The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday granted full approval to Pfizer’s Covid antiviral pill, Paxlovid, for adults who are at high risk of getting severely sick with the virus. Paxlovid is specifically advised for the treatment of mild to moderate Covid in adults older than 50 and people who […]
Drug
FDA Approves First Oral Antiviral Drug for COVID-19
The FDA has granted full approval to nirmatrelvir-ritonavir (Paxlovid) for treating adult outpatients with mild to moderate COVID-19 who are at risk for severe disease, the agency announced on Thursday. “Today’s approval demonstrates that Paxlovid has met the agency’s rigorous standards for safety and effectiveness, and that it remains an […]
New COVID drug appears to guard against all variants in people with weak immune systems
A new antibody drug to help fight COVID-19 infection in immune-compromised people may be available by the end of the year. AstraZeneca said Thursday that its treatment, called AZD3152, appears to work in all variants to date, potentially providing necessary armor for immunocompromised people whose vaccinations have not given them […]
Impact of COVID on Hospital Drug Expenditures Continued in 2022
Hospital drug spending dips 5.2%; overall price increases stay below inflation BETHESDA, Md., May 2, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — The sudden drop in use of the COVID treatment remdesivir was the main cause of a 5.2% dip in drug spending for hospitals last year compared to 2021, according to the American […]
FDA Still Struggles to Inspect Foreign Drug Manufacturers After COVID Delays
This story was originally published by ProPublica. For years, U.S. pharmaceutical companies have relied on drugs produced overseas to meet Americans’ medical needs. And for years, it’s been clear that federal drug regulators couldn’t keep up with inspections of the plants that made those drugs. But a series of recent […]
Discovery of Drug Candidate that Neutralizes SARS-CoV-2 Could Reduce Length of Infection Upon Exposure
The coronavirus and its variants Delta and Omicron are still a major threat to patients of all ages. The discovery of a small molecule in the research lab of Bradley McConnell, professor of pharmacology at the University of Houston College of Pharmacy, may well be the genesis of new medication […]
Ivermectin closure doesn’t mean we’ve heard last of controversial drug
A quick history recap: ivermectin’s link to COVID-19 started in Australia – how’s that for local science having a global impact? – at Monash University, when a study in a petri dish showed high concentrations of the drug stopped the growth of the virus that causes COVID-19. It was a […]
Deadly drug-resistant yeast gained ground, more drug resistance amid COVID
Enlarge / The director of Germany’s National Reference Centre for Invasive Fungal Infections holds a petri dish containing the yeast Candida auris in a laboratory at Wuerzburg University. A deadly, drug-resistant fungus emerging in the US gained ground faster and picked up yet more drug resistance amid the COVID-19 pandemic, […]
Covid-19 drug now free of charge
Public Health Ministry staff check bottles of the antiviral drug molnupiravir at a warehouse in Samut Prakan in March last year. (Photo: Somchai Poomlard) The anti-viral drug molnupiravir has been included in the list of essential medications covered by the Universal Coverage for Emergency Patients (Ucep) Plus scheme, according to […]
World’s first AI-designed COVID drug starts clinical trials
For the first time ever, a COVID-19 drug entirely designed by generative AI has been approved for human use and will soon begin clinical trials in China, the Canadian-founded company announced Thursday. The drug, named ISM3312, was discovered in a matter of months by multinational biotechnology company Insilico Medicine. Believed […]
A New (Old) Drug Joins the COVID Fray, and Guess What? It Works
This transcript has been edited for clarity. 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. With SARS-CoV-2 sidestepping monoclonal antibodies faster than a Texas square dance, the need for new therapeutic options to […]
Drug companies face COVID cliff in 2023 as sales set to plummet
NEW YORK, Feb 6 (Reuters) – Pharmaceutical companies that made billions from the pandemic over the past two years selling vaccines and treatments are now up against a steep COVID cliff and investor pressure to spend their windfalls wisely. Western drugmakers including Pfizer Inc (PFE.N), BioNTech SE (22UAy.DE), Moderna Inc […]
Side effects, drug interactions, what to know
The antiviral Paxlovid has changed the battle against COVID-19. It’s so effective that more than 85% of people at risk for severe disease can avoid a bad outcome with a five-day course of the prescription medication given within five days of symptoms starting. But word of its effectiveness has been slow […]
FDA withdraws emergency use authorization of COVID drug because it is unlikely to be effective against new variants
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 […]
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. […]