AbbVie Inc. said Friday the European Commission has approved a change
to the marketing authorization for Maviret glecaprevir/pibrentasvir to
shorten once-daily treatment duration to eight weeks from in
treatment-naive, compensated cirrhotic, chronic hepatitis C patients
with genotype 3 infection.
Maviret was already indicated as an eight-week, pan-genotypic,
once-daily regimen for treatment-naive HCV patients without cirrhosis,
and as an eight-week, once-daily regimen for treatment-naive GT 1, 2, 4,
5 and 6 HCV patients with compensated cirrhosis.
AbbVie said the EC approval is supported by data from the Phase 3b
study, which evaluated safety and efficacy of Maviret in treatment-naive
chronic HCV patients with compensated cirrhosis across all major
genotypes.
To date, one virologic failure has been reported and no patients have discontinued treatment due to adverse events.
https://www.marketscreener.com/ABBVIE-INC-12136589/news/AbbVie-Gets-European-Commission-Approval-to-Shorten-Maviret-Regimen-30119769/
Friday, March 6, 2020
Eating solo, avoiding rush hour: China cautiously returns to work
China is making uneven progress in its return to work after more than a month of coronavirus disruption, with many factories running at under half capacity and office workers avoiding their colleagues.
New reported cases of the virus cases are declining outside of Hubei
province, the epicentre of the outbreak, and much of China is shifting
its focus to getting back to business. Some 21 of the 31 mainland
regions have lowered emergency response levels.
Yang Lu, who works in sales for a security company in the southern city of Shenzhen, said her office of around 300 people is back to work, but she tries to stay away from people.
“I come to the office earlier than others and leave late,” she said.
Around 80% of restaurants and shopping centres have reopened in major cities such as Beijing and Guangzhou, search engine Baidu said on Thursday, although traffic is light in restaurants and malls. Over 90% of businesses in the large southern province of Guangdong had resumed work as of Tuesday, state media said.
Yet the picture is mixed, depending on location and industry.
While 60% of logistics companies across China have returned to work, the government said on Friday, analysis from brokerage Nomura suggests that just 44% of businesses in sectors directly affected by the outbreak were up and running as of March 1, up from 37.7% a week earlier.
“Reopening a factory is easy. All you need to do is get a guard and hire a few cleaning ladies and you’re all set,” said a government official in the city of Wenzhou, who declined to be identified given the sensitivity of the matter.
“But resuming production is a whole different matter,” he said, noting that market demand, availability of workers, and finding adequate supply of safety equipment like masks are all challenges.
Employers also fear workplace infection.
“If someone tests positive for the virus, all of the employees have to be quarantined and you have to pay them at the same time. It is not a fair trade,” the official said.
DON’T MEET ME AT THE WATER COOLER
As white collar workers return to offices, many are reluctant to socialize.
Workplaces are limiting lunchtime interactions while office buildings restrict the number of people allowed in elevators. In much of Beijing, offices are permitted to operate at just 50% capacity, and only 30% in the Dongcheng district.
An administrative worker at a school in Shanghai said he had been ordered to eat lunch alone at his desk and to report to human resources all the people he has been in “close contact” with each day. Schools in the city remain closed.
Many avoid the office altogether.
A WeWork employee who was not authorized to speak with the media estimated that just 10% to 20% of workers have returned to the company’s eight Shenzhen offices since the virus broke out. A spokesperson for the company said safety was the company’s priority, without commenting on returnee numbers.
Richard Craggs, chairman of Shenzhen-based catering firm Nom Nom, figures that about 30% to 40% of workers in the factories it supplies in Guangdong province are back on the job and said business is down about 80% from a year earlier.
Before the outbreak, Nom Nom distributed up to a million meals a month to factories, schools and offices around the province.
Local governments are providing financial support to help businesses stay afloat, with the southern city of Zhuhai offering companies 500 yuan ($72) for each new employee they hire, while paying firms 80 yuan a day to compensate for each employee still under lockdown in Hubei province.
