WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s plan to mail millions of seniors a $ 200 prescription savings card has hit legal and budget roadblocks, making it unlikely the government can carry it out before Election Day. Democratic lawmakers have raised questions about whether the administration has the authority to order on its own billions of […]
The US is buying nearly all the next three months’ projected production of Covid-19 treatment remdesivir from US manufacturer Gilead. The US health department announced on Tuesday it had agreed to buy 500,000 doses for use in American hospitals. Tests suggest remdesivir cuts recovery times, though it is not yet clear if it improves survival […]
A drug that had been expected to become the first to win regulatory approval for the fatty liver disease nonalcoholic steatohepatitis may not be hitting the market anytime soon. New York-based Intercept Pharmaceuticals said Monday that it had received a complete response letter – essentially a notice of rejection – from the Food and Drug […]
Drugmaker Regeneron Pharmaceuticals has said it will “vigorously” defend against allegations by the Department of Justice that it paid kickbacks through a foundation in connection with a drug it markets for macular degeneration in order to cover Medicare beneficiaries’ copays. On Wednesday, the U.S. district attorney for Massachusetts filed suit against the Tarrytown, New York-based […]
A drug that could stop cancer cells repairing themselves has shown early signs of working. More than half of the 40 patients given berzosertib had the growth of their tumours halted. Berzosertib was even more effective when given alongside chemotherapy, the trial run by the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) and the Royal Marsden NHS […]
Researchers in England say they have the first evidence that a drug can improve COVID-19 survival: A cheap, widely available steroid called dexamethasone reduced deaths by up to one third in severely ill hospitalized patients. Results were announced Tuesday and researchers said they would publish them soon. The study is a large, strict test that […]
A cheap and widely available drug called dexamethasone can help save the lives of patients who are seriously ill with coronavirus. UK experts say the low-dose steroid treatment is a major breakthrough in the fight against the deadly virus. It cut the risk of death by a third for patients on ventilators. For those on […]
A pharmacy tech holds a bottle and a pill of Hydroxychloroquine at Rock Canyon Pharmacy in Provo, Utah, on May 20, 2020. George Frey | Getty Images The Food and Drug Administration warned Monday that Covid-19 patients taking anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine along with antiviral drug remdesivir may weaken the effectiveness of the latter. The FDA […]
A company developing a drug to address the growing need for safe ways to condition patients receiving cell and gene therapies is partnering with a firm developing single letter-level gene editing to investigate ways to apply its approach in patients with blood disorders. Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Magenta Therapeutics and Beam Therapeutics said Monday that they had […]
A trial of potential coronavirus drugs aimed at over-50s, who are vulnerable to developing serious symptoms, is looking to recruit more UK volunteers. Over 500 GP surgeries are asking those with a new, continuous cough or high temperature to test existing drugs. Patients aged over 65 or over 50 with an underlying health condition can […]
The Food and Drug Administration has granted accelerated approval to the latest in a growing group of cancer drugs designed to target genetic abnormalities with a high probability of producing a clinical effect. The agency granted the accelerated approval Friday to Indianapolis-based drugmaker Eli Lilly’s Retevmo (selpercatinib) for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and […]
President Donald Trump said without evidence on Sunday that his political opponents would rather see coronavirus patients not improve to avoid giving him credit for touting an unproven anti-malarial drug as a treatment option. Trump participated in a virtual town hall hosted by Fox News’ Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum at the Lincoln Memorial in […]
This illustration, created at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reveals ultrastructural morphology exhibited by coronaviruses A company developing a drug derived from the blood thinner heparin for a form of leukemia is planning to test it in patients with Covid-19 due to its anti-inflammatory and anti-clotting properties. Durham, North Carolina-based Chimerix said […]
Remdesivir is the new coronavirus buzzword popping up in headline after headline. Health officials have had their eyes on the investigational anti-viral drug for the past few weeks, hoping it may prove to be an effective treatment for COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. Now, we’ve got a bit of evidence suggesting the […]
President Donald Trump and the Food and Drug Administration announced Friday that it has approved the experimental drug remdesivir for treating coronavirus patients who require hospitalization. The drug is administered intravenously once a day for up to 10 days and is believed to help patients recover faster. Its manufacturer, Gilead Sciences, plans to donate 1.1 […]