Top of the morning to you, and a fine one it is. Once again, a cool breeze and sunny skies are lifting our spirits here on the Pharmalot campus, where the short person is hunched over a laptop for another round of remote learning and the official mascot is bounding about the grounds vainly hunting for squirrels. As for us, we are up to the usual activities: quaffing cups of stimulation and poking around for items of interest. On that note, here are a few to start the day. Hope your journey is successful and, of course, do stay in touch. …
A drug being developed by Eli Lilly (LLY) helped sick patients rid their systems of the virus that causes Covid-19 sooner and may have prevented them from landing in the hospital, STAT writes. Only one of three doses met the primary goal of significantly reducing patients’ levels of the virus after 11 days. Lilly indicated the interim results reinforced the potential of the drug to help Covid-19 patients, and the company will discuss with regulators whether there is enough evidence to support authorization for emergency use during the pandemic.
Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn confirmed that the AstraZeneca (AZN) Covid-19 vaccine trial in the U.S. is on hold, saying the agency is planning to do “very significant work” with the company as it conducts its investigation after an illness in a participant in the U.K., Reuters writes. “We don’t have all facts, so we don’t know the causation per se of this, but we really need to look into it,” he said during an Instagram Live interview with U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, a South Carolina Republican.
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Good to hear a turnabout from the FDA Commissioner – let’s hope it’s a durable trend? “We don’t have all facts, so we don’t know the causation per se of this, but we really need to look into it,”