Just as the world appeared to be winning the battle against COVID-19, the rules of the game changed. Omicron and concerns about future variants flipped the board. Vaccines and monoclonal antibodies are attracting fresh scrutiny as SARS-CoV-2 evolves. Cases are climbing closer to the highest levels recorded since the pandemic began. Antivirals are aiming to fill treatment gaps, but whether they will or not is about as clear as the virus’ next move. Read More
Be careful who you’re doing business with. That’s the warning the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit sent this week to multinational drug and device companies doing business in terrorist hot spots around the world. Reversing a lower court, the D.C. Circuit cleared the way Jan. 4 for 21 drug and device companies to potentially be held accountable for doing business with Jaysh al-Mahdi terrorists, operating through the Iraqi Ministry of Health, who injured or killed hundreds of U.S. troops and civilians in Iraq. Read More
Once the CDC accepts the recommendation of its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), the COVID-19 vaccine regimen, at least for the Pfizer Inc.-Biontech SE vaccine, will include a booster dose for everyone 12 and older. ACIP voted 13-1 at a Jan. 5 emergency meeting to recommend the booster dose for 12- to 17-year-olds at least five months after a primary series of the Pfizer vaccine. Read More
Annexon Inc. deemed promising – as did analysts – the interim phase II data with C1q protein complex inhibitor ANX-005 in Huntington’s disease (HD), but the safety profile took Wall Street aback, and shares (NASDAQ:ANNX) sank $3.75, or 34%, to close at $7.26. Read More
Amneal Pharmaceuticals Inc. has bought a small portfolio of drugs from fellow U.S. biotech Saol Therapeutics Inc., adding the skeletal muscle relaxant baclofen to its portfolio and boosting its pipeline with a potential therapy to treat spasticity in a deal worth $83.5 million plus royalties. Read More
A new artificial intelligence (AI)-powered drug discovery startup, Protai Bio, has emerged from stealth mode following an $8 million seed round led by Grove Ventures and Pitango Healthtech that will see the new company develop a platform to accelerate drug discovery. Read More
Sperogenix Therapeutics Ltd. has acquired exclusive greater China rights to Santhera Pharmaceuticals Holding AG’s glucocorticoid analogue vamorolone in a deal worth up to $124 million. Read More
