COVID-19

Compassionate use programs (CUP) are a developing field in Asian countries. In the majority of Asian states, the CU applies to Named-Patients Program (NPP). In the most countries, understanding of CUP for unapproved drugs is poor among the public, and even for professional communities. 

A turbulent 2021: we are now in our eighth year of reviewing R&D productivity and corporate growth of the top 30 biopharma companies. While 2021 was dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic, biopharma as a whole had a good but not great year.

A selection of articles you might have missed from April 2022, including exclusive interviews, an in depth look at the impact of COVID-19 on clinical trial trends, and the latest Rising Leaders series. 

Company strategies at improving diversity, equity and inclusion both within their organizations and in the clinical trials they conduct have differed, but building trust is a common theme.

As the world begins its transition into a post-pandemic existence, it becomes possible to look back on the past two years and begin to quantify the effects COVID-19 has brought. For the biopharmaceutical industry, clinical trials have been at the forefront.

Nigerian start-up 54gene seeks to be the first private sector enterprise bent on applying Africa’s rich genetic heritage to solve the world’s most intractable diseases – ethically, without boundaries, for all.

Keeping a strategic focus but pivoting to meet health care priorities on demand were qualities Align Technology’s EMEA managing director Markus Sebastian ensured were uppermost at the company during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Biogen, Amgen, Lilly and Genentech experts shared tales of impending stockouts, particularly for single-use assemblies, filters and resins, and some of the measures they took to prevent them from causing drug shortages.

The formulas for various COVID-19 vaccines remain shrouded in intellectual property protections – one of many factors preventing them from being manufactured in developing nations. Those in favor of upholding IP say that scrapping patents could stifle future innovation, but their opponents believe preserving COVID-19 related IP rights is limiting access to lifesaving medical tools.

GSK India managing director Sridhar Venkatesh outlines how the company navigated pandemic-related turbulence and “stuck its neck out” to ensure uninterrupted supplies of key drugs. The executive also discusses launch prospects for products including Xevudy in India and an intent to “refresh” the company’s vaccines portfolio.

Clive Dix was awarded Scrip’s Lifetime Achievement honor jointly with his long-term colleague and friend Dame Kate Bingham in December 2021. With more than 30 years’ experience in pharma and biotech, Dix has seen the industry evolve and take on many challenges. He spoke to In Vivo about his career journey, the future of biotech and his expectations for 2022 – another year under the cloud of COVID-19.

The vaccines segment continues to draw the interest of participants beyond those firms with a traditional core presence, with new players largely building partnered capabilities around COVID-19 inoculations. Are these merely opportunistic forays or will the competitive landscape for vaccines stand altered more widely?

When Novo Nordisk’s anti-obesity medicine Wegovy launched in June 2021, patients and physicians could not get enough. As COVID-19 underscored the risks of obesity, along came the most effective drug yet – on a par with surgery, in terms of weight loss achieved. Pharma’s interest in this disease has reawakened, and Wegovy may be just the first of a new generation of more powerful anti-obesity medicines.

After being first to receive FDA clearance for a prescription-only software to treat ADHD and raising total funding of $230m, Akili plans a US launch in 2022 while targeting other indications.

At the end of a turbulent year for health care, COVID-19 is still dominating the thoughts of stakeholders, but CMS patent attorneys Jane Hollywood and Rob Stephen are encouraged by the innovation and investment trends that are making it an exciting time to be in the thick of the action.

The medtech industry’s successful response to the COVID-19 challenge has in some ways made the pre-pandemic years feel like a lifetime ago, in terms of service delivery. That was the consensus at a high-level Medtech Conference panel chaired by LEK consultancy group.