Pharmacology/Pharmaceutical Industry
Coronavirus vaccine strategy needs rethink after resistant variants emerge, say scientists
9 Feb, 2021 | 01:38h | UTCRelated: South Africa halts AstraZeneca vaccine rollout over new variant – BBC AND ‘What other variants might be out there?’ An expert on viral evolution on what’s happening with coronavirus mutations – STAT AND Covid-19: Oxford vaccine offers less protection against South Africa variant (study and commentaries) AND South Africa suspends use of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine after it fails to clearly stop virus variant – Science
Does taking Vitamin D prevent or treat COVID-19?
9 Feb, 2021 | 01:20h | UTCDoes Taking Vitamin D Prevent or Treat COVID-19? – HIV and ID Observations
Perspective: Pregnancy, postpartum care, and COVID-19 vaccination in 2021
9 Feb, 2021 | 01:16h | UTCPregnancy, Postpartum Care, and COVID-19 Vaccination in 2021 – JAMA
Perspective: COVID-19 vaccination in pregnant and lactating women
9 Feb, 2021 | 01:18h | UTCCOVID-19 Vaccination in Pregnant and Lactating Women – JAMA
Related: Fauci says ‘no red flags’ seen in 10,000 pregnant women who’ve received Covid shots so far – CNBC
Patients with lymphoma receiving B-Cell–depleting therapies may be at greater risk for persistent COVID-19 infection
9 Feb, 2021 | 01:14h | UTCRelated: Patients on Active Chemotherapy May Not Be at Increased Risk for COVID-19 Infection – The ASCO Post
See also: Anti-CD20 Drugs Tied to Severe COVID in Cancer Patients — Plus: Active chemo treatment may not be a COVID risk factor – MedPage Today (free registration required)
RCT: In patients with cirrhosis treated with TIPS, prophylactic rifaximin reduced the risk for Hepatic Encephalopathy
7 Feb, 2021 | 21:10h | UTCThe Use of Rifaximin in the Prevention of Overt Hepatic Encephalopathy After Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt: A Randomized Controlled Trial – Annals of Internal Medicine (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
Commentary: Rifaximin prevents overt hepatic encephalopathy after TIPS – HealthDay
Commentary on Twitter
New findings published in @AnnalsofIM:
In patients with #cirrhosis treated with TIPS, rifaximin was well tolerated and reduced the risk for overt HE. #Rifaximin should therefore be considered for prophylaxis of post-TIPS HE https://t.co/d2p9dfcx3s. pic.twitter.com/M7zwmUxQA3
— Annals of Int Med (@AnnalsofIM) February 2, 2021
RCT: Posaconazole noninferior to voriconazole for primary treatment of invasive aspergillosis
7 Feb, 2021 | 21:00h | UTCPosaconazole versus voriconazole for primary treatment of invasive aspergillosis: a phase 3, randomised, controlled, non-inferiority trial – The Lancet (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
Guideline synopsis: Management of immunotherapy-related toxicities in patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy
7 Feb, 2021 | 20:55h | UTCManagement of Immunotherapy-Related Toxicities in Patients Treated With Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapy – JAMA (free for a limited period)
Audio Clinical Review: Management of Immunotherapy-Related Toxicities
Original guideline and other resources: NCCN Guidelines Insights: Management of Immunotherapy-Related Toxicities
Israel outpaced the world in vaccinations. Now it’s seeing the results
7 Feb, 2021 | 21:26h | UTCIsrael outpaced the world in vaccinations. Now it’s seeing the results – Vox
See also: Covid-19: Israel sees new infections plummet following vaccinations – The BMJ AND Israel says vaccine has almost halved COVID cases among over-60s – Reuters AND Vaccines are curbing COVID: Data from Israel show drop in infections – Nature AND Israel’s vaccination rollout: short term success, but questions for the long run – The BMJ Opinion
[Press release – not published yet] Sinovac Announces Phase III Results of Its COVID-19 Vaccine
7 Feb, 2021 | 21:29h | UTCSinovac Announces Phase III Results of Its COVID-19 Vaccine
Commentaries: Expert reaction to announcement of results of phase III of Sinovac vaccine in China – Science Media Centre AND Sinovac says COVID-19 vaccine effective in preventing hospitalization, death – Reuters
Commentary on Twitter (thread – click for more)
https://twitter.com/hildabast/status/1357856593392463874
[Press release – not published yet] Covid-19: Oxford vaccine offers less protection against South Africa variant
7 Feb, 2021 | 21:25h | UTCOxford Covid-19 vaccine trial results – University of the Witwatersrand
