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An anti-malarial drug President Trump has aggressively promoted to treat covid-19 had no benefit and was linked to higher rates of death for Veterans Affairs patients hospitalized with the novel coronavirus, according to a study, raising further questions about the safety and efficacy of a treatment that has seen widespread use in the pandemic. The study by VA and academic researchers analyzed outcomes of 368 male patients nationwide, with 97 receiving hydroxychloroquine, 113 receiving hydroxychloroquine in combination with the antibiotic azithromycin, and 158 not receiving any hydroxychloroquine. (Rowland, 4/21)

Hydroxychloroquine made no difference in the need for a breathing machine, either. Researchers did not track side effects, but noted a hint that hydroxychloroquine might have damaged other organs. The drug has long been known to have potentially serious side effects, including altering the heartbeat in a way that could lead to sudden death. (Marchione, 4/22)

The federal agency led by Dr. Anthony Fauci issued guidelines on Tuesday that stated there is no proven drug for treating coronavirus patients, a finding that essentially reinforces Dr. Fauci’s dissent from President Trump’s repeated promotion of certain drugs without evidence to support their use. The report echoed what frustrated doctors already know: Not enough is known about the highly infectious virus or how to combat it. (Grady, 4/21)

Coronavirus treatment guidelines issued by a government panel conclude there is not enough data on some of the most touted drugs — including hydroxychloroquine, which the panel said should not be used outside clinical trials when paired with antibiotics. The group, organized by the National Institutes of Health, includes physicians, statisticians and other experts from both government agencies and health organizations. (Owermohle, 4/21)

For the most part, the guidelines are agnostic about the use of experimental medications, pointing out that strong scientific evidence is lacking to make a firm conclusion one way or the other. But occasionally, there are recommendations explicitly against certain therapies. For example, the panel recommended against using Lopinavir/ritonavir or other HIV protease inhibitors because of negative clinical trial data. It also recommended against using interferon because it seemed to make patients with SARS and MERS worse. Those diseases are caused by a coronavirus related to the one causing COVID-19. (Palca, 4/21)

Given the hour — 4:30 a.m. in California, 7:30 a.m. in Boston — no one turned on their webcams. About 180 executives and venture capitalists from large biotech companies and small start-ups alike dialed in to a WebEx call Monday. All were hoping the group chat would help them make big decisions about how to proceed with research, how to raise money from investors — essentially, how to run a biotech company in the time of coronavirus. (Sheridan, 4/22)

Rick Bright, one of the nation’s leading vaccine development experts and the director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, is no longer leading the organization, officials told STAT. The shakeup at the agency, known as BARDA, couldn’t come at a more inopportune time for the office, which invests in drugs, devices, and other technologies that help address infectious disease outbreaks and which has been at the center of the government’s coronavirus pandemic response. (Florko, 4/21)

The director of the agency responsible for leading the charge on the production and purchase of vaccines in the Trump administration is no longer leading the agency as of Tuesday, CNN has confirmed. Dr. Rick Bright had led the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, which has been central to the response to the coronavirus outbreak, since 2016. An acting director has taken over in his position, though the reason behind Bright's sudden departure is still unclear. (Collins and Klein, 4/21)