The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Thursday it is withdrawing its emergency use authorization of a COVID-19 antibody therapy as a prevention tool because it is unlikely to be effective against variants that are currently circulating. Evusheld, which is made by British-Swedish pharmaceutical and biotechnology company, AstraZeneca, was first […]
Drug
Pfizer’s COVID-19 drug Paxlovid in short supply in China
When Li’s 83-year-old father with diabetes started coughing and complaining of body aches last month, the Beijing resident became anxious about finding a treatment for COVID-19 in case his parent had caught the virus sweeping the city. He heard at that time that Pfizer’s anti-viral drug Paxlovid was an effective […]
Frustration is rising over Covid drug shortages in China, and there are no easy answers
Editor’s Note: Editor’s Note: A version of this story appeared in CNN’s Meanwhile in China newsletter, a three-times-a-week update exploring what you need to know about the country’s rise and how it impacts the world. Sign up here. Hong Kong CNN — As Jo Wang, an event planner in Beijing, […]
COVID drug Paxlovid was hailed as a game-changer. What happened?
Tablets of Paxlovid, which reduces risk of severe COVID-19, are inspected by a laboratory technician.Credit: Thomas Hansmann/AP/Shutterstock When clinical trial data for the antiviral drug Paxlovid emerged in late 2021, physicians hailed its astonishing efficacy — a reduction of nearly 90% in the risk of severe COVID-19. But more than […]
Off-Patent Liver Disease Drug Could Stop COVID-19 and Protect Against Future Variants
Researchers at Cambridge University have found that a previously existing, off-patent medication may be effective in preventing COVID-19 and potentially guarding against future variants of the virus. The discovery was made through a combination of experiments using mini-organs, donor organs, animal studies, and patient data. Unique experiments involved ‘mini-organs’, […]
Breakthrough! Receptor “Decoy” Drug Neutralizes COVID-19 Virus Including Omicron and Other Variants
Researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have created a powerful drug that can effectively neutralize the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, including the Omicron variant and all other tested variants. The innovative design of the drug allows it to remain effective against future variants, even if the virus undergoes natural selection to maintain its […]
Beijing to distribute Pfizer’s drug as Covid ravages China
As COVID-19 cases in China continue to rise, Beijing will soon start distributing Pfizer’s Covid-19 drug Paxlovid to the community health centres in forthcoming days, CNN reported citing state media on Monday. IMAGE: A man takes a rapid antigen test for COVID-19 at the entrance of a hospital in Shanghai. […]
A New Drug Could Fight Both COVID and Cancer
The new drug may provide a new type of protection against COVID-19, one that will be effective even when new strains emerge. University of Southern California and the Cleveland Clinic Florida Research and Innovation Center researchers have published new research on GRP78, a protein implicated in both COVID-19 and numerous […]
Biden administration funds study on how to train drug addicts to distribute COVID tests
The Biden administration will spend $1 million next year to fund a study on how to train drug addicts to distribute COVID-19 rapid tests to other drug addicts. The project summary emphasizes that “people who inject drugs” are especially vulnerable to the outbreak of COVID-19 due to “structural disadvantage, health […]
Paxlovid, a drug to treat COVID-19, has been free so far. Next year, patients will have to pay the cost.
Nearly 6 million Americans have taken Paxlovid for free, courtesy of the federal government. The Pfizer pill has helped prevent many people infected with COVID-19 from being hospitalized or dying, and it may even reduce the risk of developing long COVID. But the government plans to stop footing the bill within […]
How a Cheap Liver Drug May Be the Key to Preventing COVID
Welcome to Impact Factor, your weekly dose of commentary on a new medical study. I’m Dr F. Perry Wilson of the Yale School of Medicine. As soon as the pandemic started, the search was on for a medication that could stave off infection, or at least the worst consequences of […]
Drug that targets ACE2 receptors may work against new covid variants
A drug that is approved for treating gallstones and liver conditions inhibits cells’ ACE2 receptors, which the coronavirus’ spike protein binds to Health 5 December 2022 By Carissa Wong The omicron coronavirus variant binding to a cell’s ACE2 receptor DESIGN CELLS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Alamy A drug that targets the coronavirus’ entry […]
Japan gives emergency approval to Shionogi’s oral COVID-19 drug
Japan’s health ministry on Tuesday granted fast-track approval to Shionogi & Co.’s COVID-19 tablet Xocova, making it the country’s first domestically produced oral medicine against the coronavirus. The medicine for COVID-19 patients aged 12 or older with mild symptoms also became the first drug authorized under the new emergency approval […]
BP drug found ineffective in ‘real world’ covid treatment evidence from India
A drug used to treat high blood pressure was found to be ineffective in treating even mild COVID-19 cases, according to a study based on ‘real world’ data from India. Scientists, from London School of Hygiene, University of Oxford and TPP House, UK, have provided ‘real world’ evidence on the […]
China’s first homegrown oral anti-COVID-19 drug removed from online sale
China-developed oral drug for COVID-19 treatment Azvudine China’s first domestically developed oral drug for COVID-19 treatment was removed from shelves of e-commerce platforms on Saturday, hours after media reported its online sale had started in some drugstores. Experts and China’s protocol for COVID-19 prevention and control suggested it is inappropriate […]
New drug shows promise for fighting both COVID-19 and cancer
The “life cycle” of an mRNA in a eukaryotic cell. RNA is transcribed in the nucleus; processing, it is transported to the cytoplasm and translated by the ribosome. Finally, the mRNA is degraded. Credit: Public Domain While vaccination can provide life-saving protection against COVID-19, scientists are still searching for ways […]
Powerful New Drug Could Cause COVID-19 To Turn on Itself
The researchers believe that the compound will be effective even for new variants. The Scripps Research team demonstrated that a variant of an existing FDA-approved treatment for neurological disorders may prevent COVID-19 infection in animals. Scientists at Scripps Research Institute have created a new drug that may make the COVID-19 […]
Regular use of common cholesterol-lowering drug linked to reduction of COVID-19 severity, risk of death
Space-filling model of the Cholesterol molecule. Credit: RedAndr/Wikipedia Commonly used cholesterol-lowering statins may reduce the risk of death and severity of COVID-19 disease, suggests a study of more than 38,000 patients being presented at the Anesthesiology 2022 annual meeting. “While there is no ‘magic bullet’ to help patients who are […]
Trump Admin Tried to Shelve Findings That Discredited COVID Drug: Report
The administration of former President Donald Trump allegedly attempted to bury findings that discredited drugs unproven to cure COVID, according to a congressional report released Monday. The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis headed by Democratic Representative Jim Clyburn reported that scientific integrity was compromised by Trump and his […]
FDA OKs emergency use of antibody drug Trump received | Nation
U.S. health officials Saturday agreed to allow emergency use of a second antibody drug to help the immune system fight COVID-19, an experimental medicine that President Donald Trump was given when he was sickened last month. The Food and Drug Administration authorized use of the Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. drug to […]