Top of the morning to you. Another busy day is unfolding here on the Pharmalot campus, where we are mulling over our cluttered calendar and plotting our next moves. No doubt, you can relate. After all, this is only the middle of the week and there is so much to be done. This calls, as you may imagine, for a hot cup of stimulation. So we are reaching for pistachio cream, a unique flavor, yes? Feel free to join us. Meanwhile, here are some items of interest to help you on your own journey. Have a great day, and stay safe. …
The World Health Organization recommended using arthritis drugs Actemra from Roche (RHHBY) and Kevzara from Sanofi (SNY) with corticosteroids for Covid-19 patients after data from some 11,000 severe and critical patients showed they cut the risk of death, Reuters reports. According to the WHO analysis, the risk of dying within 28 days for patients getting one of the arthritis drugs with corticosteroids such as dexamethasone is 21%, compared with an assumed 25% risk among those who got standard care. For every 100 such patients, 4 more will survive with the treatments.
After the WHO recommended the Roche drug to treat severe Covid-19, Doctors Without Borders urged the drug maker to “end its monopoly” by lowering the price of the medicine and sharing its technology in order to quickly widen access, STAT writes. In response, the drug maker said it would not assert any patents against the use of Actemra in low- and middle-income countries during the pandemic, and is working with the WHO to widen access.
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