Atea Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Boston, brought in a $215 million series D financing to support development of its COVID-19 antiviral, which is designed to inhibit the viral RNA polymerase enzyme, a key element in RNA virus replication.
Saying it’s too early to gauge the potential economic benefit of a marketed COVID-19 therapy for his firm, Aldeyra Therapeutics Inc. CEO Todd Brady cited “a strong feeling of altruism” among researchers addressing the crisis, as they turn over discoveries likely to be helpful beyond it.
DUBLIN – Kancera AB is the latest contender to reposition a clinical-stage small molecule with an immunomodulatory mechanism as a drug candidate for COVID-19.
LONDON – Heart disease is now known to be both a cause and an effect of serious COVID-19 infection, with more than 1 in 10 patients who have underlying cardiac conditions being killed by the virus, while others with no previous record of cardiovascular problems are suffering significant COVID-19 induced weakening of their hearts.
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Astrazeneca, Atea, Eiger, Evoke, Fate, Foundation, Incyte, Karyopharm, Merck, Morphosys, Octapharma.
Clinical updates, including trial initiations, enrollment status and data readouts and publications: Alkermes, Arch, Astex, Beyond Air, Cidara, Cyclo, Diffusion, Forma, KBP, Roche, Santhera.
Quidel Corp., of San Diego, has scored another win at the U.S. FDA, receiving emergency use authorization (EUA) for the Lyra Direct SARS-CoV-2 Assay to allow direct sample processing. What’s special about this assay is that it does not require an up-front sample extraction. Instead, it uses a reformulated buffer that replaces that process with a simple 10-minute heat step, saving about 50 minutes in processing time.
Regulatory snapshots, including global submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Archerdx, Bio-Rad, Cochlear, Invivoscribe, Ortho, Quidel, Theradiag, Thermedical.
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