A sign on a diagnostic site for Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche is seen in Burgess Hill, UK, October 7, 2020. REUTERS / Peter Nicholls / File Photo
Roche (ROG.S) is looking for another place to fight his pill to fight COVID-19, after the number of cases in Britain dropped, making it difficult to find enough patients for his study there, he said. the Swiss drugmaker said Wednesday.
Roche and partner Atea Pharmaceuticals in Boston (AVIR.O) hope their AT-527 pill can provide an antiviral therapy for the treatment of COVID-19 patients that will be easier to administer and cheaper than other prospective treatments, such as antibody cocktails. of Gilead Science (GILD.O) se remdesivir.
In an interview with the Swiss media in early March, Christoph Franz, chairman of Roche, presented a provocative outlook on data on AT-527 within the next few weeks, saying he dreams of ending the pandemic with a pill tea can move.
But Britain’s success in reducing the number of cases with a rapid vaccination program and strict closure has meant it takes longer than expected to collect data from the trial there, said Bill Anderson, head of Roche’s pharmaceutical division. , said.
“There are simply not enough patients to enroll … at the speed we were hoping for,” Anderson said during a conference.
“This has been one of the challenges since the beginning of the pandemic: you have set up websites where there is a lot of COVID, and by the time you are ready to sign up, the pandemic has moved to another location and you are chasing it. “
He did not identify other locations where Roche would set up trials.
Atea has previously received $ 350 million in cash from Roche, with potential for future milestone payments and royalties. With Roche, Atea is testing the medicine in patients with mild to moderate COVID-19. The drugs are also being tested separately in hospitals with patients with more severe cases.
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