The global pharmaceutical industry held up well during the pandemic, with 10 of the largest businesses only seeing a roughly –3% drop in revenue in 2020. Eight of the 10 even came out ahead. That’s one of the big takeaways from Drug Discovery & Development’s inaugural Pharma 50, a compilation of data on the largest…
Roche retools COVID-19 strategy
The Swiss pharma giant Roche (OTCMKTS:RHHBY) has canceled two Phase 2 COVID-19 studies while looking to identify a new site to conduct a clinical study for the oral antiviral AT-527, which it is developing with Atea Pharmaceuticals (NSDQ:AVIR.O). The two companies were looking to launch a trial in the U.K., but falling COVID-19 cases there have…
The quest for a disease-modifying drug for Parkinson’s disease continues
The need for therapies that change the course of Parkinson’s disease is considerable. “There are zero disease-modifying treatments for Parkinson’s,” said Dr. Allan Levey, professor and chairman of Emory University’s department of neurology. Parkinson’s disease affects some 10 million people worldwide, according to the Parkinson’s Foundation. Current drugs for Parkinson’s make it possible to “reverse…
7 notable pulmonary fibrosis research efforts
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is frequently a debilitating disease associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Although a rare disease, its incidence has increased in recent decades, and it leads to more deaths than some cancers. The treatment landscape for the condition changed in 2014 when FDA approved the first drugs indicated for IPF, nintedanib from Boehringer…
3 notable types of innovative drugs from 2020
Last year, FDA approved 53 drugs, leading the industry to describe 2020 as “a strong year for new drug therapy.” There are several drugs that stand out, according to Todd Wills, the co-author of a study that analyzes how innovative drugs are based on their structure. The drugs that follow are examples of notable innovative therapies.…