October 14th to November 3, 2020: Infectious Disease
November 2, 2020
What have we been following in infectious disease since our last Industry News Round-Up?
In addition to the huge news of an FDA approval of the first treatment for COVID-19 (Gilead Science’s antiviral IV drug remdesivir), we’re looking at the FDA approval of the first treatment for Ebola, as well as a novel microneedle-based skin patch.
October 22, 2020 / FDA News Release
The FDA has approved Gilead Science’s antiviral IV drug remdesivir — also known as Veklury — for adults and children aged older than 12 years when treatment of COVID-19 requires hospitalization. The drug is the first approved therapy for COVID-19.
October 14, 2020 / FDA News Release
On October 14th, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Inmazeb (atoltivimab, maftivimab, and odesivimab-ebgn), a mixture of three monoclonal antibodies, as the first FDA-approved treatment for Zaire ebolavirus (Ebola virus) infection in adult and pediatric patients. The approval was granted to Regeneron Pharmaceuticals.
November 2, 2020 / Nature
A potential new test for malaria looks like a bandage, but can diagnose the disease in minutes without the need for medical expertise or specialized equipment. Engineers from Rice University have introduced a microneedle patch for rapid diagnostic testing that does not require extracting blood.
