Pharmafile.com’s weekly COVID-19 news round-up
pharmafile | July 8, 2020 | News story | Research and Development |Â Â Â
Coronavirus lockdowns and immunity feature in the news this week, with the UK Government accused of withholding Pillar 2 COVID-19 data which showed Leicester had 10 times more cases than reported pre-lockdown, while COVID-19 immunity may be more widespread than previously thought, a new study suggests.
In another news, the US has bought most of the world’s stock of the drug remdesivir which is one of the only drugs proven to treat COVID-19, while the FDA announced that any COVID-19 vaccine that gets approval must show that it is at least 50% more effective than a placebo in treating the virus.
1. UK Government accused of withholding Pillar 2 COVID-19 data which show Leicester had 10 times more cases than reported pre-lockdown – Published on 01/07/20
The UK Government warned when relaxing lockdown measures on 23 June that it would not hesitate to lock down any region which began to show an uncontrolled rise in COVID-19 cases.
2. COVID-19 immunity may be more widespread than previously thought, new study suggests – Published on 02/07/20
Coronavirus immunity in the world’s population may be more widespread than initially thought, even in those who have tested negative for antibodies, a new study suggests.
3. US buys most of the world’s stock of COVID-19 drug remdesivir – Published on 01/07/20
The US has bought most of the world’s stock of the drug remdesivir which is one of the only drugs proven to treat COVID-19.
4. FDA says COVID-19 vaccine would need to be at least 50% effective to be approved – Published on 01/07/20
The FDA announced that any COVID-19 vaccine that gets approval must show that it is at least 50% more effective than a placebo in treating the virus.
5. EUSA Pharma gets FDA green light to evaluate IL-6 inhibitor siltuximab in COVID-19 patients – Published on 02/07/20
Efforts push on to discover an effective treatment for COVID-19 in more than 100 different drug candidates worldwide. EUSA Pharma has joined these efforts with the announcement that the FDA has given the go-ahead for randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 3 clinical trial to evaluate its combination of IL-6 inhibitor siltuximab plus standard of care in hospitalised patients with COVID-19-associated Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS).
Conor Kavanagh
