Jonathan Rockoff
Reporter at The Wall Street Journal covering pharma and biotech.
Email me at [email protected]
Last synced from Twitter 1276d ago
NIH Halts Study Exploring Treating Covid-19 With Lilly Antibody, Remdesivir
Federal health researchers have halted testing a combination of Eli Lilly’s Covid-19 antibody drug and remdesivir in hospitalized Covid-19 patients, after an independent committee found a lack of a benefit.
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Jonathan Rockoff
A study exploring whether an antibody drug from Eli Lilly helped hospitalized Covid-19 patients when combined with Gilead Sciences’ remdesivir was paused earlier this month. The study was halted Monday for lack of efficacy, @Loftus reports.
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WSJ News Exclusive | Covid-19 Vaccine Trial From AstraZeneca, Oxford Can Resume in U.S.
Covid-19 vaccine trial From AstraZeneca PLC and the University of Oxford can resume in U.S., according to a person familiar with the matter.
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Jonathan Rockoff
@US_FDA @TomBurtonWSJ @AstraZeneca @UniofOxford .@US_FDA didn't find that the Covid-19 vaccine from @AstraZeneca and @UniofOxford was responsible for the two suspicious safety cases that triggered the testing pause, but couldn't rule out a link either, @TomBurtonWSJ reports
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WSJ News Exclusive | CDC Considers Shorter Covid-19 Quarantines for Children
The CDC and state health departments are looking to minimize school disruptions for K-12 students who have been in close contact with people infected with Covid-19.
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Jonathan Rockoff
Breaking: To help kids return to classrooms faster, @CDCgov and other health authorities are exploring whether and how to shorten the 14 days children are now told to quarantine after contact with a Covid-19 case, @bysarahkrouse and @betswrites report
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Covid-19 Vaccines to Be Stored Secretly Under Tight Security
Health authorities, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies plan to use fake shipments, GPS trackers and other steps to protect the shots against potential thefts.
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Jonathan Rockoff
Fake shipments in dummy trucks. Black-light verification on vials. Drugmakers and health authorities are trying to protect Covid-19 vaccines against theft, @JaredSHopkins reports. “We are appropriately paranoid.”
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More Than 1,000 Current and Former CDC Officers Condemn U.S. Covid-19 Response
An open letter expresses dismay at the nation’s public-health response to the Covid-19 pandemic and calls for the federal agency to play a more central role.
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Jonathan Rockoff
Breaking: “The absence of national leadership on Covid-19 is unprecedented and dangerous," 1,000+ current & former CDC officers say in a letter demanding the agency resume its traditional role leading the U.S. response to epidemics, @betswrites reports.
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Vertex Shares Plunge After Biotech Drops Closely Watched Drug Prospect
The flop of a promising drug from Vertex Pharmaceuticals led to a sharp drop in the company’s share price on Thursday as analysts questioned the biotech’s ability to replicate its success in cystic fibrosis and diversify its revenue.
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Jonathan Rockoff
$VRTX is set to close the day losing ~$14bn in value, after a rare-disease drug with decent but still limited earnings potential failed in a Phase 2 trial, @joewalkerWSJ reports wsj.com/articles/verte… What worries Wall Street: Whether the biotech can diversify.
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WSJ News Exclusive | Moderna Vows to Not Enforce Covid-19 Vaccine Patents During Pandemic
The move means other drugmakers or governments wouldn’t need to fear that Moderna would try to block any other Covid-19 vaccines the company argues are based on any proprietary technology.
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Jonathan Rockoff
$MRNA says it won't enforce the patents on its Covid-19 vaccine during the pandemic, and would be willing to license rights after, @Loftus reports
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White House Agrees to FDA’s Guidelines for Vetting Covid-19 Vaccines
The White House endorsed the Food and Drug Administration’s plans for assessing whether a Covid-19 vaccine should be given widely, casting aside objections to requirements that would likely mean a shot won’t be cleared until after Election Day,...
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Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) - Transmission
COVID-19 is most often spread from person to person among close contacts.
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Jonathan Rockoff
@CDCgov @WSJ Here is @CDCgov 's updated Covid-19 guidelines: cdc.gov/coronavirus/20… Story coming soon to @WSJ
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Nobel Prize in Medicine Awarded for Discovery of Hepatitis C Virus
A trio of scientists from the U.S. and the U.K. have won this year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of the hepatitis C virus, a major cause of liver cancer.
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Jonathan Rockoff
Harvey J. Alter, Michael Houghton and Charles M. Rice have won this year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of hepatitis C virus
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Trump Didn’t Disclose First Positive Covid-19 Test While Awaiting a Second Test on Thursday
President Trump didn’t disclose a positive result from a rapid test for Covid-19 on Thursday while awaiting the findings from a more thorough coronavirus screening, according to people familiar with the matter.
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Jonathan Rockoff
President Trump didn’t disclose a positive result from a rapid test for Covid-19 on Thursday while awaiting the findings from a more thorough coronavirus screening, people familiar with the matter say
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A case for teaching public health in schools - The Martha's Vineyard Times
The best way to promote population health is to educate and engage the community who has the most to win: our youth. In high school, my Dad espoused some tenets for life: “Wear your seatbelt, play a sport, go to college and don’t smoke.” When I...
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Jonathan Rockoff
Perhaps the coronavirus pandemic will trigger a reconsideration of how much we value and find public health. In this piece, @mmameg argues it should be taught in high school.
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Robert Gore, Inventor of Gore-Tex, Is Dead at 83
Failed experiments with a polymer led him to create the breathable, waterproof material used in numerous applications, including ski jackets and medical implants.
Coronavirus Can Spread by Tiny Air Particles, CDC Now Says
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has revised its guidelines on how the new coronavirus spreads, saying tiny particles that linger in the air play a role.
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Jonathan Rockoff
Breaking: @CDCgov removes language from guidelines, just posted Friday, acknowledging the coronavirus can spread via tiny particles in the air, @mccabe_caitlin reports. wsj.com/articles/coron… CDC says it accidentally posted a draft of proposed changes.
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Sequencing Firm Illumina to Pay $7.1 Billion for Liquid-Biopsy Firm Grail
The purchase in cash and stock of Grail, a developer of a long-sought blood test that promises to detect cancer early, will be Illumina’s biggest acquisition.
Who Pays for Covid-19 Medical Care? That Depends on How (or if) You Are Insured
The pandemic has put a spotlight on the vast differences in affordability of health-care across the country.
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Jonathan Rockoff
Some Covid-19 patients face big bills for their treatment despite federal government efforts, @RWhelanWSJ reports
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WSJ News Exclusive | Gilead Nears Deal to Buy Immunomedics for More Than $20 Billion
Gilead Sciences is nearing a deal to buy biotech Immunomedics Inc. and its prized breast-cancer drug for more than $20 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.
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Jonathan Rockoff
BREAKING: $GILD is nearing a deal to buy cancer drugmaker $IMMU for more than $20bn, w/ @CaraRLombardo. Gilead will get a drug already approved and on sale for breast cancer with potential in lung, bladder and other cancers.
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Jonathan Rockoff
@depsebastian ICYMI $MRK was interested in $IMMU and its breast-cancer drug, which $GILD has agreed to purchase for $21bn
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China Injects Hundreds of Thousands With Experimental Covid-19 Vaccines
A Chinese pharmaceutical company has injected hundreds of thousands of people with experimental Covid-19 vaccines, as its Western counterparts warn against doing so too soon.
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Jonathan Rockoff
A subsidiary of Sinopharm has given its two experimental Covid-19 vaccines to hundreds of thousands in China, before the shots have finished testing, @Chao_Deng reports
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