Pharmafile.com’s top 10 news stories of the week
pharmafile | May 7, 2021 | News story | Medical Communications | covid 19 news, covid-19 news, news round up, pharma, pharma news, top 10
Among our ten most-read stories this week: NICE has announced that more patients are eligible for a £75,000-a-vial SMA drug, while Celltrion’s COVID-19 treatment has shown promise against the South African variant of the virus; elsewhere, GSK’s lupus treatment has been approved by the European Commission.
1. NICE finds more SMA patients eligible for £75,000 a vial drug – Published 04/05/21
NICE has announced that more people with the rare genetic disorder spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) are to benefit from nusinersen, following a review of data collected as part of the Managed Access Agreement (MAA).
2. Celltrion’s COVID-19 treatment shows promise against South African variant – Published 30/04/21
Celltrion’s regdanvimab treatment for COVID-19 has shown itself to be effective against the South African variant of the virus, according to preliminary results from a pre-clinical trial.
3. GSK lupus treatment approved by European Commission – Published 06/05/21
GSK’s Benlysta treatment, for patients with active lupus nephritis (LN) in addition to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), has been approved by the European Commission for expanded use.
4. New HIV prevention drug application submitted to FDA – Published 05/05/21
ViiV Healthcare have initiated a rolling submission of a new drug application (NDA) with the FDA for their long-acting HIV prevention drug, cabotegravir.
5. COVID-19: Moderna booster shots appear to increase immunity – Published 06/05/21
Moderna’s mRNA booster jabs for people already vaccinated against COVID-19 have shown positive initial data in a Phase II study assessing the volume of antibody responses against the virus.
6. AstraZeneca drug approved by FDA for kidney disease treatment – Published 04/05/21
AstraZeneca’s Farxiga drug has been approved for the treatment of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in the US by the FDA.
7. Moderna to supply up to 500 million COVID-19 vaccines to COVAX – Published 04/05/21
Moderna have announced a supply agreement with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, for up to 500 million doses of their COVID-19 vaccine, including an initial 34 million doses to be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2021.
8. Janssen submits MAA to EMA for novel CAR-T cell therapy – Published 05/05/21
Janssen have submitted a Marketing Authorisation Application (MAA) to the EMA seeking approval of cilta-cel, an investigational B cell maturation antigen (BCMA)-directed chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) therapy, for the treatment of patients with relapsed and/or refractory multiple myeloma.
9. Theramex releases Vitamin D gel aimed at women – Published 05/05/21
Theramex has launched a new gel for Vitamin D deficiency, in the hope that it will particularly treat women experiencing pregnancy, menopause, and osteoporosis.
10. Needle-free pandemic influenza vaccine sees preclinical proof-of-concept – Published 04/05/21
Enesi Pharma, a US biotechnology company developing novel vaccination products, announced the development of a solid-dose recombinant H7N9 pandemic influenza vaccine which has delivered proof-of-concept results in validated preclinical models.
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