If there is one thing that potently illustrates the hope and despair of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is the zigzag of BioWorld’s Infectious Disease Index. Up by nearly 64%, it is towering over both the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which are up 12.4% and 15.5%, respectively, but it has experienced several downward swings this year as well.
Initial efforts at Humanigen Inc. to win an FDA emergency use authorization (EUA) for treating hospitalized COVID-19 patients with its monoclonal antibody, lenzilumab, have failed to gain the regulator's buy-in, sending company shares (NASDAQ:HGEN) down 47.3% to $7.97 on Sept. 9 after touching a 52-week low during the session, a reaction part of a volatile arc that has seen shares climb as high as $29.20 during the same time span.
Chinese companies are finding that their COVID-19 vaccines are effective as booster shots and against variants of the virus, as data from more studies emerge.
DUBLIN – With more than six months to go before an initial interim readout from its phase III pivotal trial of ilofotase alfa (recombinant human alkaline phosphatase) in sepsis-associated acute kidney injury (SA-AKI), AM-Pharma BV has already found a buyer for Japanese rights to the product. Kyowa Kirin Co. Ltd. is paying €20 million up front and could pay up to €225 million more in milestones attached to the progress of the program.
PERTH, Australia – Engeneic Ltd. has begun a phase I trial of its nanocellular COVID-19 vaccine, which in preclinical animal studies stimulated a broad antiviral response against mutant strains of the virus, including the virulent Delta strain sweeping across Australia.
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Alpha Cognition, Ascletis, Biomarin, Cormedix, Gensight, Global Blood, JW, Merck & Co., Moderna, RDIF, Underdog, Versantis.