Coronavirus company news summary – Lilly pauses Covid-19 antibody drug trial – Moderna to submit Covid-19 vaccine to Health Canada on a rolling basis

14 October 2020 

Eli Lilly has paused trials of its Covid-19 antibody treatment due to safety concerns. Trump had previously touted the Lilly’s drug and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals’ antibody treatment as a potential cure for Covid-19; he was personally prescribed the latter while being treated for the viral disease. Several coronavirus vaccines trials have also been put on hold due to adverse reactions in participants.

Moderna announced a rolling submission to Health Canada for the mRNA vaccine against Covid-19. The initiative kick-started after positive results emerged from a preclinical viral challenge study of mRNA-1273 and the phase 1 study of mRNA-1273 in healthy and older adults published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The rolling submission allows companies to produce safe and effective data when the information is available.

Vaxart started an early-stage study of an oral Covid-19 vaccine. The drug is expected to be an alternative option to injectable vaccines. The trial will examine two doses of the VXA-CoV2-1 among 48 healthy volunteers aged between 18 and 54.