Dr. Anthony Fauci, an infectious diseases expert who regularly speaks at the White House coronavirus task force briefings, tells NBC he hopes that steps to normalization will be underway by summer.
Fauci, who is director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, also said he thinks New York may be beginning to turn the corner and starting to see a flattening of the coronavirus curve.
The U.S. has ~432K confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 14,808 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center; New York state has 151K of those cases and 6,269 of those deaths.
The WSJ reports that Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) has found a promising coronavirus treatment that works by blocking viral replication. It plans to start testing this summer.
Rheumatoid arthritis med Xeljanz (tofacitinib), a Janus kinase inhibitor, is another option. Testing in COVID-19 patients will start this week in Italy.
Also, it intends to publish research on whether one of its antibiotics benefits COVID-19 patients.
Clinical trials should launch this month evaluating a vaccine candidate that it is developing with Germany’s BioNTech SE (NASDAQ:BNTX).
Sangamo Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SGMO) has closed its sale of stock to Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB). The company’s global licensing collaboration with Biogen for gene regulation therapies in neurology is also now effective.
Under the terms of agreement, Sangamo has received $225M in stock proceeds and will receive an upfront license fee of $125M no later than May 8.
Additionally, SGMO is eligible to earn up to $2.37B in milestone payments and tiered royalties in high-single digits to sub-teen double digits.
SGMO shares are up 5% premarket.
Gilead Sciences’ (NASDAQ:GILD) Canadian unit has filed a supplemental marketing application with Health Canada seeking approval for Descovy (emtricitabine 200 mg and tenofovir alafenamide 25 mg tablets) for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to reduce the risk of sexually acquired HIV-1 infection among individuals who are HIV-negative and at risk for HIV.
Descovy was approved there in 2016 for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in adults and pediatric patients weighing at least 35 kg (in combination with other antiretrovirals).
Thinly traded nano cap Tiziana Life Sciences plc (NASDAQ:TLSA) rockets 91% premarket on average volume in reaction to its announcement that it has developed an investigational new technology that enables the direct delivery of IL-6-inhibiting monoclonal antibodies into the lungs via a handheld inhaler or nebulizer.
The company says the technology advances its IL-6 candidate TZLS-501 for the potential treatment of COVID-19, adding that it could be useful with other antibodies and drugs. A provisional patent application has been filed.
It acquired the candidate from Swiss biotech Novimmune in 2017.
IL-6 is a proinflammatory cytokine (protein) that is believed to play a key role in the development of severe lung damage in severely ill COVID-19 patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome.
IL-6 inhibitor-related tickers: Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:REGN), Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY), Roche (OTCQX:RHHBY)
