“There is a big need for a drug in outpatients. If you could treat them and keep them out of hospitals, that would be important and play a big role in getting us through this pandemic,” Romark Laboratories LC’s CEO, Marc Ayers, told BioWorld.
Clinical updates, including trial initiations, enrollment status and data readouts and publications: Achieve Life Sciences, Agenus, Aligos, Ardelyx, Ascletis, Astrazeneca, Auris, Endo, Galectin, Gannex, Innocoll, Kyowa Kirin, Moderna, Nervgen, Orphomed, Proqr, Rocket, Romark, Synthetic Biologics and Veracyte.
LONDON – The U.K. is moving on to the next phase of testing mixed dosing schedules for COVID-19 vaccines, launching a study in which it will assess the effect of using Moderna Inc. or Novavax Inc.’s products as the second dose in a heterologous prime boost trial.
Among a spate of COVID-19-related therapy developments to start the week, Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals Inc. produced positive phase II data of its monoclonal antibody, mavrilimumab, in treating non-mechanically ventilated patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia and hyperinflammation.
HONG KONG – In a surprisingly candid statement, the director of China’s Centers for Disease Control conceded that the efficacy of Chinese coronavirus vaccines is "not high" and may require improvements. George Gao, the director of China’s CDC, stated that Chinese vaccines “don’t have very high protection rates” at the National Vaccines and Health conference in the southwestern city of Chengdu on Saturday.
After climbing nearly 37% since the start of the week, shares of Greenwich Lifesciences Inc. (NASDAQ:GLSI) gained another 6% on April 9 as it disclosed new data bolstering the case for its cancer immunotherapy candidate, GP2. The data, to be presented at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting on Saturday, showed that when HER2-positive breast cancer patients had GP2 added to standard-of-care Herceptin (trastuzumab, Roche Holding AG) following breast cancer surgery, no recurrences of their cancer were observed, even after a median follow-up of five years.
CAJICA, Colombia – Following the start of phase III trials for its COVID-19 vaccine, Soberana 02, Cuban researchers have started phase III trials for Abdala (CIGB-66), another vaccine candidate developed in the island country.
Clinical updates, including trial initiations, enrollment status and data readouts and publications: BMS, Celcuity, Cytodyn, Mersana, Oncoinvent, Redhill, Tenax.