The NIH put together a panel of all major government and professional organizations to create COVID-19 treatment guidelines and the outcome was a report that strongly “does not recommend” any of the treatment options tested or used so far in patients and offers a bleak perspective of the status of the disease management. It basically … Read more
With more than 850,000 confirmed cases and more than 47,000 death from COVID-19 in the US alone, the pandemic has overwhelmed practically all aspects of our healthcare and life. But there is a silver lining. Although there is yet no approved therapy, the patients infected with the coronavirus are being managed by their physicians and … Read more
Typically, an IND application requires months and years of research and development, and a reasonable rationale for the potential treatment. Since the announcement of the pandemic about 2-3 months ago, there have been hundreds of clinical trials initiated for products intended to treat or prevent the disease. This may seem like an awfully short time … Read more
The “Stay at Home” orders have created a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for information tech companies to build and test digital health tools that would live way beyond the pandemic. All those concerns for privacy and of digital health companies exploiting our personal health information for their financial gains have gone out the window while government, political … Read more
In about 3 weeks since FDA announced a policy under which serological tests could be sold with just a notification of intent to file an EUA, more than 70 companies have filed this notification and started selling diagnostic tests that measure anti-coronavirus antibodies. However, these tests must carry a disclaimer that the test has not … Read more
In the last two months, FDA has announced, proposed, and implemented several measures to address the ongoing pandemic, but questions are being raised about the perceived slow speed at which FDA acts in an emergency. There have been complaints of FDA taking too long to authorize diagnostic tests and making decisions on the Emergency Use … Read more
The coronavirus pandemic has FDA on its toes, not just to get as many products to diagnose, treat or prevent COVID-19 to the patients, but also to rein in opportunists and scam artists who want to monetize on the crisis by selling fake and unreliable products. An emergency does not mean that the regulators are … Read more
The burning question in all circles of the society is when and how would a treatment or vaccine for COVID-19 emerge. The politicians and public would want it done in days and weeks, the scientists and developers need months and years. The vaccine is projected to take at least about 12-18 months to be ready … Read more
The Indian government took several measures to protect its population from COVID-19, among them a ban of export of any products needed to manage the pandemic such as masks, PPE, ventilators, and chloroquine. The export ban for selected items by the Indian government is designed to prevent price gauging and to assure that sufficient supplies … Read more
This week Gilead’s decision to ask FDA to rescind its orphan drug designation for its COVID-19 drug highlighted the loophole in the overall rules for orphan drug designations. Unlike all other expedited approval designations, orphan drugs designations (ODD), once granted by the FDA cannot be rescinded by the FDA, under almost all circumstances. Gilead reportedly … Read more
