Biotech bubbles during the global recession

Private biotech firms are awash with funding, raising record-breaking sums in 2020. Melanie Senior reports how the global recession apparently passed biotech by.

Nature Biotechnology

Novel drug targets in 2020

In 2020, 61 novel drugs were approved in the USA, European Union and Japan, including some with novel mechanism of action (MoA) biomolecular targets. Here, editors at Nature Reviews Drug Discovery highlight these drugs and their targets.

Nature Reviews Drug Discovery

FDA new drug approvals in Q1 2021

Any fears that COVID-19 could affect drug approvals should be put to rest by the 14 new drugs greenlighted by the US Food and Drug Administration in the first three months of 2021. This total beats the 12 approvals recorded this time last year and far exceeds the 7 approvals in Q1 2019.

Nature Reviews Drug Discovery

The race for antiviral drugs to beat COVID—and the next pandemic

Despite dire warnings, a stockpile of ready compounds to fight viral pandemics was sorely lacking. Can drugmakers finally do the right thing?

Nature

What scientists do and don’t know about the Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID vaccine

Results confirming the vaccine’s strong protection against COVID-19 were welcomed following the recent pause in roll-outs—but fresh questions have now emerged about the data. Nature reviews the evidence so far known about this vaccine in this piece.

Nature

Waive COVID-19 IP rights, poor nations urge

A proposal by the governments of India and South Africa to waive intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines and drugs is being opposed by the US biopharma industry.

Nature Biotechnology

Long COVID’s long R&D agenda

Researchers work to understand the biology and epidemiology of post-acute COVID-19, a pioneering platform trial is now testing treatments to try to address the long-term complications of infection in previously hospitalized individuals.

Nature Reviews Drug Discovery

India’s massive COVID surge puzzles scientists

The virus is spreading faster than ever before in the country despite previous high infection rates in megacities, which should have conferred some protection.

Scientific American

Blood clots and the Johnson & Johnson vaccine: what we know so far

Infectious disease physician-scientist Wilbur Chen discusses the rare cases of blood clots linked to immunization.

Scientific American