Britain’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), a key gatekeeper on the path to the U.K. market, is backing away from five COVID-19 treatments. No longer recommended in a draft guidance were Ronapreve (casirivimab + imdevimab) from Roche Holding AG, Xevudy (sotrovimab) from GSK plc, and Evusheld (tixagevimab + cilgavimab) from Astrazeneca plc. NICE also recommended discontinuing use of Lagevrio (molnupiravir) from Merck and Co. Inc. and Veklury (remdesivir) from Gilead Sciences Inc.
Novartis AG has described 3C-like proteinase (3CLpro) (SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19 virus) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID-19).
The number of biopharma deals with nonprofit or government entities has dwindled in recent months, while industry grants are climbing. Combined, however, a total of 936 bio/nonprofit deals and grants worth $11.17 billion is down by 37% in comparison with last year’s $17.8 billion and by 58.7% in comparison with 2020’s $27 billion. The volume also is down significantly by 16.8% from 2021 and by 33.4% from 2020.
Regulatory snapshots, including global submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Biogx, Novocure, Trireme Medical.
Atriva Therapeutics GmbH, a small firm founded in 2015 to develop a host-targeted antiviral approach for treating respiratory viral infections, seems to have found itself in thick of it. As the U.S. CDC and other health agencies warn of an uptick in respiratory viral infections – the so-called “tripledemic” of influenza, respiratory syncytial virus and COVID-19 – the German company is gearing up to launch a basket trial testing lead candidate zapnometinib in all three indications.
Clinical updates, including trial initiations, enrollment status and data readouts and publications: Alpheus, Atom, Biosplice, Cybin, Equillium, Immix, Immunitybio, Inventprise, Janssen, Longeveron, Nanology, Oncosec, Que, Redx, Resolve, Stellas, TME, Unicycive.
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Astrazeneca, Biomebank, Eikonoklastes, Nfl, Novartis, Oryzon, Regeneron, Xilio.