Fu Rongyao said employees at his factory in the eastern province of Zhejiang, which makes holiday lighting, had heard the government was providing workers stipends of 2,000 yuan per worker.
He says he has received no such benefit and is unsure of how to apply for it. So far only 10% of his staff had returned.
“They say, will you give this money to us? … Their thinking is, if you give this to us first, then we will come.”
https://www.marketscreener.com/news/Eating-solo-avoiding-rush-hour-China-cautiously-returns-to-work–30119799/
Yang Lu, who works in sales for a security company in the southern city of Shenzhen, said her office of around 300 people is back to work, but she tries to stay away from people.
“I come to the office earlier than others and leave late,” she said.
Around 80% of restaurants and shopping centres have reopened in major cities such as Beijing and Guangzhou, search engine Baidu said on Thursday, although traffic is light in restaurants and malls. Over 90% of businesses in the large southern province of Guangdong had resumed work as of Tuesday, state media said.
Yet the picture is mixed, depending on location and industry.
While 60% of logistics companies across China have returned to work, the government said on Friday, analysis from brokerage Nomura suggests that just 44% of businesses in sectors directly affected by the outbreak were up and running as of March 1, up from 37.7% a week earlier.
“Reopening a factory is easy. All you need to do is get a guard and hire a few cleaning ladies and you’re all set,” said a government official in the city of Wenzhou, who declined to be identified given the sensitivity of the matter.
“But resuming production is a whole different matter,” he said, noting that market demand, availability of workers, and finding adequate supply of safety equipment like masks are all challenges.
Employers also fear workplace infection.
“If someone tests positive for the virus, all of the employees have to be quarantined and you have to pay them at the same time. It is not a fair trade,” the official said.
DON’T MEET ME AT THE WATER COOLER
As white collar workers return to offices, many are reluctant to socialize.
Workplaces are limiting lunchtime interactions while office buildings restrict the number of people allowed in elevators. In much of Beijing, offices are permitted to operate at just 50% capacity, and only 30% in the Dongcheng district.
An administrative worker at a school in Shanghai said he had been ordered to eat lunch alone at his desk and to report to human resources all the people he has been in “close contact” with each day. Schools in the city remain closed.
Many avoid the office altogether.
A WeWork employee who was not authorized to speak with the media estimated that just 10% to 20% of workers have returned to the company’s eight Shenzhen offices since the virus broke out. A spokesperson for the company said safety was the company’s priority, without commenting on returnee numbers.
Richard Craggs, chairman of Shenzhen-based catering firm Nom Nom, figures that about 30% to 40% of workers in the factories it supplies in Guangdong province are back on the job and said business is down about 80% from a year earlier.
Before the outbreak, Nom Nom distributed up to a million meals a month to factories, schools and offices around the province.
Local governments are providing financial support to help businesses stay afloat, with the southern city of Zhuhai offering companies 500 yuan ($72) for each new employee they hire, while paying firms 80 yuan a day to compensate for each employee still under lockdown in Hubei province.
Fu Rongyao said employees at his factory in the eastern province of Zhejiang, which makes holiday lighting, had heard the government was providing workers stipends of 2,000 yuan per worker.
He says he has received no such benefit and is unsure of how to apply for it. So far only 10% of his staff had returned.
“They say, will you give this money to us? … Their thinking is, if you give this to us first, then we will come.”
Seattle XFL stadium worker tests positive for coronavirus
A part-time employee who worked at CenturyLink Field during a February XFL game in Seattle has tested positive for the coronavirus, as the state announced 31 new cases on Thursday.
The employee has yet to be identified and worked as a concession worker at the stadium, according to the Seattle Times.
