New report shows more than 400 medicines and vaccines in development to tackle infectious diseases, including COVID-19
On July 21, 2020 BioscienceLA Founding Sponsor, PhRMA, released a new report that finds" “there are 421 medicines and vaccines in clinical development to treat or prevent bacterial and viral infections that cause infectious diseases, including COVID-19.”
Among the candidates in development are:
A broad-spectrum antiviral medicine, with in vitro activity against Ebola, Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome (MERS) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), is being studied as a treatment for COVID-19 infections.
Two messenger RNA (mRNA)-based vaccines are in development for the prevention of COVID-19 infections.
A long-acting injectable capsid inhibitor is being developed as an anti-retroviral (ARV) treatment for HIV infections.
A long-acting version of an oral integrase inhibitor is in development for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).
An antibacterial is being developed as an oral treatment for drug-susceptible mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB).
A benzimidazole riboside compound is being developed for the treatment of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections in transplant patients.
The report also discusses how the COVID-19 pandemic is highlighting another area of concern: antimicrobial resistance (AMR). AMR is a natural process that occurs when microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change in ways such that the microorganisms are resistant to medications used to cure the infections caused by earlier, unchanged versions/strains of these microorganisms. A growing list of infections — including pneumonia, tuberculosis, blood poisoning, gonorrhea and foodborne diseases — are becoming harder, and sometimes impossible to treat as our current arsenal of medicines were not developed or intended to treat these resistant strains of the microorganisms that cause these infections.
The biopharmaceutical industry recently launched the AMR Action Fund, aimed to bring two to four new antimicrobials to market by 2030, focusing on innovative medicines that address the highest priority public health needs. This industry-driven effort will also work to drive comprehensive policy reforms that are needed to advance new reimbursement methodologies and create incentives that enable appropriate patient access, creating a sustainable ecosystem for antimicrobial R&D and commercialization.
You can read the full article here.
