drugs

A long-lasting insecticidal net (LLIN) treated with chlorfenapyr generated a 44% reduction in malaria incidence in children ages 6 months to 10 years and provided “significantly better protection” compared to a standard pyrethroid-only LLIN, according to 24-month data from a Tanzania-based trial published last week in The Lancet.

The study underscored the value of BASF’s dual-ingredient Interceptor G2, according to a press release from IVCC, a Unitaid-backed product development…

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Hyderabad-based Aurobindo has put the Indian market in its sights with the $22.6 million acquisition of the domestic formulations business of Veritaz, Aurobindo announced Monday. Veritaz boasts around 40 brands in the acute and critical care therapeutic segments and is also headquartered in Hyderabad.

The acquisition will serve as a “launch pad for marketing biosimilar and other products in India,” Aurobindo said in its press release.

A new U.S. FDA approval adds adolescents to the population eligible for Cabenuva, the long-acting injectable HIV-1 treatment combining ViiV’s cabotegravir and Janssen’s rilpivirine, J&J announced Tuesday. Like adults, virologically suppressed adolescents age 12 and older can take the combo either monthly or every two months.

In related news, GSK subsidiary ViiV announced a Cabenuva label update last week. The FDA-approved update eliminates a mandatory oral lead-in with cabotegravir…

The state of the fight: 

Moderna shared new Phase 2/3 data supporting the use of Spikevax in children under age 6.
  Pfizer will supply UNICEF with up to 4 million Paxlovid courses in 2022.
  Boosters of mRNA vaccines continued to offer strong protection against severe Covid-19 outcomes.   AUTHORIZED VACCINES

 
Moderna claimed clinical trial success for its vaccine in children ages 6 months to under 6 years. An interim analysis of Phase 2/3 results showed…

The state of the fight: 

Medicines Patent Pool sublicensed Pfizer’s Paxlovid to 35 generics manufacturers.
  Key WTO members reached a tentative agreement to waive some IP rights on Covid-19 vaccines.
  Moderna and Pfizer asked the U.S. FDA to authorize fourth doses of their respective jabs.   AUTHORIZED VACCINES

 
Medigen’s protein subunit vaccine (MVC-COV1901) offered similar safety and immunogenicity for adolescents as it did for adults, the Taipei-…

GSK’s pediatric formulation of tafenoquine, its single-dose radical cure for P. vivax malaria, has scored its first approval. Australia cleared the drug for children ages 2-15 (for use in combination with chloroquine), the Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) announced Monday.

The decision was supported by Phase 2b trial data showing that tafenoquine was 95% efficacious at preventing disease recurrence in children ages 6 months to 15 years for four months post-treatment.

The…

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The Pandemic Antiviral Discovery (PAD) initiative has launched with up to $90 million in coordinated funding from the Gates Foundation, the Novo Nordisk Foundation and San Francisco’s Open Philanthropy, the three organizations announced Monday.

PAD aims to support development of Phase 2-ready, orally delivered, small-molecule drug candidates targeting pandemic threat viruses (including coronaviruses, paramyxoviruses and orthomyxoviruses) that can be “distributed quickly and equitably…

Venatorx Pharmaceuticals’ cefepime-taniborbactam was superior to standard of care meropenem for treating complicated urinary tract infections in Phase 3 trials, the Pennsylvania-based company announced last week.

The investigational antibiotic—which targets carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales and P. aeruginosa—generated bacterial eradication in 70% of participants compared to 58% treated with meropene, and cefepime-taniborbactam’s superiority was maintained through a late follow-up,…

The state of the fight: 

Moderna pledged permanently to forgo enforcement of its Covid-19 vaccine patents for shots made “in or for” 92 LMICs.
  Aspen Pharmacare will market an Aspen-branded version of J&J’s vaccine in Africa.
  Fluvoxamine reduced the risk of Covid-19 hospitalization and clinical deterioration by 31% in a meta-analysis.   BOOSTERS

 
A WHO technical advisory group now “strongly supports urgent and broad access” to Covid-19 booster…

When ViiV Healthcare announced last week that it would not pursue a voluntary licensing deal for its long-acting HIV prevention shot, blowback was swift. Advocacy groups cried foul. STAT remarked on the “surprise move.” The company backpedaled within days, but its updated statement continued to indicate the GSK subsidiary would remain the sole supplier of long-acting cabotegravir, “at least during the initial years.”

The statement that triggered the furor was less obliging: “voluntary…