Omicron onslaught: Number of Brits with Covid jumps by nearly a million to 2.3m while NHS staff off sick with coronavirus doubles December 31, 2021 An estimated 2.3 million people in the UK had Covid-19 in the week ending December 23, up from 1.4 million in the week to December 16 and the highest number since comparable figures began in autumn 2020, the Office for National Statistics said. Meanwhile, the number of NHS hospital staff in England absent due to [...]
Coronavirus next year: First calls for fourth shot in UK are clear indication Covid vaccines are not going anywhere in 2022 December 24, 2021 A senior UK health official suggested this morning that Brits will need more than two Covid vaccines and a booster shot. A fourth dose of the Covid-19 vaccine will “probably” be needed over the next few years, Scotland’s national clinical director said this morning. Scots have been asked to get a third dose of the [...]
GSK confirms former Tesco boss Sir Dave Lewis will head up £40bn spin-off December 20, 2021 Former Tesco boss Sir Dave Lewis is set to lead the £40bn separation of GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK) consumer healthcare arm.
Pfizer targets Arena Pharmaceuticals in $6.7bn deal December 13, 2021 US drugmaker Pfizer today announced it has reached a $6.7bn deal to acquire Arena Pharmaceuticals, a company developing treatments for several immuno-inflammatory diseases. In a statement announcing the transaction, Pfizer said it will acquire all outstanding shares of Arena for $100 per share in an all-cash transaction – which represents a double premium on the [...]
South Africa upbeat as battle of the Covid mutations rages: Omicron deaths still zero despite new coronavirus variant spreading twice as fast as deadly Delta December 8, 2021 Scientists and policy makers in South Africa and across the region are cautiously optimistic that the rapidly spreading Omicron variant is not going to cause a bloodbath as, so far, no deaths have been linked to the new Covid mutation. Despite a record number of new infections – more than 40,000 people tested positive in [...]
Struggling Clinigen enters £1bn talks with Triton Investment Management December 3, 2021 Struggling UK pharmaceutical services company Clinigen is reportedly in talks with private equity Triton Investment Management for a takeover proposal worth £1bn. After the “non-binding indicative proposal” was announced, the company’s shares rocketed by almost 25 per cent on the London market, reaching 786.41p and then closing at 741.30p. “The board of Clinigen is in [...]
Healthcare regulator approves GlaxoSmithKline drug for severely ill Covid patients in UK December 2, 2021 A drug treatment which, the makers say, works against the new Omicron variant of Covid-19, has been approved by UK regulators. Xevudy (sotrovimab), made by pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), has been found to cut hospital admission and death by 79% in those at risk. The monoclonal antibody has been authorised by the Medicines and Healthcare [...]
UK scientists discover what causes blood clot complications in AstraZeneca Covid vaccine December 2, 2021 UK scientists believe they have found the reason behind the extremely rare blood clot complications stemming from the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine. According to an international team of researchers from Cardiff and the US, the reaction can be traced to the way the adenovirus used by the vaccine to shuttle the coronavirus’ genetic material into cells binds [...]
Omicron: Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna race to tweak Covid vaccines against new Coronavirus variant November 27, 2021 Work is underway to look at tweaking vaccines against the new concerning strain of coronavirus that has sparked travel bans. The variant, named Omicron and designated a “variant of concern” by the World Health Organisation (WHO), has reached Belgium after being discovered in South Africa. The WHO warned that preliminary evidence suggests the variant has [...]
Historic pharma precedent: Pfizer agrees to share its Covid-19 pill secrets with dozens of companies around the world November 16, 2021 Pfizer’s new Covid-19 pill could be made available to more than half of the world’s population after the pharmaceutical giant signed a deal with a UN-backed group to allow other manufacturers to make its experimental pill. In a statement, Pfizer said it will grant a licence for the antiviral pill to the Geneva-based Medicines Patent [...]