top_10_image_2_3

Top Ten most popular articles on Pharmafile.com this week

pharmafile | June 12, 2020 | News story | Business Services, Manufacturing and Production, Medical Communications, Research and Development, Sales and Marketing coronavirus, top 10 

The news this week continues to be dominated by breakthroughs in COVID-19 treatments, with a US clinical trial of the drug ivermectin finding that it reduced the mortality rate of COVID-19 patients by 40%, while an antibody therapy for coronavirus could be available from Eli Lilly as early as September, according to one of its chief scientists.

In other news, Janssen has revealed data from two Phase 3 trials for Tremfya, showing improvement in skin clearance and symptoms in adult patients with active psoriatic arthritis, while 26 pharmaceutical companies are being sued by most US states for allegedly conspiring to reduce competition and drive up generic drug prices.

1 – US trial of ivermectin cuts coronavirus mortality by 40%

A US clinical trial of the drug ivermectin found that it reduced the mortality rate of COVID-19 patients by 40%.

2 – Trump’s Operation Warp Speed selects Pfizer, Merck, AstraZeneca and Moderna as vaccine finalists

The Trump administration has selected the finalists for the COVID-19 vaccine it is seeking to make widely available by the end of the year.

3 – Australian Taskforce recommends Gilead’s remdesivir for routine use in the country’s COVID-19 patients

Australia could be set to follow the decisions of other nations around the world in officially licensing Gilead’s antiviral therapy remdesivir in the treatment of COVID-19, after the country’s National COVID-19 Clinical Evidence Taskforce, a specialist team bringing together some of Australia’s leading health groups, has given its recommendation for routine use of the drug.

4 – AstraZeneca’s BTK inhibitor Calquence shows promise in aiding recovery of severe COVID-19 patients

AstraZeneca has revealed more data in its efforts to find an effective therapy for those affected by the novel coronavirus. While the company has placed its primary efforts in the development of the University of Oxford’s vaccine candidate, known as AZD1222, it has now shed light on the possible efficacy of its Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor Calquence (acalabrutinib) in the treatment of severe cases of COVID-19.

5 – Leading pharmaceutical companies sued in US for conspiring to drive up generics prices

26 pharmaceutical companies are being sued by most US states for allegedly conspiring to reduce competition and drive up generic drug prices.

6 – Eli Lilly’s coronavirus antibody treatments could be available by September

An antibody therapy for coronavirus could be available from Eli Lilly as early as September, according to one of its chief scientists.

7 – Oxford Biomedica joins forces with UK’s Vaccines Manufacturing and Innovation Centre to scale up production of Oxford Uni’s COVID-19 vaccine

Oxford Biomedica has forged a five-year partnership with the Vaccines Manufacturing and Innovation Centre (VMIC) to work together to provide manufacturing capacity for viral vector vaccines, particularly to tackle the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.

8 – Janssen’s Tremfya shows skin clearance benefit for psoriatic arthritis patients in two Phase 3 studies

Janssen has revealed data from two Phase 3 trials for Tremfya (guselkumab), showing improvement in skin clearance and symptoms in adult patients with active psoriatic arthritis (PsA).

9 – EMA could approve Gilead’s streamlined remdesivir application for COVID-19 “within weeks”

The European Medicines Agency has received the application from Gilead for the first conditional marketing authorisation (CMA) of its antiviral drug remdesivir in the treatment of COVID-19, it has been revealed, with the agency looking to streamline its review process to approve the therapy for use as soon as possible.

10 – Coronavirus pandemic puts UK’s post-Brexit drug stockpile at risk

The pharmaceutical industry has warned the UK government that certain stockpiles of medicine have been used up due to the pandemic, according to the BBC.

Related Content

Pharmafile's top 10 news roundup

Pharmafile.com’s top 10 news stories of the week

Among our ten most-read stories this week: NICE has announced that more patients are eligible …

coronavirus

Pharmafile.com’s weekly COVID-19 news round-up

The past week has continued to see positive COVID-19 news; CytoDyn’s treatment for patients with …

GSK building

GSK’s Phase II otilimab study on COVID-19 patients promising for over-70s

GlaxoSmithKline’s (GSK) Phase II OSCAR study of their otilimab antibody’s effect on COVID-19 patients has …

Latest content