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In an important step toward medical approval, MDMA, the illegal drug popularly known as Ecstasy or Molly, was shown to bring relief to those suffering from severe post-traumatic stress disorder when paired with talk therapy. Of the 90 people who took part in the new study, which is expected to be published later this month in Nature Medicine, those who received MDMA during therapy experienced a significantly greater reduction in the severity of their symptoms compared with those who received therapy and an inactive placebo. Two months after treatment, 67 percent of participants in the MDMA group no longer qualified for a diagnosis of PTSD, compared with 32 percent in the placebo group. (Nuwer, 5/3)

Sarepta Therapeutics said Monday that a second-generation medicine for patients with a certain type of Duchenne muscular dystrophy showed improved performance in laboratory tests over the biotech’s marketed treatment. In a small clinical trial, a monthly infusion of the new Sarepta drug, called SRP-5051, produced eight times more of the muscle protein dystrophin compared to weekly infusions of Exondys 51, the company’s existing product. (Feuerstein, 5/3)

Amid worldwide clamoring for Covid-19 vaccines and other therapies, Gilead Sciences (GILD) last month filed a lawsuit against the Russian government for allowing a domestic company to manufacture and market its remdesivir treatment, which is also known as Veklury. The move came after the government late last year issued a compulsory license to a company called Pharmasyntez, which unsuccessfully approached Gilead about obtaining a license to produce a version of the medicine. At the time, the health minister pursued the step “in the interest of national security,” and the company indicated plans to sell its version about half the cost. (Silverman, 5/4)

The European Commission fined a unit of Merck KGaA $9 million for providing incorrect or misleading information during an investigation of a deal in which the drug maker spent $17 billion to acquire Sigma-Aldrich, which was a U.S. supplier of laboratory testing materials. The EC, which is the executive arm of the European Union, had approved the deal in June 2015, but only on the condition that the companies agreed to sell certain portions of their lab chemicals business. At the time, there were concerns the merger would reduce competition, because Merck (MKKGY) and Sigma-Aldrich were the two leading suppliers of solvents and inorganics. (Silverman, 5/3)