Pfizer Inc. has divulged 3C-like proteinase (3CLpro) (SARS-CoV-2) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID-19).
Differences in individual responses to COVID-19 vaccines have been linked directly to different human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles and it has been shown that people carrying one specific variant, HLA-DQB1*06, generate higher antibody responses and are better protected from SARS-CoV-2 infection.
GSK plc has announced results from its respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine in older people that look stronger than those from its rival, Pfizer Inc., as the race to develop a first ever vaccine against the common respiratory disease heats up.
Even though the EU had approved more than a dozen biosimilars by 2012, the follow-on biologics were still in their embryonic stage around the world when BioWorld published The Biosimilars Game: A Scorecard for Opportunities, Threats and Critical Strategies in early 2013. Now, nearly a decade later, the global biosimilar landscape has matured with many more biosimilars approved across the globe, but the uptake, and thus the savings, is not what some policy makers and people in industry had hoped for or expected.
Long considered a make-or-break market for novel drugs and biologics and a success story for generics, the U.S. has been more challenging for biosimilars than many experts initially expected. U.S. biosimilar “uptake has been good, but not great,” Steven Lucio, senior principal for pharmacy solutions at Vizient Inc., told BioWorld. That could change next year when at least seven biosimilars referencing Abbvie Inc.’s immunosuppressive drug, Humira (adalimumab), are expected to launch in the U.S.
Researchers from Anacor Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Pfizer Inc. have published preclinical data for the novel benzoxaborole prodrug AN-15368, being developed for the treatment of Chagas disease.
In the hope of preventing thousands of hospitalizations and deaths over the next few months, the U.S. CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice (ACIP) voted 13-1 Sept. 1 to recommend the use of Moderna Inc.’s and Pfizer Inc.-Biontech SE’s updated vaccines that contain components of both the original SARS-CoV-2 virus and the omicron BA.4/5 subvariants as boosters.
Researchers from Pfizer Inc. presented preclinical data for the melanocortin MC4 receptor (MC4R) antagonist PF-07258669, being developed for the treatment of anorexia nervosa.
Right on cue, the U.S. FDA authorized bivalent COVID-19 vaccines from Moderna Inc. and Pfizer Inc.-Biontech SE to be given as boosters at least two months following a primary vaccine series or a previous booster. “These updated boosters present us with an opportunity to get ahead of the next wave of COVID-19,” FDA Commissioner Robert Califf said, following the Aug. 31 announcement.
Three of the biggest COVID-19 vaccine developers are heading into a legal battle. Moderna Inc. said it has filed lawsuits alleging the Pfizer Inc.-Biontech SE Comirnaty vaccine infringes patents Moderna filed between 2010 and 2016 that cover its mRNA technology. Pfizer and Biontech “unlawfully” copied the technology without permission, according to Moderna.
