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Remdesivir, chloroquine move to forefront as White House tries to speed coronavirus response

Neither drug is approved for COVID-19, but officials seek to quickly study both in hopes of finding an answer for U.S. coronavirus patients.

FDA scales back domestic inspections amid coronavirus outbreak

The agency's announcement comes a little over a week after it postponed nearly all overseas inspections, which are a critical oversight tool.

In hard-hit Seattle, coronavirus pushes biotechs to a new normal

Local drugmakers are on the frontlines of a pandemic that's affecting travel, clinical research and daily operations. It's forcing them to adapt quickly. 

Despite 'heroic' effort, coronavirus study finds little benefit to repurposed HIV drug

Results from the trial are the first randomized data to emerge from scores of studies testing repurposed antivirals in patients infected with the coronavirus.

How an 'overwhelmed' Buffalo lab facing coronavirus supply shortage signals nationwide struggles

Labs like the one in western New York face insufficient stocks of swabs and reagents as they attempt to gauge the outbreak's spread.

FDA maps out plan for trials as coronavirus starts to threaten drug research

The agency is trying to get ahead of what could be widespread protocol changes to ongoing clinical trials.

Sage redraws its plans for failed antidepressant drug

Hoping to chart a path forward after a damaging study setback, Sage will start three new trials of zuranolone this year.

Deep Dive

Big pharma shied away from gene therapy for years. Academia picked up the slack

The byproduct was richer licensing fees for universities and a throng of startups, but also questions on fair prices and research priorities.

Pharma salesforces brought to a halt as coronavirus shutters economy

Coronavirus' spread, and the measures taken by states and cities to contain it, are forcing drugmakers like Amarin, Pfizer and Merck & Co. to pull back their sales teams from hospitals and doctors' offices.

Regeneron expects its antibody cocktail for coronavirus to enter human testing in early summer

The biotech is prepping manufacturing facilities so that, once the top antibody contenders are selected, clinical production can quickly begin. By the end of the summer, the aim is to make hundreds of thousands of doses per month.

Q&A

Coronavirus led one biotech to pause a key trial, as more begin to follow

Clinical trial timelines are being threatened amid social distancing and a widening outbreak. Provention Bio's decision to suspend a study on Monday was one of the first publicly disclosed examples.

UPDATED: March 18, 2020 at 10:06 a.m.

No White House offer for coronavirus vaccine access, CureVac says

An abrupt exit by CEO Daniel Menichella following a meeting with President Donald Trump, and the medical leave taken this week by his successor, were "pure coincidence," a board member said.

Regeneron and Sanofi speed Kevzara into coronavirus trials

Positive signs from a Chinese test of Roche's Actemra support the companies' decision to start studying their anti-inflammatory drug against COVID-19.

Fosun, Pfizer to help BioNTech join the mRNA race for a coronavirus vaccine

BioNTech, like other mRNA vaccine developers, is moving at a record pace to begin studies of vaccine hopefuls. But the field's work remains unproven. 

Germany's CureVac, the subject of a reported US overture, thrust into coronavirus spotlight

The U.S. government reportedly sought to access CureVac's vaccine research, deepening the intrigue surrounding the biotech, which just ousted its CEO.

New sickle cell drugs priced too high, ICER says

At more than $80,000 a year, therapies from Novartis and Global Blood aren't cost-effective, the group says in its first assessment using a new real-world evidence platform.

With AbCellera deal, Lilly becomes latest pharma to start coronavirus program

Lilly hopes to begin human testing of a therapeutic antibody within four months, the company's top scientist said. 

As coronavirus spreads, a biotech IPO squeaks through. Others may 'wait and see'

Public offerings could be put on ice as the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. widens, potentially cooling biotech's momentum.

Rubius scraps lead candidate as it exits rare disease drugmaking

The once richly valued biotech cited manufacturing challenges at a contractor as a factor behind delays to its red blood cell therapy for PKU disease. 

CureVac CEO replaced in midst of biotech's coronavirus push

Board chairman Ingmar Hoerr will take over for Daniel Menichella, who just last week was meeting with President Trump to discuss CureVac's coronavirus vaccine development.

AstraZeneca and Merck's string of Lynparza successes ends in ovarian cancer

Results from a Phase 3 combination study in the tumor type read out negative, marking a rare miss for the pharmas' fast-growing cancer drug. 

Vir, signaling its commitment, taps Biogen to make coronavirus treatment

For smaller biotechs like Vir, manufacturing is a likely roadblock to advancing any promising drug candidate that might emerge from initial testing.

Facing coronavirus risk, a top cancer group postpones annual meeting

AACR, which expected to draw 24,000 attendees to its conference in April, said it plans to reschedule the meeting sometime later this year.

Gates, Wellcome hatch $125M plan to speed coronavirus treatments

Gates Foundation, Wellcome and MasterCard aim to accelerate the study of existing and new drugs for current outbreak as well as for future pathogen threats.

Coronavirus spread prompts FDA to postpone nearly all overseas inspections

The agency's decision was based on U.S. government travel restrictions, but it said "alternative tools and methods" will help it maintain oversight.