“County officials advise that no extra precautions are required for those who attended the Feb. 22 game or who will attend upcoming events, but all King County residents should know that the risk for infection with COVID-19 is increasing in our community, should be aware of their symptoms, and call their health care provider if they develop a cough, fever, or other respiratory problems,” King County officials said in a statement.
Seattle’s professional sports organizations will continue to house their scheduled events, as health officials recommend those at higher risk for the illness [over 60, chronic health condition, weakened immune system, pregnant] stay home and “away form larger groups of people as much as possible.”
The other teams that play in the area include the Seattle Sounders FC, Seattle Mariners, and the Seattle Seahawks — whose first preseason game is at the stadium in August.
Fans at CenturyLink Field watch during the first quarter of an NFC
divisional playoff NFL football game between the Seattle Seahawks and
the New Orleans Saints in Seattle in 2014.<br data-cke-eol=”1″> (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
Dave Pearson, a First and Goal spokesman, told the paper on Thursday that the worker “did not show symptoms at the time and has not been at the stadium since.”
The XFL said it established a coronavirus task force and is closely monitoring the issue.
“The health and safety of the extended XFL family — especially our fans in Seattle — is of the utmost importance,” said Jeffrey Pollack, XFL President. “We share everyone’s concern about this public health issue and understand it is evolving on a daily basis.”
Health officials are reportedly working closely at the stadium to “provide a safe matchday experience.”
“Stadium efforts include expanded sanitation procedures – encompassing enhanced cleaning treatments to disinfect all areas of the stadium before and after every event – in addition to increased hand sanitizer stations throughout the venue and continued staff education and training,” health officials said.
The next scheduled event at CenturyLink Field is a soccer match between the Sounders FC and Columbus Crew SC on Saturday.
“We are in continuous dialogue with regional health authorities and Major League Soccer, in addition to our network of medical experts. Because of this, we are proceeding with Saturday’s match,” the team said in a statement.
Washington state is considered the epicenter for the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. It now has 70 confirmed cases, up from 39 on Wednesday, while 10 people have died from the virus.
Vice President Mike Pence visited the hard-hit state on Thursday after Trump appointed him to oversee the U.S. efforts in containing the virus.
Pence called it “the front line” of the outbreak.
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/part-time-stadium-employee-worked-xfl-game-seattle-tests-positive-coronavirus
LifeSci Acquisition prices $60M initial public offering
LifeSci Acquisition (LSACU) has priced its initial public offering of 6M units at $10.00 per unit which will begin trading today on the NASDAQ Capital Market.
Each unit consists of one share of common stock
and one redeemable warrant, with each warrant entitling the holder to
purchase one-half of one share of common stock at a price of $11.50 per
whole share.
Chardan has been granted a 45-day option to purchase up to an additional 900K units to cover over-allotments.
Closing date is March 10, 2020.
https://seekingalpha.com/news/3549347-lifesci-acquisition-prices-60m-initial-public-offeringAstraZeneca’s Imfinzi doublet therapy flunks late-stage bladder cancer study
A Phase 3 clinical trial, DANUBE, evaluating the combination of AstraZeneca’s (NYSE:AZN)
Imfinzi (durvalumab) and anti-CTLA-4 monoclonal antibody tremelimumab
for the first-line treatment of patients with unresectable metastatic
bladder cancer failed to meet the primary endpoint of overall survival (OS) versus chemo in patients with high PD-L1-expressing cancer or regardless of their PD-L1 expression.
No new safety signals were observed.
Imfinzi is approved in 15 countries for the second-line treatment of bladder cancer.
The company has three other bladder cancer Phase 3 studies in process: POTOMAC (Imfinzi + BCG), NIAGARA (Imfinzi + chemo in neoadjuvant setting) and NILE (IMFINZI + chemo vs. Imfinzi + tremelimumab + chemo vs. chemo).
Shares down 1% premarket on light volume.
https://seekingalpha.com/news/3549334-astrazenecas-imfinzi-doublet-therapy-flunks-late-stage-bladder-cancer-study
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