Commentaries: Covid: Oxford jab offers less S Africa variant protection – BBC AND Expert reaction to news reports that the Oxford/AZ vaccine gives limited protection against mild disease caused by the South African variant of SARS-CoV-2 – Science Media Centre AND Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID shot less effective against South African variant: study – Reuters
Commentary on Twitter (thread – click for more)
[Thread] 1. NEW Early data (not yet peer reviewed) shows the #AstraZeneca #CovidVaccine, that SA will start to administer this month, doesn't appear to offer protection against mild/moderate disease caused by the #501YV2 variant identified in the country. https://t.co/UWD0Xilner
— Mia Malan (@miamalan) February 7, 2021
The good and the (potentially) bad: What scientists know about variants and Covid-19 vaccines
7 Feb, 2021 | 21:23h | UTCThe good and the (potentially) bad: What scientists know about variants and Covid-19 vaccines – STAT
See also: What Will it Take to Make Covid-19 Vaccines Variant-Proof? – Wired AND What’s Going On With All These Coronavirus Variants? An Illustrated Guide – NPR AND Video: Coronavirus Variants – What They Mean – JAMA
Report: The state of the world’s antibiotics report in 2021
7 Feb, 2021 | 20:49h | UTCCommentary: Report highlights lack of progress against antimicrobial resistance – CIDRAP
Clinical Cancer Advances 2021: ASCO’s Report on Progress Against Cancer
7 Feb, 2021 | 20:45h | UTCCommentary: ASCO Names Molecular Profiling in GI Cancers as Advance of the Year – OncLive
The Evolving Immunotherapy Landscape and the Epidemiology, Diagnosis, and Management of Cardiotoxicity: JACC: CardioOncology Primer
5 Feb, 2021 | 01:19h | UTC
SR/MA: Colistin nephrotoxicity
5 Feb, 2021 | 01:21h | UTC
Opinion: Vaccine Nationalism Harms Everyone and Protects No One
5 Feb, 2021 | 01:45h | UTCVaccine Nationalism Harms Everyone and Protects No One – Foreign Policy
Related: Jeremy Farrar: Until we are all safe, no one is safe. Covid is a global problem – The Guardian AND Covid-19: WHO warns against “vaccine nationalism” or face further virus mutations – The BMJ AND ‘Vaccine nationalism’ threatens global plan to distribute COVID-19 shots fairly – Science AND WHO chief warns against ‘catastrophic moral failure’ in COVID-19 vaccine access – United Nations
NIH Treatment Guideline Update: “there are insufficient data to recommend either for or against the use of tocilizumab or sarilumab for the treatment of COVID-19”
5 Feb, 2021 | 01:44h | UTC
Study: Single dose Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine effectiveness estimated at 90% after 21 days
5 Feb, 2021 | 01:43h | UTCCommentaries: One Pfizer/BioNTech jab gives ‘90% immunity’ from Covid after 21 days – The Guardian AND Expert reaction to preprint reanalysing study of real-world Pfizer vaccination outcomes after one dose from Israel – Science Media Centre
Commentary on Twitter
A study on "real world" effects of vaccination in Israel
🥳 Single dose 90% effective at 21d 🥳
"…results coming from Israel support the UK policy of extending the gap between doses by showing that a single dose can give a high level of protection."https://t.co/smnZUPJkZp
— Alasdair Munro (@apsmunro) February 4, 2021
Phase 1/2 Clinical Trial: CoronaVac is safe and well tolerated in older adults. Neutralizing antibodies were detected in over 90% of participants in all groups
5 Feb, 2021 | 01:41h | UTCCommentary: Inactivated COVID-19 vaccines to make a global impact – The Lancet Infectious Diseases
Commentary on Twitter
https://twitter.com/hildabast/status/1357281190198140929
New COVID-19 vaccines: here’s how the promising Novavax and Johnson & Johnson jabs work
5 Feb, 2021 | 01:41h | UTC
RECOVERY trial: Azithromycin not beneficial for patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19
4 Feb, 2021 | 01:39h | UTCInvited Commentary: Azithromycin, RECOVERY, and the power of large, simple trials – The Lancet
Racing the virus: Why tweaking vaccines to fight variants won’t be simple
4 Feb, 2021 | 01:28h | UTCRacing the virus: Why tweaking vaccines to fight variants won’t be simple – Reuters
Video (3 min): Sinovac and Sinopharm – what do we know about the Chinese vaccines?
4 Feb, 2021 | 01:31h | UTCSinovac and Sinopharm – what do we know about the Chinese vaccines? – BBC
The COVID-19 vaccine in pregnancy: risks, benefits, and recommendations
4 Feb, 2021 | 01:30h | UTCRelated: Pregnancy, breastfeeding and the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine: an ethics-based framework for shared decision-making AND The Coronavirus Vaccine Presents a Dilemma for Pregnant Women – The New Yorker