COVID-19 continues to dominate the news cycle as we all try to maintain business as usual under the shadow of the pandemic. Just about every area of society and business has been hit and Life Sciences is no exception; the impact of the virus has been felt in every corner of the industry and our monthly issues aim to cut through the confusion to shed a light on that impact.

Almost half of Americans believe that the coronavirus was created in a lab, according to an April survey of 6,300 people.

Novartis has revealed that the European Commission has moved to approve Cosentyx (secukinumab) for the treatment of active non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-axSpA) in adult patients.

Scott Morrison, the Australian Prime Minister, has called for an investigation into the origins of the COVID-19 coronavirus, as Australia becomes one of China’s most vocal critics of its response to the pandemic.

A Phase 3 study of Sanofi and Regeneron’s Libtayo (cemiplimab) as a monotherapy for advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has been stopped early after showing strong overall survival benefit, it has emerged.

The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) wrote a letter to Republican Arizona Governor Doug Ducey urging the wider use of hydroxychloroquine, based on data they have collected.

Research into coronavirus cases in Shenzhen, China found that men were 2.5 times as likely to exhibit severe symptoms.

The first findings of two new studies have been revealed detailing the efficacy of Gilead’s antiviral therapy remdesivir in the treatment of patients hospitalised with COVID-19.

Nearly half of US states will have their ‘stay-at-home’ orders expire this week, paving the way for much of the US to relax its lockdowns.

A “landmark” partnership has been struck between AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford in the ongoing battle against COVID-19, with the former agreeing to aid in the development and large-scale manufacture of the latter’s potential recombinant adenovirus vaccine for the prevention of novel coronavirus infection.

A US federal judge has ruled that generic versions of the cancer treatment Bendeka infringe on four separate patents, and has delayed them from launching until 2031.

The search for a COVID-19 treatment has ramped up this week, with two new studies detailing the efficacy of Gilead’s antiviral therapy remdesivir in the treatment of patients hospitalised with coronavirus, while researchers in America have been studying famotidine, the active ingredient in Pepcid, as a potential drug to help alleviate symptoms of the virus.

The European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has given its recommendation for the approval of Kalydeco for the treatment of children and adolescents with cystic fibrosis in a new indication, Vertex has revealed.

The coronavirus pandemic is likely to last as long as two years and will not be properly controlled until two-thirds of the world’s populations have become immune.

Bristol Myers Squibb and Acceleron Pharma’s Reblozyl (luspatercept) has secured a positivr opinion from the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) for use in the treatment of transfusion-dependent anaemia in two adult patient populations.

The NHS has set out plans to step up its non-COVID-19 services over the next six weeks.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed that there is evidence the COVID-19 coronavirus was created in a lab, despite US intelligence officials stating it probably occurred naturally.

British scientists are testing an experimental drug to help some of society’s most vulnerable fight off the COVID-19 coronavirus.

President Donald Trump has vowed to cut the US’s reliance on foreign drugs, singling out China and Ireland as countries he wants to stop buying pharmaceuticals from.

Gilead’s antiviral therapy remdesivir has shown tentatively promising efficacy in the race to find an effective treatment for COVID-19, one of the only therapies to do so at this early stage of the pandemic. Now, the FDA has invoked its Emergency Use Authorization powers to approve the drug for the treatment of patients hospitalised with the novel coronavirus.

Lonza Group AG and Moderna Inc have entered a deal to develop 1 billion doses of coronavirus vaccines a year.

"Every professional faces challenges. As a woman in industry, particularly in leadership, it adds another dimension to those challenges in how you present yourself."

Sanofi and Regeneron’s have lifted the lid on new topline data on their PD-1 inhibitor Libtayo (cemiplimab) in patients with advanced basal cell carcinoma (BCC), the most common skin cancer in the world, with around two million new cases diagnosed each year in the US alone.

The NHS’s coronavirus contract tracing app has been published to Apple and Google’s app stores with council staff and healthcare workers being invited to download it on the Isle of Wight today.

A new online reporting site has been launched by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s (MHRA) to track potential side-effects arising from the use of any therapies used to treat COVID-19, in a bid to build a knowledge base around safe treatment of the pandemic disease.

Researchers studying malaria in Kenya have discovered a microbe that blocks transmission of malaria from mosquitoes which could pave the way to eradicating the disease.

A French patient who suffered from pneumonia in December actually had COVID-19, it has been revealed.

The biotech company Galecto Inc have appointed Jonathan Freve as its Chief Financial Officer, and in his role he will lead financial operations including overseeing investor relations and fundraising efforts.  

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Ousted Director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), Dr Rick Bright, alleges the Trump administration ignored warnings about the severity of the coronavirus.

Alexion has announced it is to acquire Boston-based blood disorder specialist Portola Pharmaceuticals in a transaction to the value of $1.41 billion in cash.

The FDA has moved to approve an oral tablet formulation of AstraZeneca’s Farxiga (dapagliflozin) to reduce the risk of cardiovascular death and hospitalisation in adult patients with New York Heart Association’s functional class II-IV heart failure with reduced ejection fraction.

South Korea says that remdesivir, traditionally used in treating Ebola, may not be effective enough in treating COVID-19 patients.

Two studies from the UK and US have identified hundreds of mutations in COVID-19, which could cause problems for the development of a vaccine.

Britain has become the first European nation to pass 30,000 deaths from the coronavirus, putting it only behind the US as the worst hit country in the world in terms of fatalities.

The FDA has awarded marketing authorisation to Novartis for the Oral MET inhibitor Tabrecta for the first-line treatment of metastatic non-small cell lung cancer in patients whose tumors have a mutation that leads to MET exon 14 skipping (METex14), regardless of whether they have previously received any type of treatment.

A recent report from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) has shown that black people in Britain are four times more likely to die from the COVID-19 coronavirus than white Britons.

NICE has revealed that it has recommended the NHS use of Roche’s Kadcyla (trastuzumab emtansine) for HER2+ breast cancer in patients who have residual invasive disease in the breast or lymph nodes after receiving neoadjuvant treatment including a HER2-targeted agent.

Aims to track the progress of the infection across the UK

AZ has pledged to make the vaccine at cost for the duration of the pandemic

New crop of data suggests drug can speed recovery from COVID-19

Psoriasis therapy may be a potential treatment for COVID-19

Ramps up capacity for testing across the country

Eight new medicines recommended for approval

Drug could be ready for clinical trials before the end of the year

Experts says $20bn needed to vaccinate global population

Drug has shown “clinically meaningful responses” for basal cell carcinoma

Initial roll-out will see key workers utilise the app

It is hoped that the drug may prevent COVID-19

Results could unlock another big market for the company’s star drug

US regulator satisfied that antitrust concerns are remediated