the U.S., the FDA-FTC public workshop on competition in the biologics marketplace went ahead as scheduled March 9, playing to a full house with some audience members sitting in an overflow room. And all the invited speakers and people registered to speak during the open public hearing session showed up.

With the FDA approval of Novartis AG’s Isturisa (osilodrostat), an oral treatment for adults with Cushing’s disease, Recordati SpA, of Milan, is planning its U.S. market launch for the second or third quarter of this year. Recordati, which acquired Isturisa’s worldwide rights from Novartis in October for $390 million, expects sales to peak at $100 million annually.